Not Normal
by Radaslab
Summary: His life was never normal, then it becomes truly abnormal. He must save a world he never cared for, but with others ... he can care. H/Hr and maybe others. Rated M to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I started writing this some time ago. After getting several chapters done (but not posted), I read a fic (in Progress) that said it was in response to "Proud Mudblood's" Challenge – which included several (minor) scenarios (but not nearly all and definitely not the major ones) that are in this fic so I felt I should mention that but any similarity between that challenge and this fic is purely coincidental…

I also wish to note, for those following my other stories my father died from cancer. His body, lying there all yellowish in the sunset as we stood around unable to keep him with us… It may mean nothing to you, but I needed another release.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Harry Potter's first two years in the wizarding world had been strange. True, if he really paused to think about it his entire life in one way or another could be considered strange and certainly could not be considered normal by any except the most abnormal of measures. His parents had been murdered when he was fifteen months old. He had no memory either of them or the life he had had with them although, deep down, he felt he had been loved and cherished by his parents. That his parents had been brutally murdered was not normal. He was personally unaware of anyone who could claim the same thing. The truth was there were at least a few children at his school how had lost one or both parents around the same time for there had been a rather bloody war back then, but had Harry even suspected such things, he was unaware of it because to the best of his knowledge no one talked about it.

But assuming they had lost their parents in the way and Harry had heard about it, Harry was still not normal. First of all there was the fact that his parents had become the targets of the most evil wizard in memory if not of all time, a wizard so feared that even eleven years after his defeat and disappearance and, in most the world's belief, his death, people still feared to utter the name "Lord Voldemort." Harry was abnormal in no small part because he thought that was just silly. But what really set him apart was that on the same night that Lord Voldemort killed his parents, the same powerful and feared Dark Wizard turned his wand on baby Harry … and was destroyed by that baby. Ever since that day within the wizarding world Harry had been famous and lionized as The-Boy-Who-Lived, a name which annoyed him to no end once he learned of it and a fame he loathed not just because it was associated with the death of his family but also because he had no memory of what had happened. For all Harry knew it had all been a bizarre coincidence and considering how bizarre he found this wizarding world, that made bizarre coincidence far more plausible in his mind than what most people seemed to believe. He could point to his middle of the road marks in his magical school as proof of his theory, but most would say that he defeated the Dark Lord as a mere baby because he, fifteen month old Harry Potter who probably was still soiling his nappies, was the most powerful wizard in the room that night.

But the weirdness that was Harry's life did not end there or that night. The life he remembered before learning he was a wizard was also abnormal although the family he lived with would be sure to debate that opinion considering they spent every waking moment trying to be as normal as possible. Well, his Aunt and Uncle did. His Cousin's idea of being normal was beating up anyone smaller than he was and Harry had always been smaller. Apparently, finding a baby on one's doorstep next to the milk containers was not normal, even if the baby was the son of a sister. Since Harry was not normal, he was treated as not normal and any sign of abnormality was met with at best ridicule although more often a beating and being locked in a cupboard under the stairs of his mother's sister's home which doubled as his bedroom. Even Harry soon learned that a closet was not a normal bedroom even for an unwanted house guest.

His Aunt and her husband – whose immense, cetacean like bulk placed him well out of the normal range of even morbidly obese people – further added to their delusions of normality by ignoring Harry existed right up until they realized he had to be sent to school. It was then he painfully learned that his real name was a somewhat normal and boring "Harry" and not "Freak" or "Boy" as he had always been called. It was also then, during a few weeks of visits to doctors and stuff to make up for years of not seeing doctors and getting the necessary shots (wherein his normal coveting Aunt was repeated berated for not being normal enough when it came to the health care of one Harry Potter) that Harry learned he needed glasses, a fact that earned him a beating, loss of dinner for a week (if picking through scraps left by the human garbage disposals could be considered a dinner) and a new excuse for his Cousin to pick on him and pound on him. School was about as normal as anything Harry had ever experienced, right up until he received his end of year marks his first year. He was way at the top of his class while his cousin was way at the bottom. For whatever reason, his Aunt and Uncle considered his marks abnormal and he was dealt with accordingly and spent the rest of his time at school trying to be normal like his cousin Dudley when it came to marks. The problem was Harry was born with a brain in his head.

After ten years of living with what he knew were the very abnormal, normal coveting Dursleys, Harry's abnormal life took a turn for the even more abnormal. Precisely as some clock somewhere struck midnight on July 31st, 1991, which was Harry's eleventh birthday, the wizarding world truly struck him right between the eyes. True, there had been warning signs in the days before, signs even Harry could not miss. After all, how often does anyone, abnormal or not, get swarmed by huge flocks of letter carrying owls considering that normal owls neither carry letters nor swarm nor congregate in flocks whether or not carrying post or swarming was on their day's schedule. Which was the other abnormal thing about the sign of swarming flocks of post carrying owls; the birds were doing their swarming postal duties in broad daylight. To avoid the not nearly as nocturnal as one would think avian swarms (and given his Aunt's obsession with cleanliness the piles of guano said swarms were sure to leave in their wake), his normal coveting relations dragged him and his fat cousin to a ruined shack on a rock off the coast, which Harry was certain was not normal in any way at all. It was here in the drafty cabin, which didn't even have electricity much less a telly for his cousin's favorite shows, that a very abnormal man burst through the door just after midnight (an abnormal time for guests) and proceeded to tell Harry he was a wizard.

The man was Rubeus Hagrid who probably topped eight feet in height and had long, scraggly hair with a matching beard and mustache, a long, travel worn duster yet went about carrying a pink umbrella. The very abnormal man then went on about Harry being a famous wizard who was supposed to be attending a school for real witches and wizards called Hogwarts in the fall which was not exactly a normal way to introduce oneself. Then again, learning that he was a wizard did explain some things – things which Harry had known were not normal. He had once grown his hair back overnight after his Aunt had all but shaved his head. He had also kind of jumped from the ground to the top of his school. Well, he really didn't remember jumping at all. He just wanted to get away from his Cousin Dudley and Dudley's gang of friends who had somehow broken into the school's athletic supplies and found a cricket bat and were looking to play cricket with Harry – although not in either a proper or friendly manner. Most recently there was the trip to the zoo where Harry learned he could talk to snakes although in that case of now explained abnormality his only regret was he didn't ask the snake to eat his cousin. Then again, given how fat his cousin was, one might consider it cruel to ask any creature to eat Dudley Dursley in a single setting.

Thus began Harry's education as a wizard and his entry into a world filled with witches, wizards, ghosts, dragons, magic and a host of other things his relatives would definitely not consider normal. But even here, Harry's life was far from normal and it was not just because his real parents had been killed by an evil wizard or that he had supposedly beaten this terrifyingly nasty wizard when he was a baby. His trip into magical abnormality may have begun his very first evening at Hogwarts when he convinced a manky old hat that was used to sort new students into one of four Houses that the hat was wrong. Actually, the hat merely wanted to put Harry into a house called Slytherin and it might not have been a big deal to Harry at all had he not met one Draco Malfoy who reminded him of a physically miniscule version of his bully of a cousin and who had just proudly been sorted into that House or Ron Weasley, a far more personable boy as compared to the odious Malfoy spawn who was convinced that Slytherin and evil were synonymous. So Harry argued with the hat and was sorted into Gryffindor. Harry had never told anyone that but he was sure that if getting the hat to change whatever it had for a mind was commonplace he would have heard about it by now.

The list of not normal things continued. After ignoring a teacher under threat of expulsion and getting caught by the Deputy Headmistress herself while riding a broom unsupervised, instead of getting punished properly – as at least a few of his classmates had wanted including his future best friend Hermione Granger and the odious Malfoy brat which may well have been the only time those two had been in agreement about anything – he was rewarded for his rule breaking and insubordination by being made the youngest Seeker in a century for his House Quidditch team. His means to that end notwithstanding, being the youngest anything in a century is not normal. Neither is running into a Cerebrus even if it was in the school and the Headmaster had made a statement to avoid that corridor under pain of death. Nor could one consider attacking and ultimately helping defeat a fully grown Mountain Troll at age eleven after only two months of classes, extenuating circumstances of saving his friend Hermione's life notwithstanding, particularly where she became his friend after the troll incident, normal in the least. Add to it a professor possessed by the supposedly dead dark wizard who killed Harry's parents who tried to kill him at least three times that year, and it was all very abnormal even by magical standards.

Harry had hoped his new life meant no more normal coveting Dursleys, but that was not to be and an encounter with a hyperactive and slightly masochistic House Elf found him locked in a room with bars in the window for the later part of the summer. It was the smallest bedroom in his relatives' house and not a jail per se, but how many other kids magical or not had been treated that way? Then there was a flying car and a break out from his domestic prison which, while exciting, could not be considered a normal, everyday sort of thing. Nor would stealing that car (actually, Ron stole it) and flying to school and crashing into a huge and apparently very violent tree. If anything, his second year was less normal than his first. He had a professor in Defense Against the Dark Arts who advocated that one's choice in mouthwash could be critical in defeating vampires, contrary to the learned works on the subject, and that was probably the most useful thing he taught all year. Then there was the fact that someone seemed to have opened some place called the Chamber of Secrets and released a foul beast that no one seemed to either know about nor could the faculty seem to figure out what it could be and it seemed to strike at random petrifying annoying cats and certain Muggle Born students – as in witches and wizards who had no magical parents – including his friend Hermione. Add to it the school blaming it all on him simply because they found out he could talk to snakes and it was destined to be a bad and very abnormal year.

But as abnormal it may have been for Harry, he was at least willing to conceded most of the abnormalities he experienced in the wizarding world were not unique to him, after all the threat from the Chamber of Secrets was not unique to him at all. What he would neither concede nor would tell anyone was the strange and persistent feeling he had had from the very moment Hagrid had burst into that shack on his eleventh birthday until now. Every moment since that time, every event, every smell however foul, every conversation, it all seemed as if it had happened to him before. It was déjà vu every day, all day. And just like déjà vu, while he had that sense everything had happened before, he had no sense about what was going to happen next and where there are possessed professors, trolls and massive basilisks skulking about trying to kill him or anyone, not knowing what was about to happen was disconcerting to say the least. What good was it to sense that this all had happened to him before if he could not take advantage of it to see that the bad stuff that was about to happen did not happen again? If he could do that, maybe Hermione and the others would not have been petrified to begin with. Furthermore, he was certain that even if he told Hermione about this sense of his, it would only prove what others were already thinking and Harry refused to believe he was mental even if denial might be a symptom of insanity. After all, until he realized that the creature that was petrifying people left and right was a basilisk – thanks to Hermione – and as such was a snake, he thought he was hearing voices in the walls of the school just before every attack which, Ron pointed out, was not normal even in the magical world – hearing voices that no one else could hear that is.

Harry Potter stood in a corridor near the entrance to the Headmaster's Office – or rather the gargoyle that blocked the entrance to the stair that led to the Headmaster's Office. He had been up all night. Just last night a message had been painted on the walls of another corridor stating "Her bones shall lie in the Chamber forever." It referred to Ron's sister Ginny who was missing and Harry had figured out where the entrance to the Chamber was. He had led Ron and Professor Lockhart (the one who was on about mouthwash and proper grooming as crucial weapons in the fight against evil) into the caves below the school via a secret passage that only one who spoke to snakes could open and, after the professor tried to erase their memories and erased his own instead, Harry went on alone to face Tom Riddle who was also known as Voldemort – the wizard who had killed his parents. He also faced a huge basilisk and somehow had defeated both, saving Ginny's life in the bargain. What followed was a long meeting with the recently reinstated Headmaster Albus Dumbeldore about his most recent adventure, one which was interrupted by a Mr. Lucius Malfoy, father of the odious Draco Malfoy and who, apparently, had set the whole chain of events in motion, not that he would admit to it. Harry had just tricked the vile Malfoy senior into freeing the hyperactive House Elf named Dobby and the man had reacted by trying to cast a spell at Harry. Dobby had magically cast the man out of the castle. Once again, Harry had that annoying feeling of déjà vu.

"The Great Harry Potter has freed Dobby," the elf said looking at Harry in awe. "How can Dobby ever repay him?"

Harry thought of a snarky reply like telling the elf never to try and save his life again, seeing as it often was a painful experience for Harry and seemed to have been increasingly so over time considering the last time Dobby tried to "help" or rather convince him he was in danger Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, had to re-grow all the bones in his right arm although that wasn't really the elf's fault. All the elf did was charm a Bludger to attack Harry during a Quidditch match and the iron ball had shattered his arm, an injury that Madam Pomfrey could heal quite quickly and with little additional pain. But that well groomed yet incompetent fop Gilderoy Lockhart who was rubbish as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had to prove he was rubbish at healing as well and had accidentally vanished all the bones in Harry's arm. Still, he had reason to steer clear of the little elf and was tempted to tell him not to try and save "the Great Harry Potter" again. But Harry then changed his mind.

"I would ask the same of you, Dobby," Harry said. To Harry's surprise, for the first time in almost two years he had no sense of déjà vu. He did his best to hide the elation he felt but could not help but wonder why this change had occurred.

"But … No. Dobby did not free Harry Potter from nasty wizards! Dobby could not even keep Harry Potter safe from nasty wizard's plans!"

"You saved me just now," Harry said. "Mr. Malfoy was going to cast the Killing Curse at me." Harry had no idea how he knew that. He knew of the Curse. Hagrid had told him that it was that curse which took his parents' lives the day after telling Harry he was a wizard. But aside from the curse's name, he had no idea about it. Dobby merely nodded in reply confirming Harry's suspicion.

"What do you want, Dobby, that I can give as a Thank You?"

Dobby looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. "Nothing. The Great Harry Potter frees Dobby. Dobby not be wanting more."

"But that was before that man tried to kill me and before you truly saved me. I owe you, Dobby."

Dobby began crying. "The Great Harry Potter owes Dobby? Wizards not be owing to House Elves. B-but the Great Harry Potter is no ordinary wizard. But why would the greatest wizard Dobby knows be owing anything to Dobby?"

"You saved my life just now, Dobby. Surely there's something I can do to show you thanks?"

Dobby looked at Harry with tears in his eyes and a brief glimmer of hope. Then he looked down again and shook his head. "Dobby be free elf. Dobby not be worthy of thanks. Dobby already…"

"Already what? I thought you wanted to be free. I thought you didn't want to be a slave."

"Dobby wanted to be free of bad masters," the elf replied. "Bad masters treats elves worse than slaves. But elves be needing wizard's magic and wizard's not be wanting elves who's been freed. Dobby knows this and knews it and … being freed is better than being with bad masters but …"

"Dobby," Harry interrupted, "you wish explain something to me?"

Dobby nodded clearly nervous and maybe even scared.

"Dobby, I promise you nothing you say will make me angry with you. About the most you'll have to worry about is that I'll be confused," Harry then laughed. "Then again, most of our talks have left me confused."

Dobby seemed to relax a little and looked at Harry with a slight smile on his face. "Not here," he said softly and grabbed Harry's hand. They were clearly somewhere else almost immediately and Harry had not felt a thing. He had traveled by floo once and it left him dizzy and a little queasy and he heard that portkeys and apparition were not much better and, depending upon the person, might even be worse than using the floo. But whatever Dobby had done had no ill effects as far as he could tell. He looked around and saw that he was in another corridor and guessed they were still in Hogwarts. Having never read _Hogwarts: A History_ which was a book his best friend Hermione had practically memorized, Harry did not begin asking questions about how Dobby had been able to do that given that the school's wards were supposed to prevent any forms of unauthorized magical travel. On one wall of the corridor there was a tapestry with a wizard dancing with some trolls which Harry did find very odd given his limited experience with trolls. Dobby was across from this tapestry and seemed to be pacing back and forth as if thinking about something when suddenly a door appeared in what had been a solid wall. He then turned to Harry in a manner as if expecting Harry to enter which Harry did. After all, magically appearing doors were rather mundane after what Harry had been through over the past two years. Still, he had not expected the room beyond. It was an exact copy of the smallest bedroom at Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, the room his relatives had cleaned out for him (much to his cousin's dismay as it had held piles of broken toys). Harry was moved from his former bedroom in a cupboard under the stairs to this one when one of those strange, post-carrying owls arrived with a letter addressed to that cupboard under the stairs.

Harry looked at Dobby as the door to the room closed. "Where are we?" he asked. While he was pleased he had absolutely no sense of déjà vu about this, finding himself at what he considered the most hated place on earth was not a pleasant change.

"Hogwarts Elves be calling it the 'Come and Go Room'," Dobby replied. "It be having other names, but Dobby not be knowing them."

"What is it? Why is like my room at my relatives?"

"It being a magical room in Hogwarts. Manys knows of its but fews do. Many have found it but never knows whats it is and forgets it. Only a fews have founds it and knows it and use it many times. Even the old wizard who's been here forever has founds it but only once and not again."

"Why's it so hard to find? What does it do."

"Oh, it no be hards to find, Harry Potter. It always in the same place. Wizards just don't thinks it to be special is all. But it is. It be very, very special. Yous pace outside across from the strange wizard with drunken trolls and thinks about whats yous wants the room to be. Yous pass by it three times while thinkings it and the room becomes whats yous wants and stays what yous want for so long as yous stays in it. Unless there being another who wants the same room you wants, no one else can enter while yous is here unless yous lets them. The Hogwarts elves be using versions of this room for ages and ages to hides things that's gets students in trouble or other reasons. The best thing is this room be having neither ears nor eyes."

"Ears and eyes?"

Dobby nodded. "The paintings, ghosts and Hogwarts elves all be loyal to old wizard and tells him everything theys sees and hears if he asks. He uses them to … er … spy on people too. But here? No spies here, Harry Potter. No one can sees or hears us. This be the room where Dobby first meets the Great Harry Potter so … so Dobby thought … because … well…"

"Why are we here?" Harry asked.

"Harry Potter frees Dobby from evil wizards and Dobby being happy to be free of evil wizards, but Dobby can't be free as Harry Potter knows free to be…"

"Why not? Why can't you?"

"Dobby being House Elf, Harry Potter. House Elves are bound to serve a family…"

"As a slave, you told me."

"No! Well, not always. House Elves need to be bound to serve a family! Even the House Elves here at Hogwarts are bound to serve their family!"

"What family?"

"Why the young witches and wizards whos lives here. They be a family of sorts. They be enough of a one."

"But why do elves have to…?"

"Dobby not be knowing why, Harry Potter Sir. Dobby just being knowing thats House Elves be needing wizard magic for their magic to work and if there be no wizard magic, Elf magic fades away and when it's gone, so is the elf."

"Are you saying that you have to be bound to a wizard family or you will die?"

Dobby nodded. "Not rights away. It be taking a long time. But it be slow and painful and…"

"Dobby, if I'd known that I'd've found another way! I wanted you to be free of them and happy not … not dead!"

Dobby smiled. "But Dobby is free of nasty wizard family and is happy and is honored that the Great Harry Potter woulds even thinks of helping such an undeserving elf…"

"You're not undeserving," Harry began.

"But Dobby won't be dyings from it 'cause Dobby is being already bound to new Master."

"What do you mean?"

"When an elf be given clothes they's free of their last master and can be bonding with any witch or wizard if they wants it and if the witch or wizard … if theys not be stopping it."

"What do you mean, Dobby?"

Dobby now looked embarrassed almost as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "The Great Harry Potter be freeing Dobby and nots be stoppings the bondings and…"

"Are you saying you're my elf now?" Harry asked in surprise.

Dobby nodded. Until this time Harry had been standing and with that nod he sat on the rickety bed and just stared at the elf. "Um…"

Harry saw tears forming in Dobby's eyes and the elf's lower lip began to quiver a bit. The elf then turned his back to Harry and began pounding his head against the dresser in the room. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!" he said as he thumped his head as hard as he could.

"Dobby! Stop it!" Harry commanded and the elf complied and turned around looking very contrite. "Why were you doing that?"

"Because Sir," Dobby began, "Dobby thoughts Harry Potter be needing an elf and hoped Dobby would be Harry Potter's elf but Dobby being wrong!" he wailed.

"Dobby, it's not that," Harry said as soothingly as he could. "I never even thought about having an elf until … well, until you told me you became my elf. I don't even know what an elf can do and … well, it's not like I have a lot of stuff or … But I never said I wouldn't want you as my elf if I need an elf, did I?"

Dobby shook his head.

"I would be honored to have Dobby as my elf," Harry began and the elf threw himself at Harry and began hugging Harry's legs crying his large eyes out while mumbling what sounded like thanks. "But," Harry said loud enough to get the elf's attention, "but I don't know what House Elves do. I don't even know if I have things for a hard working House Elf such as you to do. What can House Elves do anyway?"

As Dobby began describing all the ways he could help the Great Harry Potter, Harry listened intently and offered several ideas that could really be interesting, especially his ideas about how to deal with his Muggle relatives. All the while Harry thought to himself that a twelve year old wizard having his own House Elf probably was not normal at all. But at least he did not have the feeling that this had happened before.


	2. Chapter 2: A Different Beginning

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I appreciate the condoleces I received. Thank you.

Now, on with the tale...

P.S. not too much bashing in this one... Some, but not much.

Now again, on with the tale...

**CHAPTER TWO: A DIFFERENT BEGINNING**

Harry woke up finding himself in his own bed in the Gryffindor Second Year Boy's dormitory. The last thing he clearly remembered was that he was in the "Come and Go" Room with Dobby and they had been discussing various things that Dobby could do for Harry as Harry's elf. He did not remember many of the details of that talk, but it was clear to Harry that having an Elf as a friend and helper was probably a very good thing. He guessed he must have dosed off and Dobby had brought him back to his dorm. Harry sat up and put on his glasses and looked at his watch. With the sunlight shining through the windows Harry knew that the 11:30 must be in the morning which meant that lunch would be in about a half an hour. Harry was surprised it was so early considering he had been up all night and it must have been at least ten in the morning when he fell asleep and maybe later. He was surprised he felt so well rested.

He arrived in the Great Hall in time for lunch and headed immediately for his friend Ron who was seated with the other boys from his year in Gryffindor.

"Oi," Seamus Finnegan said, "lookie what the cat's drug in!"

"It seems sleeping - um - well sleeping Harry's decided to grace us mere mortals with his divine presence," Dean added.

"Hey," Harry protested. "I only got a few hours…"

"Mate, try two days or so," Ron said.

"Two days?"

"It's Sunday and you've been asleep since Friday afternoon."

"Bloody hell!" Harry began.

"Madam Pomfrey said something 'bout magical exhaustion," Ron added. "I guess there's something to that 'cause I got about fourteen hours sack time after it all."

"That's all?" Harry began.

"It's Ron, Harry," Seamus said. "Fourteen hours without stuffing his pie hole? Must be a record!"

"Oi!" Ron protested.

"Face it mate, you do like to eat," Harry said.

"I'm a growing boy! Course I like to eat!"

"Yeah," Dean chuckled, "we've noticed. We tell people to keep their distance and especially to keep their hands from being anywhere between you and food!"

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked trying to change the conversation even though he was pleased that he had no sense that it had happened before. He didn't need déjà vu to realize that Ron was about to get upset and, considering lunch was not on the table yet, it might get loud.

"St. Mungo's," Ron said. "What's taking so long?"

"What's St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.

"Magical hospital," Ron replied. "She's there for observation or something." He then pointed to his head as if to imply someone thought his sister might be crazy. "Mum's a bit upset by all of this, you know."

Harry could only nod in reply.

"So you really did go into the Chamber of Secrets?" Seamus asked. "What was it like?"

Harry nodded. "Ron was there."

"But not really in the Chamber, was I?" Ron said. "Lockhart and his damned backfire spell saw to that, didn't he?"

"Good one on that Ron," Dean said. "That ponce plain creeped me out all year."

"I merely did what any good Gryffindor would do," Ron said proudly. "Course it helps that Fred and George now see me as totally cool. Might avoid being their test subject this summer."

"Your attention please!" a voice said. Harry recognized the voice of Professor McGonagall, his Head of House and Transfiguration teacher. "As a reminder, all Second Years are to meet with their Heads of House this afternoon starting at one o'clock to finalize their electives for next fall. Now, enjoy the meal."

Harry had forgotten this was coming up what with all the stuff that was going on and with Hermione being petrified and all. He looked over at Ron who seemed totally unconcerned as the food had appeared and Ron was piling all he could onto his plate.

"A Sickle says Granger'll try and take the lot of them," Dean said.

"Hardly a fair bet," Semus replied. "You know she'll try that once she gets unpetrified this afternoon. A better bet would be that she doesn't sign up for the lot."

"Or that she can't take the lot for some reason," Neville added.

"Good point," Dean nodded.

"We're only required to take two additional courses," Ron said. "Hermione'll want to take all five, but I'm only taking two. No point in choosing to do more homework."

"So what are you thinking of taking?" Seamus asked.

"That's easy! Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Why those two?"

"'Cause they're supposed to be easy, that's why! Mum would want me to take the lot just like Bill and Percy did, but she's not here so it's those two. You're taking them two, aren't you Harry?"

Harry shrugged. A few days ago it would have seemed like a good idea. But now he was certain that it was not such a great idea. He was certain that if he did as he had thought of doing, that sense of déjà vu would return and he was willing to do just about anything to avoid that again. But he was not about to try and explain this to Ron. Ron probably wouldn't like it.

An hour later and after a large lunch, the nine Gryffindor Second Years were seated in the Transfiguration classroom waiting for Professor McGonagall their Head of House. Only Hermione was absent as she was still in the Hospital Wing although they had been told she would probably rejoin them by dinner time.

"Miss Brown," a voice called and the students saw their Head of House at the door which led to her office. Lavender Brown got up and walked towards the door. She was a blonde and also had the largest boobs thus far in their year in Gryffindor, a fact all of the boys had noticed and were noticing as she walked to the office. The rest of her classmates sat at their desks. Most of them were studying because the End of Year Exams were scheduled to start the next day, although Second Years did not have any exams scheduled that day or the next. Still, most of them were trying to revise while they waited to be called. Harry was one exception. He just didn't feel like studying and besides something told him it was unnecessary for some reason. His best mate Ron Weasley was also not studying, which was hardly a surprise. He had brought a pillow and was taking a kip at his desk.

Lavender's meeting with Professor McGonagall lasted about ten minutes and when it was finished she left the classroom and Seamus Finnegan was called in for his meeting. Seamus would have been followed by Hermione, but she was still in the Hospital Wing. So, when his meeting was up, Neville Longbottom was called into the office. Neville came out several minutes later with an odd expression on his face as Professor McGonagall called in "Miss Moon."

Lilith Moon had black hair and that was about all Harry really knew of the girl. In two years he might have said hello to her on occasion, but he never really got to know the young witch. He knew Hermione didn't like her for some reason and that as far as cliques went, she was not in any. She was friends with Donna Rivers who was also a Gryffindor Second Year, but as far as Harry knew the two of them kept to themselves. Harry knew Lavender Brown and her best friend Parvati Patil far better than he knew those two. The truth was Harry knew a lot of girls far better than those two.

Lilith was followed by Parvati Patil. Hermione said that Lavender was a bit of a gossip hound and Parvati seemed to be her preferred audience. Harry seldom if ever saw that part. When things were at the lowest for him earlier that year after he revealed that he could speak with snakes and most of the school thought he was the Heir of Slytherin who was seeing to all the petrifications that were occurring, Parvati had not totally ignored him. Lavender had not either, although it seemed that was more because Parvati didn't seem to be buying the school gossip about him than anything else. Parvati also had the distinction of making Seamus Finnegan's "Top Hottie" list that year which was somewhat remarkable since all the other "Top Hotties" were older and far more developed young women but Parvati was very pretty and exotic. She was Indian after all and her dark complexion coupled with her good looks was already beginning to capture notice from the male student body. Harry thought she was very pretty as well but wondered just how much her "hotness quotient," as Seamus called it, was due to the fact she had an identical twin sister in Ravenclaw. Still, she seemed nice in Harry's opinion.

Harry's name was called next and he wondered as he got up why he had spent most of the time musing about the girls in his year. He knew he was unconsciously comparing them to his best friend Hermione and all were found wanting for one reason or another. Among their failings when compared to his absent best friend, they were too girly, not smart enough, not nice enough or, the proverbial kiss of death, they were enamored with The Boy Who Lived.

He entered the office trying to shake his mind of such musings wondering why he had them in the first place. He really had not thought of girls in that way before, at least not for that long and he wondered why he was comparing them all to Hermione and finding them all lacking. Objectively speaking, Harry thought Hermione was pretty, but Lavender and Parvati were certainly prettier. But they fell by the wayside when it came to being to girly.

"Have a seat, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said which finally snapped his thoughts back to the reason he was here and that was not to think about various girls in that way. Harry took his seat.

"My usual address does not truly apply to you, Mr. Potter," she began which immediate caught Harry's attention as once again it proved that he was not normal. "As you know," she continued, "we are here to discuss your elective selections for next year. You have already been told you must select two electives but you can select more. Now under ordinary circumstances, your wishes are subject to three things: first off is my recommendation as to whether I feel you can handle the given course material. However, my feelings in that regard are only important where your parents or guardians have a say in your selections. As your parents have passed on and as your guardians have opted not to receive any reports considering your performance here at this school, I will not be making any such recommendations in your case. Finally, while two electives are covered as part of a Student's basic tuition, additional electives will require additional tuition. However, this only applies where a family pays its tuition each year. Your tuition was prepaid not long after you were born so the only real restrictions in your choices are what you want.

"That being said, I have a note here from Professor Dumbledore strongly recommending that you consider Divination as one of your electives."

Harry had that annoying sense of déjà vu again once he heard that and also sensed that it was somehow connected with that course. Ron had been annoying in his insistence that Harry take that class, which was hardly a recommendation at all since the only reason Ron thought it was worth taking was because it was supposed to be an easy mark. Why would Dumbledore want him to take a class that many students thought was a joke – even more of a joke than History of Magic or Defense Against the Dark Arts? He decided then and there not to take that course and that annoying feeling went away.

"Do I have to take that course just 'cause the Headmaster recommends it?" Harry asked.

"It is a recommendation, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said.

"Well, from what I've heard it's a rubbish course and I'd rather take something useful."

Harry could swear he almost saw Professor McGonagall smile, but the moment was too brief to be confirmed as a smile.

"I am certain that Professor Trelawney would beg to differ," McGonagall began.

"She's not my Head of House," Harry replied. "What is your opinion?"

He again thought he small a smirk begin to appear on the otherwise stern professor's face.

"Far be it for me to suggest that any course offered here is … of little or no utility. That being said, however, Divination is … Well, I will not say it's 'rubbish' as you suggested, Mr. Potter. Seers are real and therefore there is a basis for the magical art of Divination. But more so than any other branch of magic that I am aware of, Divination is of little use to many as they do not have the gift of foresight. Without that gift, the course is of little real utility. I am rather surprised that Professor Dumbledore bothered to make such a recommendation. It is the only time that I am aware of him making an unsolicited electives recommendation and it's all the more surprising when one considers he never studied that branch of magic as a student."

"So you would advise me against it?"

"I would advise you that unless you know you have such a gift – and I've neither heard nor have observed any evidence of it – your time and effort would be better used in another field of study."

"Professor Dumbledore didn't tell you why he recommends I take that course?"

"He did not."

"Well, if it's not important enough for him to tell me why I should take it, then it's not important enough for me to take it, is it? So we can skip Divination. He didn't make a similar recommendation about Muggle Studies, did he?"

"He did not. But in my opinion that is a more useful course…"

"Except that I live in that world when I'm not here," Harry said. "The pamphlet says it's to teach witches and wizards about Muggles and specifically to teach those who know nothing about Muggles. Sounds like a waste to me."

"You do have to take two electives, Mr. Potter. You seem to have rejected two already."

Harry shrugged. "The other three seem either interesting, useful or both."

"They are indeed," McGonagall nodded. "But I wish to point out that Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are perhaps the two most academically challenging electives we offer. While your marks are not terrible, they do show need for improvement. Your written papers are at best Acceptable as have been your written examinations. You do well on the more hands on practical examinations including in Potions which I know is not one of your favorite classes. But I point this out because most of your work in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes for the next three years would be theoretical. There's very little practical work in Runes unless you're taking the NEWT course and even less practical work in Arithmancy until NEWT levels. My only concern is that you might be stretching yourself too much in what are almost purely 'book work' classes."

It did not take a sense of déjà vu for Harry to see that coming. He knew his written marks were not great although he'd like to think that having Hermione look over his work had helped a lot.

"Arithmancy is used frequently in magical detection work and curse breaking right?" he replied. When McGonagall nodded Harry continued. "And Runes are a key component of magical Wards as well as the basis to enchant objects? Those seem like very important things to learn, don't you think? I know they're not easy, but they are important. And I must say that maybe my written marks would improve if it didn't seem like something or someone was trying to kill me or my friends all the time."

"I would like to think that your first two years here at Hogwarts was an aberration," McGonagall nodded. "It's usually not nearly that exciting. I was merely pointing out a pertinent fact for your consideration."

"I'll try harder," Harry said. "But I really want to take those two courses – and Care of Magical Creatures as well. That sounds interesting as well and considering I've run into a Troll, a Cerebrus, Acromantulas and a Basilisk already, it seems I should know a little about that, don't you think?"

"I can't disagree with that statement," McGonagall said with another odd smirk. "Just so you are aware, however, I'm pretty sure those creatures are not covered before NEWT levels."

"Still…"

"So you've made your selections?"

Harry nodded. "Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures."

McGonagall nodded. "I am pleased. I won't say it won't be a fair amount of work for you, but there was a part of me that was hoping you would make those selections. You should receive a letter in late July confirming your course selections and your book lists."

"Why late July?"

"Remember what I said earlier, Mr. Potter. Most of your classmate's selections need to be approved by their parents or guardians and until we have those approvals we cannot send out the class lists."

"Just so long as Professor Dumbeldore doesn't try and change my picks."

"What makes you think he would? It would be unprecedented as he does not involve himself in such selections as Headmaster."

"But he did suggest I take Divination which, I'd guess, is also something he doesn't usually do and I'm not doing as he suggests, am I? I'm not gonna take a course I don't want and probably won't like just 'cause he asked me to especially when no one can tell me why I should. I've asked him questions about why my parents were killed and other things and he just tells me a little while saying I'm too young or it's not important for me to know more now. Well if he wants me to take Divination, he'll have to tell me _why_ I should and because he thinks it's a good idea won't work!"

"I seriously doubt Professor Dumbledore would do any such thing," McGonagall protested.

"I'm not saying he would. But he suggested it to you and you say he doesn't do that so what reason do I have to think he won't try and change my class selections? I'm not saying I won't take it at all, but if he wants me to consider it at all I want six feet of parchment from him explaining all the facts I need to understand the why of it and I mean facts I can research independently if I want to, not just what he says on the matter!"

"I'm sure that won't be necessary, Mr. Potter."

"I'm not so sure, Professor. In my two years here, I've nearly been killed at least six times and at least three of those times were not accidents or me being like my father and trying to get into trouble. Add to it one professor who tried to kill me and another who cared more about hair care than his job who then tried to take away my memories and what am I supposed to think? Not once has any of this been explained to me. Add to it a Headmaster who seems to take an abnormal interest in me as a student and … You do know I hate all this Boy-Who-Lived rubbish, don't you? The one way you can be assured I won't like you all that much and certainly won't respect you is if you buy into that stuff at all! I don't like being treated differently or any of that. I don't want special treatment 'cause my parents are dead and certainly not because of the way they died. You want my opinion? I seriously doubt I did anything as a baby and surviving is not doing anything special. So, if Dumbledore thinks I need some kind of special treatment, he can bloody well tell me why and he can shut it if he thinks what happened that night is enough!"

Professor McGonagall was dumbstruck having not expected that at all.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said. "I guess I'm still a little upset with all that's happened."

"It's quite alright, Mr. Potter. I shall place you down for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures for next year and should the Headmaster insist on any other selection, he will have to explain himself to me as well."

"Thank you, Professor."

"What took you so long?" Ron asked as Harry sat down in the Great Hall for dinner that evening.

"What do you mean?"

"You were in with McGonagall forever, or at least that's what Dean told me."

"Dean told you?"

"Yeah mate. I was dreaming about a mountain of sweets. But he said you were in there a really long time – a lot longer than anyone else. Seamus's betting you were trying to take all the electives. Then again, the odds on that are so long he got few takers."

"I wasn't trying to take them all," Harry said. "We were discussing other things, actually."

"What sort of things?"

Harry just shrugged and fortunately Ron did not press on taking it as a hint that he would not find it interesting at all.

"So you got the classes you wanted?" Ron asked.

"Yeah."

"Brilliant! We got that Creatures class and Divination and loads of free time next year!"

Harry again shrugged. He had never told Ron he was planning to take Divination nor had he told Ron he was not going to take that course and figured now was not a good time to bring that sort of thing up.

"We'll see," Harry said noncommittally. "I'm not sure about loads of time – unless I were to quit Quidditch."

"Why the bloody hell would you want to do that?"

"Well, if I want loads of time to sit around and hang out, I'd probably have to quit seeing as Wood's rather put out 'bout McGonagall cancelling our last match and was certain we'd've won the Cup if she hadn't and he's determined to win it next year. It seems each year we don't win the Cup, the next year he doubles our practice time. So I might need that free time to do homework and…"

"You sure you're all right, Mate?" Ron asked with concern. "I mean, for a moment there you sounded a bit like Hermione. I've been saying you spent far too much time with her in the Hospital Wing."

"What's wrong with Hermione?"

"Nothing," Ron added defensively. "I just don't consider the library as a fun time and she does."

"And it's been useful. She did come up with who Nicholas Flamel was last year and the idea for Polyjuice this year…"

Ron laughed. "And she became a cat girl!"

"And the Basilisk."

"I'm not saying she isn't useful to have around, mate. But you gotta admit the library is boring."

Harry shrugged. Deep down he didn't care about Quidditch nearly as much as Ron did and he couldn't play chess worth a damn either. He played the game because he loved flying and he was good at his position. Ron could quote every rule in the book. The only "rule" Harry could quote was Wood's Rule – catch the Snitch or die trying. Harry was certain if Ron were in his shoes, Ron would be talking about going pro or something. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to do Quidditch all the time at all. He probably had more in common with Hermione than he did with Ron considering she was raised in the Muggle world as he was. But Ron was his first friend and best mate, so Harry didn't say anything.

Then the sense of déjà vu set in again, although not nearly as powerfully or annoyingly as before. Neville told everyone that Hemione was back and when Harry looked, there she was just entering the Great Hall. He stood and she ran straight at him and gave him a hug that resulted in teasing wolf whistles from around the Hall, although mostly from Gryffindor table. She then did not hug Ron at all, but merely shook his hand and made some offhand comment about how they figured out about the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets, at which point the sense of déjà vu seemed to pass.

"Well," Harry said, "you did tear a page from a library book that had the bit about a basilisk and you did write on it telling us the thing was using the plumbing to get about…"

Harry could not tell if she blushed with embarrassment or was mortified at having defiled a library book. "Course it was a bit before I noticed that crumpled up page in your hand. After that it was easy, although there was no real reason to do anything about it 'til Ginny disappeared – which was the same day as I recall."

"Oh?" Hermione asked. "How was it easy when we couldn't figure it out at all?"

"'Cause we knew that the Chamber was opened fifty years ago and a Muggle Born died. Draco said so, but he wasn't the only one. That diary told me that the girl died in a bathroom. At the time it meant nothing."

"What diary?" Hermione asked.

"Um, that blank one I found?" Harry offered.

"You mean the one that told you Hagrid opened the Chamber?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah."

"Which we didn't believe," Ron added.

"You mean he did?" Hermione asked.

"No. He was framed for it all right."

"The owner of that diary Tom Riddle framed him for that murder back then."

"How? Hagrid would never…!"

"But he did have a great ruddy spider hidden in the castle at the time," Ron said. "We saw it. Bloody thing's as big as a house and living in the Forbidden Forest with hundreds of its huge bloody kids! Hagrid's friend was gonna feed us to them 'cause Hagrid wasn't around to stop it!"

"Where is Hagrid?"

"Azkaban prison," Harry said. "As soon as you were petrified, the Minister for Magic shows up to haul him away. Usual suspects, you know."

"And Malfoy's git for a father showed up as well to give Dumbledore the sack," Ron added.

"Dumbledore's gone?"

"Nah. Once word got out that a Pureblood was a victim, they reinstated him right quick, though not quick enough to help my sister."

Hermione nodded. "So how did that diary help?"

"Well, I knew it had something to do with things," Harry said. "It showed me the night when that girl died and when Riddle framed Hagrid and it told me that she died in a bathroom. Then I thought about moaning Myrtle who doesn't look like she's been a ghost for centuries and haunts that Second Floor bathroom – and nowhere else. So it seemed plausible that she was the girl who died the last time the Chamber was opened. Then it was just a matter of asking her and she pointed out where the basilisk was the day she died – by a sink in that bathroom. I figured that it was possible you needed to speak Parsletongue to open the entrance to the Chamber 'cause we're were told many times that the Castle had been searched and nothing was found. Then again, it wouldn't be would it? You'd need a Parslemouth to find it and sure enough, there it was."

"So you read the part about how to kill it," Hermione continued, "and got a couple of roosters…"

"Didn't have time to get any roosters," Ron said. "And I seem to have missed that bit. What can a rooster do to a bloody huge snake?"

"It's crow kills a basilisk," Hermione said primly. "Why didn't you bring a rooster?"

"I told you, no time!" Ron said. "Ginny had been taken down there and any minute we wasted looking for a ruddy bird and she'd be dead. It was a close run thing as it was!"

"Sorry," Hermione said. "So what did you bring to kill it."

"Professor Lockhart," Harry and Ron said in unison.

Hermione snorted and it was clear she was trying not to laugh at them.

"Well he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and McGonagall had told him to deal with whatever it was," Ron said defensively.

"What he do? Smile at it?" Hermione said sarcastically.

"Actually, he was trying to do a runner," Ron said, "but Harry and I got a drop on him and…"

"Apparently, Second Year's are out of his league," Harry added. "We brought him with us."

"Why'd you do that?"

"You mean aside from the fact he's a slimier git than Snape and a coward who'd let my sister die?" Ron started.

"There was that," Harry said. "I also thought he could go in front that way he'd let us know if the basilisk was out and about."

"And how would he do that?"

"Hadn't really thought about that. I guess he'd either drop dead or scream like a girl and piss his knickers."

"You never know," Ron said. "Maybe his scream would kill it, after all he did crow about how great he was all the time. But we never found out. The git got my wand and tried to obliviate Harry and me, just like he did all the witches and wizards who actually did the stuff in his books."

"That," Hermione started with a hiss.

"Now Ron," Harry interrupted, "I'm sure the real people who did all those things were absolutely clueless about proper grooming, color coordination and how to look good for the camera."

"So what happened? Obviously he didn't obliviate you."

"He used Ron's wand," Harry said. "You know it's been dodgy all year! The spell hit him instead."

Hermione gasped.

"Unfortunately," Ron chuckled, "the git still seems to remember about proper grooming and color coordination, but he can't remember anything else."

"Like his name," Harry added. "We've heard he'll be in St. Mungo's for a long, long time."

Hermione chuckled briefly. "So you two went on?"

"Uh no," Ron said. "The roof caved in the same time as his spell misfired and I was stuck on one side and Harry the other. He went on while I tried to dig a whole large enough for them to get out."

"You went on alone?" Hermione asked in a way that almost sounded like she was scolding Harry.

Harry merely shrugged.

"Just you and a wand? Harry, I know I've said you're a powerful wizard and such, but basilisks are particularly resistant to magic! I couldn't find anything about spells that might work."

"Didn't use my wand to kill it, did I?" Harry replied.

"But you said you didn't have a rooster!"

"But I did have a sword, the Sword of Gryffindor to be precise."

"Okay, where did that come from? You didn't say a thing about having a sword when you went off to play hero again!"

"Cause I didn't have it when we got down there!"

"So a sword just magically appears out of thin air when you need it and you kill that thing with it? Harry, I did see it briefly and I'm pretty sure it was huge!"

"Yes, it was. Sixty feet at least and it was as thick around as I am tall. And yes, a sword did sort of appear out of thin air. Well, actually Fawkes arrived with the Sorting Hat and I pulled the sword out of the hat."

"Fawkes?" Hermione asked.

"Dumbledore's Phoenix. Will you let me tell the story?"

"Sorry."

"So, I get into the Chamber proper which is really creepy. Think of a cathedral to snakes and Salazar Slytherin, only creepier. And before you ask, no I didn't have the sword yet and there was no sign of the basilisk. There, at the far end of the Chamber lying before a huge – and rather ugly statue of Slytherin himself was Ginny. She was cold and not breathing so I thought… Then Tom Riddle showed up."

"You mean the guy from the diary?"

Harry nodded. "He wasn't quite real yet, but he wasn't a ghost either. I don't know anything about the magic he was using, but somehow he was using the diary to control Ginny. Ginny was the one who had opened the Chamber and all of that, although she would have no memory of it. And he was now using the diary to – um – I guess kind of suck out her life force and when it was all gone she'd be dead and he would be alive."

"That sounds rather farfetched," Hermione replied skeptically.

Harry shrugged. "He made a convincing argument and I was really in no position to debate the thing. He then said he now wanted to kill me – like that's a surprise. I wondered why and he went on about how Dumbledore was scared of him and all of that which I doubted and then … then he told me who he really was. Oh, he was Tom Riddle but he hated that name 'cause it was his Muggle father's name and he hates them. He turned his real name – his full real name – into an anagram that most people now know him by. His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. The anagram is," Harry leaned in and whispered: "I am Lord Voldemort."

Hermione gasped as did Ron. "You mean he's…" Hermione began.

"He became him, yes," Harry said. "So he then says he's gonna kill me and that's when Fawkes showed up with the Sorting Hat which really scared the piss out of him – like not. That's when he set the Basilisk on me. I didn't wait around and took off. Fawkes then attacked the basilisk and gouged out its eyes."

"Convenient," Hermione noted.

"Very. But it was still dangerous and that was when I pulled the sword from the hat and drove it through the things head when it tried to bite me. Actually, it did bite me."

Hermione gasped. "But they're really poisonous!"

Harry nodded. "But Phoenixes have healing tears and Faulkes healed up the injury. Still, Riddle was still there and now had my wand."

"How'd he get that?"

"I guess I dropped it."

"Oh Harry," Hermione said shaking her head.

"Ginny was still out of it," Harry continued, "so I did the only thing I could think of and stabbed the diary with the basilisk fang I had pulled from my arm."

"Why?"

Harry shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. And apparently it was the perfect thing to do 'cause the diary began spilling this black ooze as I stabbed it and Riddle was kind of ripped to pieces before he kind of blew up and disappeared and when that happened, Ginny woke up. She had no idea where we were or how she got there."

"So it was that diary?"

"Apparently," Harry nodded, "and although I can't prove it, I think Mr. Malfoy slipped it to her that day in Diagon Alley when he and Ron's Dad got into a fight. Dumbledore suspects him as well and is certain the diary, Tom Riddle and Voldemort are connected."

"So what was that diary?"

Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore didn't say."

"Do you think he knows?"

"I think he suspects, but he wasn't about to tell me or Ron what it was – or Mr. Malfoy come to think of it."

Before Hermione could offer another comment, the door opened and Hagrid walked in.

"Sorry I'm late," he said loud enough for all to hear. "The owl that was sent with my release papers was all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird named Erroll."

Harry and Hermione glared at Ron who looked a little sheepish.

"And I'd like to say this," he added as he reached where Harry and his friends were seated. "If it weren't fer you Harry, and Ron and 'o course, you Hermione, I'd probably still be you know where."

Harry had that odd sense of déjà vu again even as he said: "It's not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Yes, I saw the last installment of the Harry Potter movie empire. It was late on opening night and the place was sold out. Most of the audience had quite literally grown up on Harry Potter (as I heard them discuss as we waited to get in.) It was, in my limited opinion, the best Harry Potter David Yates (director) has put out. The audience applaused when Molly Weasley snuffed Bellatrix and again, even louder, when Neville took out the snake. Not so much when Harry finished off Voldemort. They kind of took the fun out of it by then. My major complaints ... Fred is dead, Remus and Tonks are dead (as in Cannon) and unless you read the books, why should we care? Fred's there one minute, gone the next (in the movie). Remus and Tonks are only barely explained. They are expendable in this movie version, their lives not as hard to lose. But maybe that's just me. Aside from minor complaints that would have easly added a half hour to either Part One or Part Two or both, it was a good flick. Then again, after an hour waiting in line and the half hour or so before the flick began, by hour one I was crossing my legs really needing to pee...

**Chapter Three**

During the meal that night, Dumbledore announced his school treat which was the cancellation of end of year exams. This had disappointed Hermione, who seemed to live for exams, and who was unimpressed with Ron trying to convince her it was a good deal. Harry had to admit that Ron had a valid point. Hermione had missed a total of seven weeks of classes over the term between her partial transformation into a cat in late December over the Christmas Holiday and the last three weeks of classes when she was petrified. She argued that while she missed classes back in the month of January, she had kept up with her classes and assignments. She tried to argue that she could catch up on the last three weeks before she actually had to sit for the exams, but only she really believed that. Ron, of course, was over the moon about not having exams and Harry was rather pleased he had not spent that time while awaiting his meeting with McGonagall studying as it now would have been a wasted effort.

But the cancelling of exams was not as simple as it sounded. First of all, it had no effect on the Fifth Year or Seventh Year students who were scheduled to take their O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s as those exams were administered by the Examination Board which did not answer to either Headmaster Dumbledore or the Hogwarts Board of Governors and could not be cancelled just because the Headmaster thought it was a good idea. This meant that those years did not get out of their exams. Second of all, the Hogwarts Express also was not under the direct control of the Headmaster or the Board of Governors, which meant that it was still scheduled to make its run from Hogwarts to King's Cross Station in London a week from the coming Friday and could not be rescheduled. Apparently, it was also not possible to ask it to make an unscheduled run to and from Hogwarts.

Oliver Wood took this as a boon and began scheduling Quidditch practices. After all, he was a Sixth Year and therefore was now exempt from exams. All the other members of his team were Fourth Years or below, again exempt from exams. The first thing he did was try and convince McGonagall that the last game of the season should be rescheduled so Gryffindor would have a chance at the Quidditch Cup. Actually, it was more than a chance given that they would have played Hufflepuff which had lost both of its other games and did not look like it had a chance against the Gryffindor team at all. But Hufflepuff also had have four players who were in either their Fifth or Seventh Year so that idea was quickly put to rest regardless of how much McGonagall wanted her team to have its shot. So Oliver tried to schedule practices. He would have scheduled all day, every day if he thought he could get away with it, after all the entire team would be returning next year and he had not seen any "new" talent that could conceivably make the playing squad.

Oliver was one of a handful of students in Gryffindor who thought this idea was brilliant and the others were like Ron: rabid Quidditch fans but not on the team. The entire team aside from their Captain thought they would rather do anything other than go through his grilling practices, thank you very much. Fortunately, Oliver's plans were overtaken by events. The morning after he began booking the pitch it was announced that all students who were not required to sit exams were free to use the school floo to return to their homes. The only restrictions were that their parents had to know they were coming and that they could only floo to their homes and not, for example, to Diagon Alley.

This idea did not sit well with many of the students raised in the Muggle World as they could not floo home even if they wanted to for their homes were generally forbidden access to the magical transportation network and it would take too long to set up a temporary floo – assuming the homes even had a fireplace to begin with. Harry was not among the Muggle Raised who were upset as he was in no hurry to return to his relatives, once it was clear he had to. Ron had invited him to go to the Weasley house called The Burrow which Harry was more than willing to do, but Dumbledore had made it clear that this was not an option. Harry had to return to his relatives for the first month of the Summer Holiday because it was "important" that he did so. Ron was at least as disappointed as Harry was to learn that Harry had to either stay at Hogwarts or find a way back to his relatives early, which Harry was not about to do. But Ron was not so disappointed to stay around any longer than he had to and he left the Wednesday after the announcement or ten days before the Hogwarts Express was due to depart.

This early departure killed Wood's idea for practice as by that Wednesday evening only he, Harry and Katie Bell remained. The rest of the team had left that day. Wood would leave in a bit of a huff the next morning feeling that his team had bailed on him big time although he was pretty certain Harry and Katie would have as well if they could have flooed home. Harry was not about to tell him otherwise. By that Wednesday evening, aside from the obviously stressed out Fifth and Seventh Year students, the school had become almost deserted. Only the Muggle Raised students who had not been invited to stay for a time with a magically raised friend or a very small handful of magically raised students whose parents were out of town remained at the school. In Gryffindor, the Second Years were down to just Harry, Dean Thomas and Hermione. Dean had few complaints as he wondered aloud what it would be like to sleep in their dormitory without the snoring twins Ron and Neville. Hermione had spent practically every spare moment since she was released from the Hospital Wing in the Library studying. Harry only saw her at meals thus far where she made it clear that she might as well take advantage of the time to get caught up in her classes. After all, she was going to be taking all the electives next year and it would not do to start off behind. This comment was made after Seamus had left for the summer so it was not possible to debate whether there was a bet in play or not.

Harry was at a bit of a loss how to spend his time. He did decide to spend some of it working on the homework that many of his professors had assigned over the summer, but he was reluctant to do it in the library even if it meant being with his friend because she was still trying to catch up and would spend the time grilling him about his class notes which she had borrowed.

"Honestly Harry! How can I use your History of Magic notes? You write one paragraph and maybe two and then it's just a squiggly line off the page. What were you doing?"

"Um … falling asleep?"

"Oh honestly!" she would add in disgust. "Is it so hard to stay awake in class?"

"It's Binns!" Harry protested. "He's a ghost and a boring one at that! Everyone falls asleep in that class!"

"I don't!"

"Well … you're special."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry blushed. "Um … er … I didn't mean it in a bad way. But … well you should know he rarely ever says anything that's not in the book and when he does it's not on the test so…"

"Granted. But it's rude and how can you know if he says something important that's not in the book if you're asleep?"

Harry spent a few hours a day with Hermione in the library for he truly had missed his friend even if he had yet to tell her so. Ron had not bothered to spend time with her if that meant time in the library. He also had not spent much time with her during either of her lengthy stays in the Hospital Wing whereas Harry had, especially when she was petrified, which was also something he wasn't going to tell her unless she brought it up. But it was as if it had never happened at all as she was focused on her studies as usual. Still, Harry was pleased to spend time with her even if they didn't really do anything that Ron might consider fun.

But Harry also felt the need to study alone and be alone as well. He felt he had a lot to think about given what had happened that year. He had tried to do that in the Common Room in Gryffindor Tower, but those Fifth and Seventh Year students who were not all but locked away in the Library preparing for their exams were there preparing for exams. It was annoying to say the least. Harry really had not noticed the stress level from last year and wondered whether he simply had not noticed or whether it was truly higher this year given the events with the Chamber of Secrets. Those O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. students were all moody and in bad tempers and seemed apt to break out in some kind of tantrum at the drop of a hat or, much to Harry's amusement especially as he was not the one who was the victim of the tirade for breathing too loud. Harry was forced to wonder if the stressed out Fifth Year who let loose upon that First Year had taken a page from Snape's book or whether, perhaps, Snape had taken it from his own experiences preparing for those exams.

To avoid the stress many of the younger students left the Castle altogether. Third, Fourth and Sixth Year students who remained behind for whatever reason were allowed to spend quite a bit of their time in Hogsmeade Village, although this only really lasted a couple of days for by then most of them were out of money. First and Second Years like Harry were not allowed off the school grounds so many of them could be seen walking about or lying in the grass or, as in the case of Dean Thomas and several other muggle raised children, kicking a football about. While Harry might have been a prodigy at Quidditch, something he would never openly admit, he knew he was rubbish at football so he avoided that group as best he could. Instead, when he ventured outside he found his way to a large, shady tree near the shore of the Black Lake. He was spending his time there just looking out over the lake and thinking or not thinking at all. He would not spend the whole day doing this, just a couple hours or so where he was away from the Library and the intense atmosphere in the Common Room. It was quiet there and away from the interruptions that seemed to be common elsewhere. That and his new routine since Ron had gone home did not give him that annoying sense of having been done before.

It was Saturday afternoon, a week before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to take the remaining students back to London, and Harry was alone beneath the tree. Hermione was her intense self in the Library, hoping to complete all her missed work before Monday so she could begin on her summer assignments which Harry had more than begun. He hoped Hermione would have the time to look over his essays in Charms and Transfiguration. He had yet to start his Potions Essay, which was almost as usual as that class made him almost feel ill just by thinking about it and the odious man who taught it. He also had not started his History of Magic essay, but that was more due to the fact that the class was both boring and he thought kind of useless even if it was required. His remaining three classes had no summer assignments. Professor Sprout taught Herbology and had never assigned summer work. Professor Sinestra taught astronomy and also did not assign summer work, aside from a strong suggestion to try and review the previous year's material at some point prior to resuming classes. As there was currently no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher seeing as the fraud Professor Lockhart was now a long term resident of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, there were also no summer assignments for that class. Harry had brought his Potions book with him to the tree but he knew he probably would not open it as he looked out over the still lake to the mountains in the distance.

"This is a very pretty spot," a voice said. Harry turned and saw a girl standing nearby. She was not facing him, just looking out over the lake and towards the mountains. She was barefoot, but otherwise seemed to be wearing a class uniform although from this angle he could not tell what house she may have been in only it was certainly not Gryffindor. She had a pretty profile, he thought and long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail that easily fell to the middle of her back. Her hair almost looked unkempt, as if she did not wish to bother with combs, brushes or mirrors as many girls were wont to do yet at the same time her windblown appearance also seemed as if ever strand of hair was exactly where it was meant to be. She was pleasant to look at as Harry tried not to stare at her. He knew he had seen her around but also knew he had no idea what House she was in or what her name was. At best, all he could guess was her year as he was fairly sure she was a First Year. But seeing as he missed the Sorting Ceremony at the beginning of the year due to his being involved – albeit as a passenger – in a flying car that crashed into the particularly malevolent Whomping Willow; he really could not be certain of her year. The truth was he really did not pay much attention to many of the students at the school.

"A very nice spot to sit and think," she said turning towards him and he noticed her eyes first. He could not tell what color they were for they were either a pale grey or pale blue or perhaps both. They seemed to express a sense of wonder which he found surprisingly refreshing and she had a pleasant expression on her face to top it all off. Her school robes were open for it was warm outside. She wore the grey skirt that certainly all the lower year girls wore and the white blouse, which was not tucked in. Her bronze and blue tie, which lay draped around her neck yet untied, told him she was a Ravenclaw and he could see that the top two buttons were undone, again perhaps because it was warm. He had a feeling that he met this girl before somewhere and not just passing in the halls of school. But this feeling was not déjà vu as he had no sense that this moment had ever happened before. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked very innocently which was a refreshing change from how many first addressed him. There was none of this "Wow! You're Harry Potter, aren't you?" stuff. Harry could only nod.

The girl knelt on the ground sitting on her heels. "I should have asked if I could kneel," she said looking at him and not at where his scar was supposed to be. "I suppose I could sit, legs outstretched and all, but I am wearing a skirt and we are close to the shore and I should be mindful of the Bedderjigs in the lake." She then leaned closer and whisper. "They like to look up girls' skirts and ogle knickers for some reason. It's very rude and I shouldn't tempt them, don't you think?"

"Bedderjigs?" Harry asked.

"Well, I haven't seen any personally but it's best to assume they're there and not tempt them too much," the girl replied. She then looked out across the lake. "This is a very pretty spot, truly," she said.

"Have – um – have we met before?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Oh, I don't think so," the girl said. "I'm pretty sure that would be a real memory, don't you think? I do have a feeling we should have met or something like that, but I think that's just an after effect of my Wrackspurt infestation."

"Y-your what?"

"Wrackspurts," she said. "They're small, invisible things that get in through your ears and make your mind all foggy and dodgy and such. I'm pretty sure that explained why everything from just before my eleventh birthday until just the other day seemed as if it happened before. It was really disconcerting."

"You … that happened to you too?" Harry asked in surprise.

The girl nodded and then looked concerned. "But I never knew what was going to happen next, unless it was obvious."

"Oh? Obvious?"

"Well, like if you saw someone throw a rock into the lake. You would know it would make some sort of splash before it did, right? That's obvious. But … well, there were a lot of things that were not obvious that I was sure had happened before but could not see what would be next and often it would have been nice to see what was coming."

Harry mouth dropped. "The same happened to me! It began on my eleventh birthday and ended … last Saturday morning."

The girl's eyes got wide. She leaned in and whispered "Did you get a letter from a friend knowing you had no friends who would write to you too?"

"Um … no. I just had a long talk with a House Elf."

"Oh. But that's odd too, isn't it? Had you ever done that before?"

"No. Not really. Not like that."

"Odd. And here I thought I was the only one. I'll admit my Daddy's a bit off, but I was afraid I was too and now … then again, maybe we are both a bit off."

"I don't think you're off," Harry said.

"Thank you, I think," the girl replied. "No. I can tell you meant it and are being honest and from the heart. Thank you," she concluded with a very engaging smile.

"Um … what is your name?" Harry asked nervously.

The girl gave a brief giggle. "I did seem to forget a proper introduction, didn't I? Guess there might be Wrackspurts about after all even if they had nothing to do with…" she paused as if thinking hard "… oh, poo! I can never remember that silly French word, assuming it's French of course."

"Déjà vu?" Harry offered.

"Yes, that's it. It's a silly word, don't you think?"

Harry could only nod.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," she said, "and yes I've been told it sounds like a Bond Girl's name."

"A what?"

"A Bond Girl. James Bond? Not that I really know what that it all about but I'm told it's a famous fictional character in the Muggle Books and … I guess they're called Picture Shows? He does secret stuff that's very dangerous trying to protect people from very bad people and he always gets a pretty girl with a name that implies … well what he and the girl will do together when he gets her."

"Oh," Harry chuckled. "Never seen it or read it myself, but my roommate Dean Thomas is a fan. You mean names like Mary Goodnight, Honey Ryder, Plenty O'Toole, Holly Goodhead, Pussy Galore and the like." Had Harry thought about it he might have found it odd that he was not blushing.

"That's it! Yes. Well, it's been pointed out to me by some boys in Ravenclaw that Lovegood fits that sort of name thing although I really don't know why. I also don't know why they think my first name should be Wanda or some other odd names."

"Sounds like they're just being mean," Harry offered.

"Maybe. But I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt. I might be upset if I … if I had any real friends," she added with a sad expression crossing her face.

"You don't have any…?" Harry began.

Luna shrugged. "I had one when I was little. She was the only little witch around my age and we used to play together all the time. But when I was around seven or eight I made fun of her favorite fictional character and she got all upset and never came over again. I think there might have been more to it than that. I think my Mum knew there was more, but she never told me before she died."

"She … she died?"

Luna nodded. "I was nine at the time. My Mum was a brilliant witch and was a Spell Crafter. Well, one of her spells went very, very wrong one day and there was a flash of light and loud bang and she was on the floor bleeding and I couldn't do anything to help her. She said I did just by being with her. But she died."

"I'm sorry," Harry began.

"Don't be silly. I know you're saying that to be nice, which is nice come to think of it, but you couldn't save her and you didn't know her or me back then. Still, I do get sad about it from time to time and it's nice to hear someone say that they care. I wish my Daddy would, but he … well, he was never the same after it happened and I think he wants to pretend none of it ever happened. I mean, what would you think if I said I was sorry about your parents?"

"Um…"

"You would hope I was being nice or trying to care but you would be afraid I was either being patronizing or trying to get something from you, right?"

Harry shrugged.

"You might not think that way, not in the front of your brain where you hear it, but deep down you don't want people to feel sorry for you, do you? Okay, maybe certain special people, but not most people, right?"

"I … I suppose. How'd you know …?"

Luna seemed to pale. "I really didn't want to mention that. I don't have … well, how can I have friends if I say the wrong things even if I don't really mean them in a wrong way?"

"You're just being yourself? Just being open and honest?"

"And now you're going to say something mean and insulting like everyone else and once again I'll be alone," she said in a borderline whimper.

"No. Actually, I wasn't even thinking that."

"You weren't?"

Harry shook his head and smiled when Luna smiled at him.

"Thank you, Harry. I can call you that, can I?"

Harry nodded. "Um … how'd you…?"

"Know your name, Harry Potter?" she replied.

Harry nodded.

"I know you don't like it but everyone here knows your name. I grew up with magical parents and in this world so I knew of your name when I was little. But unlike most people you've probably met, I can only honestly say I know your name. You are Harry Potter, a Second Year in Gryffindor who plays on his House Quidditch Team. Few can truly say more than that, can they?"

"But…?"

"The-Boy-Who-Lived is a myth, Harry. He always has been. All you have in common with that fictional character is a name."

"But … but my parents! That night! The scar!"

Luna gave him a shrug. "What does anyone really know about that night? You-Know-Who vanished, or so they say and even if he didn't he's not talking about it to anyone. Your parents died. Unfortunately that is a fact that can be verified. You did not die. No one truly knows why."

"But I survived the Killing Curse?"

"Did you? Did you really? Or is that something someone else wants everyone to think? Do you remember what happened that night?"

Harry shook his head.

"And You-Know-Who isn't around talking about it and the only other two people who might know anything, who might have seen anything that happened are dead. What really happened that night? Did a baby little more than a year old defeat the most feared wizard of the age without even a wand or the ability to cast a spell? Did the baby really survive the Killing Curse? I suppose it is _possible_ but no one can really say, can they?"

"But the scar…"

"Harry, that is a fact. You do have one. But it is actually evidence against the Killing Curse theory. That curse leaves no marks, no evidence at all not even a magical signature. It just leaves an otherwise healthy but very dead body."

"How do you …? Why do you …?"

"I am in Ravenclaw, Harry. We do read … a lot. And we are taught practically from the beginning that not everything written is true or correct or accurate. We're taught to look for facts and recognize speculation and conjecture for what they are. Speculation and conjecture are theories that fit the few facts there are but not the facts themselves. They could be what happened. They could also be totally false. So we know that You-Know-Who attacked your family and killed your parents, but that's it. What happened next might be what we've been told and it might be something completely different. No one really saw what happened so we can only guess. In fact, the original paper from the day after merely said that You-Know-Who attacked the home of the Potters and killed James and Lily Potter and then there was an unexplained explosion that severely damaged the house, but you, Harry, survived the attack with just a cut. The Boy-Who-Lived stuff began the next evening when the Minister of Magic made a statement suggesting what people now think happened and even she said she didn't know for certain. I guess given the times, the people wanted some good news and like it or not, you were it."

"So it's all a lie," Harry began to get agitated.

"Harry, _no one knows!_ It could be true, but to believe it to be true is something one must take on faith and not proof. It could be false, but again to believe it false one must take that on faith as well. Both are right and both are wrong because neither can be proven one way or another … unless You-Know-Who were to show up and say what really happened, of course. I believe Wrackspurts and Nargles exist, but I can't prove it nor can anyone prove they don't. They are a matter of faith and for me they help explain things I can't explain or understand. This doesn't mean they are real, but it also doesn't mean they are not real."

"Great! So one way or another my whole life hasn't been normal!"

Luna actually laughed. "Who's to say what is normal? People don't think I'm normal and maybe I'm not. I try not to let that get to me. But yes, Harry, in a way it's not and it's not your fault. They labeled you the Boy-Who-Lived without thinking what that'd do to you or your life and … well, you're kind of stuck with the label aren't you even if it's not true. They call me Looney 'cause of my Dad and what he writes in his paper and 'cause I won't say it's rubbish. But maybe I'm one of the few sane people out there and everyone else is not normal."

"I never looked at it that way," Harry thought aloud.

"Of course what the adult population believes is bad enough," Luna mused, "but those books are nothing but silly fiction yet many children believe it's true."

"Books? Silly fiction?"

"Silly fiction is what I call any fictional book that is so unbelievable it's just silly. They've written scores of those kinds of books about you after the first one came out on your second birthday. Many are for really small kids with big pictures and few words that their parents read to them and others are for older children with few pictures and loads of words that they read themselves – or their parents read to them. It's silly 'cause it can't possibly be true. I mean most of what happens is impossible with magic and all. They are almost always the same. Harry Potter is perfect magical boy who lives with his perfectly correct magical guardians in a perfect magical manor always does what he's told and is big and strong for his age 'cause he eats his vegetables even when he doesn't like them or doesn't want to. One day an evil thing of some sort kidnaps a good wizarding child and Harry's off to save the day, beat or slay the evil thing and everyone lives happily ever after and all that. It's even more annoying 'cause the authors are all into alliteration in their titles."

"Alliteration?"

"The same or similar sound is used in the words in the title such as: Harry Potter and the Dastardly Dragon, Harry Potter and the Murderous Muggle, Harry Potter and the Wicked Werewolf, Harry Potter and the Terrible Troll, Harry Potter and the Horrible Hag, and Harry Potter and the Naughty Nuundu. That last one is really silly. Nuundu's are easily the most vicious and dangerous beasts out there. They destroy whole villages at a time and it takes a hundred or more wizards to bring one down. What's a 'naughty nuundu' when there's nothing nice about them? What's really fake about that one is that all Harry did was give it a spanking and it behaved itself."

"Bloody hell! And the kids here read that stuff?"

Luna shrugged. "Some did, some did not. Some believe it or want to and others see it for what it is. But yes, Harry, to answer your unasked question many seem to think you are not who you really are."

"And who am I?"

Luna chuckled. "Why, you're Harry Potter of course. Now what that means really is … well, I guess only you can decide what it means. I mean…"

"My life wasn't like that, you know."

Luna nodded. "I never thought so. You certainly don't act like the fictional character."

"Um … and how's that?"

"Like he knows everything and can do anything," Luna chuckled. "In other words, he's a fake 'cause no one knows everything or can do anything. You may have done some things most would not even think of doing, such as recently and stuff, but you don't act like you can do everything. It's hard to explain, but you're actually not all that abnormal in many ways. People just see you that way – well those that don't try to get to know you, that is."

"Does anyone see the real me?"

Luna looked at him. "What do you think? Does anyone? Only you really would know who the real you is, don't you think? But, if your question really is does anyone try to see the real you and not the rubbish others have said or written about you … again, you would probably know the answer to that better than I would, wouldn't you? As far as we know this is the first time we've really met and talked after all."

Harry thought for a moment. "I think you're trying. I can't say that about most of the others I know here."

"I'm not the only one, am I?"

"No. Hermione probably has always tried to know me … well sometimes it seems she knows me better than I know myself about some things. I haven't told her about my life back … well out in the Muggle World. Haven't told anyone really and don't fancy doing so anytime soon. But if I told her … okay, she'd be upset, but not with me."

"Is it bad?"

Harry just shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay. I do appreciate you telling me about this Boy-Who-Lived bloke, though."

"It was my pleasure. I would say I'm surprised but … well, others may have thought it rude or wrong to do so."

"You don't?"

Luna shrugged. "You seemed to need to hear another side of that, one that's not … I don't know … not wedded to that belief. I told you what I think is true, which is what people should do, don't you think?"

Harry didn't answer. The question seemed rhetorical to him and when Luna didn't press him he was more certain that it was so.

"I can't believe people think I grew up in some Manor. I've never even seen the inside of a Manor," Harry chuckled.

"You said you grew up with Muggles?"

Harry nodded. "After my parents were … you know. My Aunt was my Mum's sister. Mum was a witch and my Aunt was not and … I guess she hated my Mum for being a witch. She doesn't like magic, that's for certain, and neither does her husband. It's not normal."

"People tend to be afraid of things they don't understand," Luna said. "My Daddy's afraid of some Muggle things, or so he's said. People also tend to resent others for things others have and they can't. Are there Manors in the Muggle World."

"I haven't been to one, but yes," Harry said. "I've seen a few on a trip back when I went to Muggle school. Some are even called palaces, although I don't know if that's 'cause they're bigger and fancier or if it's just because they're owned by the Queen and her family or what. But the house I lived in is not big at all. I'm pretty sure my Aunt and Uncle are not rich, 'cause they would certainly have a bigger house if they were. That's the way they are."

"Well," Luna said, "I can't tell you if the Potters had a Manor, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

"What do you mean?"

"The Potters were a very, very old wizarding family. They certainly were around when Hogwarts was founded and, well, Daddy said they had money. He didn't say how much, but they didn't have to work for it which meant they had a fair bit. My Mum knew them pretty well, although she never went on about that sort of thing. But I asked her once if she thought the real you was okay and she thought you were. They would have provided for you. But if you really want to know the answer, I suppose you should visit Gringotts and ask."

"Why would they tell me? I'm only twelve!"

"Because there are no Potters left," Luna said. "As you're it, if there're any Potter vaults or such even if you can't access them until you come of age or something, they're required to tell you about them and what's in them. It's the law."

"I know I have a vault. I have a key."

"You have your own key?"

Harry nodded.

"That's probably just a … um … Trick, Tuck … a Trust Vault. It's probably only a small part of the Potter stuff. But again, you'd have to ask the Goblins about that."

"Why didn't anyone tell me that?"

"Like who?"

"Hermione, for one. She's really smart and …"

"And she's a Muggle Born who probably knew as much about the wizading world as you did based upon what you've told me before she got her Hogwarts letter, which means nothing, doesn't it? Did you think to check out books on Goblins and money?"

"No."

"Why would she? She doesn't have a vault, does she?"

"I … I don't know. I don't think so. Still…"

"If she hasn't had a reason to learn it, she probably hasn't. It's not that she knew and didn't tell you, you know. Besides, did you even ask her?"

"Well … no."

"Do you know what a dumb question is?"

"Erm…"

"It's the question you think of but don't ask," Luna said. "Of course, if you didn't think of the question, then there is nothing dumb about it at all."

"But Ron knows I have money and …"

"And you never asked him that either," Luna said. "He might not know about what Gringotts can tell you about your family. He might also assume you already know. And if you never asked, well he has no reason to assume otherwise, does he?"

"I guess not. Th-thanks, Luna."

"You're welcome. I should be thanking you, though."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Luna said looking earnest. "Today it seems almost as if I have a friend and … well, it's because for some reason you have something to do with my not feeling that French word thing, although I don't know why."

"I wouldn't mind being friends with you, Luna. And what do you mean by that déjà vu thing?"

"Well, I thought it was only me who had it, of course, but you having it makes sense. I think it was kind of like a message or a message about a coming message sort of. I know I didn't like that feeling all the time at all and was hoping for something to truly seem new again…"

"So was I," Harry nodded.

"So when it did, well I'd just do whatever seemed new," Luna continued. "As I said, for me it all became new again when I got that strange letter, and it was strange. You see, whoever wrote it didn't say who they were or rather that I couldn't see who they were until it was time. It did tell me when that time would be. It would be this summer – hopefully very soon this summer – after I left Hogwarts. But it also said it would not reveal itself to me alone. You had to be there too. So, well as everything that I did or thought about the letter after I got it was new… I had to talk to you 'cause I have to know what the letter says. I don't want that déjà vu thing to come back and since that means I need to show it to you away from here during the summer and since I don't know where you live and you don't know where I live and … well, we didn't even really know each other at all to begin with … well, here I am. I'd really like to be your friend, but even more right now I just want things to be new again."

Harry nodded. "I told you about the elf that I talked to and it went away?"

Luna nodded.

"I saved him in a way and he wanted to be my elf and … well, I still don't know why he did or what he can do and all, not really anyway, but he did tell me some things. One thing he can do is take me most anywhere I want to go. I don't even really need to know where it is, just why I want to go there. I guess … well, I'd rather not have you come by my relatives' place. They're not nice people at all and even worse where magic is concerned and… But my elf friend… Well, I think he can bring me to you. Something tells me this may be important to and since it seems to be connected with not having déjà vu all the time… Um, when?"

Luna smiled.


	4. Chapter 4: Girlfreind

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Yes, there will be a cliffie here and there to ...

**CHAPTER FOUR: GIRLFRIEND**

Luna came and sat with Harry the next day, Sunday, under what she called his tree by the lake. It had now been a week since Hermione had recovered from her petrification and she was "just finishing up" her end of year revising. They had already figured out when and where they would get together about the strange letter Luna had hidden away somewhere. It would be a week from tomorrow, which was the first Monday of the Summer Holiday and also the day before Harry's Cousin Dudley's birthday. Dudley was also away at a boarding school called Smeltings and it was not scheduled to end its session until a week after Hogwarts so Dudley would still be at school on his birthday and, much to Harry's private amusement, still taking exams in all probability. Despite this, however, his Aunt and Uncle were probably going there to be with him and would leave Harry at their home just as they had the year before. As long as he stayed out of their "good" food and stayed out of sight, they didn't care what he did so it would be a good time for him to see Luna, although he did not tell her that.

They talked about their time at Hogwarts mostly. Harry told her about his "adventures" over the past two years and she listened, her only comments being whether what really happened and what was rumored to have happened were different. To a large extent it was although Luna did clarify that what she heard about his First Year had already been exaggerated to a large extent by the time she started Hogwarts. It seemed most of the events were part of the common lore of the school even though at the time they happened only Harry and one or two others knew what had happened. Harry knew he never told anyone about some of the events such as his first encounter with the Cerberus, Hermione setting Snape on fire, Norbert the Dragon or their adventure through the traps guarding the Philosopher's Stone his First Year or the Polyjuice mishap that left Hermione in the Hospital Wing for a month a few months before, but apparently versions of those stories circulated around the school. He was also pretty sure that Hermione was tight lipped about those events, at least the ones she was a part of. That left one source for those stories and, considering Luna was genuinely surprised that a certain Ron Weasley had not done some of the things people thought he had done, the source for those stories seemed rather obvious.

"Why would Ron say such things?" Harry asked.

"I haven't spoken to Ronald," Luna said, "not since I was very, very young and he wasn't very nice back then at least not to me or his sister. Maybe that's just him being a young boy. What I heard was what somebody heard from somebody who heard it from someone else and eventually from someone who claims to have heard it from Ronald. Things get twisted around through so many telling that it's hard to tell what's the real story and what changes have been made in the telling. But even assuming what I heard was pretty much what Ronald says, you have to understand that what happens in truth and what a person says about it later can be different.

"There are people who naturally tend to understate what they've done and what's happened to them so that what they say about something is probably far less than what really happened. I get the feeling you're one of those. Then there are people who tend to overstate what has happened and what they've done and Ronald strikes me as that type. It's not really lying – unless it didn't happen at all – and it might not even be deliberate. You and I could see the same thing happen and go through the same thing and yet were we to tell someone else – without the other around – there could well be two very different stories mostly accurate in the basic facts but very different in the teller's perspective and interpretation of those facts. It's annoying, but it is also very common, very normal."

"But why would Ron…"

"Ronald is not Harry Potter. The real Harry Potter stands out for reasons he does not like and would prefer not to stand out at all. Because of things he had no control over, he could do nothing and still stand out. Perhaps this is why you don't talk about what you have done. It is also why you seem to understate what you have done. Ronald has five older brothers all of whom are stand outs in their own way and he seems to be struggling to stand out as they do. That may be why he is prone to speak out when perhaps he should not and overstate what he did or saw. It doesn't mean he's a bad person or anything bad at all. Everyone is different. It would be very boring otherwise, don't you think?"

"I never thought of that. How did you…?"

"In a way I am a bit like you, Harry Potter. Not the person who seems to take danger and adversity in stride, but the one who would prefer not to stand out. In my case in many ways I don't. People tend not to notice me unless I want them to for some reason and because of that I can watch them. Most people behave differently when they think they're being watched than when they don't think that's the case. I usually can watch people without them thinking they're being watched so they tend to act as themselves and not as they wish others to see them – or not see them. It's very educational."

"And what about friends? Would you watch people if you had friends?"

Luna gave Harry a brief, sad look then smiled. "Of course, just not as much I suppose. But, my definition of 'friend' is not simply someone who's nice to me and hangs out with me. There's plenty of that going around and it seems too superficial in a way as those friends tend to back away when things aren't as nice. I'd rather have one friend, one true friend, whose friendship was unconditional and unqualified and who would accept my friendship on the same terms than scores of 'friends' who are just fun to hang out with but will not be there if it's inconvenient for them. I'd rather have meaningful conversations – such as this one – than talk about boys bums, make-up tips and the articles in Teen Witch Weekly or homework all the time. I want a friend who'll be there for me when times are bad and who wants me to be there for them rather than the ones who'll forget you if knowing you becomes difficult for them. Maybe that's just me. Then again, not having a friend it's possible that I've idealized the concept too much."

"Or," Harry offered, "perhaps everyone else takes it too much for granted." Harry, for one, was learning to like hearing Luna's thoughts on things just as he had learned to like hearing Hermione's thoughts on things. They were very different. He doubted Hermione's thoughts would be as … well as spontaneous. She tended to look to books whereas Luna seemed more to look around and try and figure it out for herself. But Hermione did have … well, she had something very like Luna even if they seemed to look at the world very differently. Harry wondered what it would be like to really be Luna's friend.

But the conversation then changed topics as conversation tend to do. Luna told him that she had heard from her father that morning. Her father had returned from wherever he had been and she could floo home tomorrow. She seemed a little torn about whether she should leave, or stay another five days and take the Hogwarts Express home as she told Harry she was hoping that he might one day be her friend. Harry had to remind her that they already agreed that he would come and visit her the Monday after he left school for the summer, which was only a week after tomorrow and that he'd be willing to visit her after that as well. He had told her that he was not about to ask her to visit him since doing so meant she would be exposed to his relatives. About the only person he knew who deserved that might be Malfoy. He would include Professor Snape on that list were it not for the fact that the Potions Professor would be allowed to hex them.

Since Harry would be using Dobby to get there and since Luna knew a fair bit about what elves could do, she told him to come to her bedroom at ten in the morning on that day if he could and to send her a note if he could not. Aside from one thing, that sounded fine to Harry and he kept that one thing to himself, although Luna probably noticed he was blushing furiously about meeting her in her bedroom and had been nice enough not to say anything. True, Harry was not yet thirteen and while he had thoughts about what might go on between a boy and a girl, alone, in a bedroom, if they really liked each other a lot, if no one was likely to come in; they were abstract at best and not concrete and certainly not something he was likely to do yet even if the opportunity seemed to be there. The truth was he knew little about that sort of thing. He had seen older students snogging and had heard that even more goes on if they sneak off to a broom closet, but aside from that it was words without context. Older couples were often snogging in the Common Room, at least until people started to loudly tell them to get a room, whatever that meant. The thoughts about what might happen were a little embarrassing to Harry and here it was a pretty girl asked him to visit her in her bedroom. Harry didn't know what to make of it.

Then there was also the thought that visiting another girl in her bedroom, any other girl really, was somehow betraying Hermione and he really didn't want to think about that.

Luna left the next morning just after breakfast. She made it a point to say goodbye to Harry even though he'd see her again in a week. Harry was surprised that he was a little sad to see her go. He really didn't know what to make of that at all.

The afternoon found him seated again beneath the tree by the lake with the still unopened Potions book beside him. Even without Luna and the conversations he had with her, it was still a nice place to get away from the rest of the school and he still felt like being here was a new experience. He sat there for a while trying to think of something to think about so that he could once again avoid opening that Potions book when he heard soft footsteps approaching him.

"May I join you, Harry?" a voice asked. He immediately recognized it as Hermione's. Harry nodded in reply and he both heard and seemed to feel her sit next to him, much closer than Luna had the last two afternoons. "This is a nice place," she said. "Oh! You brought your Potions book."

"Only just in case," Harry said.

"In case of what?"

"Um, I get a sudden urge to make a Potion?" Harry offered looking at his friend and finding her deep, brown eyes looking back with a bemused expression.

Hermione gave a slight snort. "Well, I guess that's better than a sudden urge to chuck it in the lake."

Harry laughed. "Oddly, I hadn't thought of that. Wouldn't be a bad idea, though. Then again, I can't drop Potions, can I?"

"No. You can't. Not until you've sat for your O.W.L.s as you know. Potions is so important. It's a pity Professor Snape is so … so … well, he's not very good, is he? Then again, compared to Lockhart he's totally brilliant."

"Hermione Granger? Is that really you? You never think badly of our Professors!"

"Reading minds, are we Harry?" she replied with a smile. "I've read it can be done. But if you could read my mind, you'd know I've always loathed him and Lockhart. I just don't say anything about it."

"Lockhart? Really? You mean the little hearts you drew on your schedule were because he was a total fraud?"

Hermione blushed. "I only did that the first week, Harry. You must admit he was good looking. Then again, you're a bloke so maybe you don't have to admit that. But once I really began reading his so called books, they just didn't make much sense at all. If he was to be believed, he was in more than two places at once and that was among the least obvious of his inconsistencies and errors. I looked up some other _respected _works on the subject and … Well, his techniques were totally wrong and were you to try them you'd probably be dead."

"I have no intention of needing to try them," Harry protested.

"I was speaking hypothetically," Hermione replied primly.

Harry chuckled. "I just wish I had a chance to take his start of year quiz again…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Tried to guess the correct answer that time. _What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_ Can't remember what I wrote but now I'd say puke green 'cause his mere presence in a room causes involuntary regurgitation."

Hermione chuckled. "What is his goal in life?" she asked.

"Hmmm. Tough question. I guess it's a toss up between to have a signed autograph in every dictionary beside the definitions of the words 'fraud' and 'incompetent,' to setting the indisputable world's record for inability to correctly do a spell or to go to his grave never having answered a single question correctly."

"Good answers. But what about we combine the two? His goal in life is to come up with a color that doesn't clash with his hair yet causes others to involuntarily regurgitate on sight. Had he achieved that, he might have been able to defeat goodness knows what by causing that."

"Why should we give him any chance of success?"

"Don't know. So, how are your essays coming?"

"How are yours?"

"I only just started this morning. And yes, I'm taking a break 'cause … well, 'cause … anyway, you're changing the topic."

"You can look over my Charms and Transfiguration if you want," Harry replied with a sigh. "I've been doing some on the History one but haven't started Potions yet. I guess I'm having a Potions Block. But I'll get to it, I promise."

"I know," Hermione said. "Um, Harry?"

Harry looked at Hermione and noticed a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

"Um," she continued, "I've been working up the courage to… to…"

The slight blush was not so slight anymore and then she did it. She leaned in close and kissed Harry on the cheek. It was quick, but to Harry it seemed like it lingered on indefinitely. It seemed like ages before he could speak and the only reason he did was because Hermione's expression seemed to be getting more and more fretful with each passing moment.

"Um… Wow? What was that?"

She gave him a smile. "Thank you, Harry."

"Um … you're welcome, I guess. For what?"

"Madam Pomfrey told me."

"Told you what?"

"That you were there every day with me when I was petrified. I always had fresh flowers and you were there practically all the time you could be even though you didn't have to be. I mean after all I was petrified. Wasn't much company, was I?" she added a little sadly.

"I …," Harry began. "You were _just _petrified, Hermione. I didn't think it was right to leave you alone just 'cause you couldn't move or talk or anything. You're my friend."

Hermione smiled at him in a way he could not say he had seen before. "And you are my friend. It was really, really sweet you're coming to see me like that and all."

Now Harry was blushing.

"And I seemed to know you were there. I know I hoped you were."

"But," Harry began, "but Madam Pomfrey said you'd have no memory of it at all. To you one second you were petrified and the next you'd be waking up in that bed even if it was months later!"

"I can't say what really happened. She did tell me that too when I said I sensed not being alone and all. She said I should have had no notion of anything. But I did, Harry. I couldn't see or hear or feel or move and I was pretty sure I wasn't breathing but I knew I wasn't dead and I knew I wasn't alone. I knew someone was there with me so it wasn't so bad really. She said I was imagining things, but I don't think so. I can't say I knew how much time passed or if any time passed at all. I just felt like I was not alone and that made it … nice … given the circumstances. I knew I have a true friend. Thank you." With that, she kissed his other cheek.

"Um … well … er …" Harry stuttered. Before he could begin to speak coherently, Hermione slid up very close so that they were touching. She placed an arm around him and then leaned her head against his shoulder. Harry froze at first, but that only lasted a second or two, perhaps not even long enough for Hermione to really notice anything other than what she might think was surprise. He quickly relaxed and, after a long moment, his own arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Why," he began.

"Why did I kiss you?" she replied softly.

Harry could only nod.

"To thank you," she said. "I … well … I never, ever really had a friend before. I wanted a friend but… Well, I have read that Muggle Borns like me have trouble making friends in the world we're brought up in. Unless we move around, of course."

"Move around?"

Hermione nodded. "If we stay in the same place with the same children and stuff… Well apparently young Muggle children can kind of sense magic in a way. They don't know what it is so they, well they don't react well to it. They don't like it and they tend not to like the person they sense it from. This sense fades so that by the time they are around eight or so they can't feel it, but they remember it and who caused it so… I lived in the same town most of my life before Hogwarts and certainly when I went to Primary School. None of the kids liked me at all when I started and I didn't know why. I didn't think there was anything really wrong or different about me, but there was and I just didn't know it then. The others stayed away from me when we were little and that never changed as we got older. Perhaps if my parents moved when I was older … but they didn't.

"So when Professor McGonagall came to tell us that I was actually a young witch who could do real magic and that there was a school for children like me, well it explained a lot of things and she also explained that it is unsurprising if a young witch like me had trouble making friends. Naturally, the thought of there being a whole world of knowledge out there that I would not otherwise be able to find out about was exciting. I was into books and learning, you know. I was smart, but it was also a way to help me cope with not having any friends. So I was really excited about Hogwarts and even more so when I realized that there would be a lot of children here just like me. I was so certain I would finally have a real friend.

"But at first it didn't seem to work out that way," she finished with a near whimper.

"I wanted to be your friend," Harry said after a pause, "I just didn't know how."

"You've been my friend since the Troll and I'd say you do know how, Harry. You always have."

"No. Not really when you consider that I kind of wanted to be your friend from the moment we first met on the Hogwarts Express."

Hermione gasped. "Then why…?"

"'Cause eleven year old boys just don't become friends with a girl they've never known before. It's kind of an unwritten rule. Girls are mental according to Ron and they're only good for looking at and snogging – when they're older – according to Dean and Seamus. I didn't mind your being on about homework or even the rules, but the others did and…" Harry shrugged. "But that was the reason I came looking for you that night. I wanted you to be my friend but just didn't know how to do it and then there was a troll loose in the Castle and you couldn't have known about it so I went looking for you. I'm not sure who else I would have done that for…" His voice cut off when he felt her lips against his cheek again.

"Thank you, Harry," she said.

"You gonna kiss me every time you thank me?"

"Maybe," she said slowly.

"People will talk," he suggested.

"Honestly! They talk already!"

"They do?"

Hermione nodded. "I get it all the time from Parvati and Lavender. They're convinced we're secretly boyfriend and girlfriend and so they're always asking if you're a good kisser."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. That and I know the twins have a betting pool on when we'll be openly that way. Of course, neither you or I are allowed to bet."

"How do you know about that?"

"You know about it?"

Harry nodded. "Seamus and Dean've been bugging me about it 'cause they want the inside track. 'Course that stopped once you were petrified."

"I found out from Lavender and Parvati," Hermione said, "same way. It's really annoying. I tell them that were really just good friends, but they don't believe me especially when I try and say I'm really good friends with Ron. They wonder how I can even say that considering that he and I seem to argue all the time, especially if you aren't around to stop it."

"I like Ron…" Harry began.

"I know, Harry. He's your Best Mate, whatever that is. He can be funny but he can also be infuriating. It's like if I don't like what he likes, think the way he thinks or want to do what he wants to do – which is usually mess around and avoid studying – then it seems as if he thinks something is wrong with me for not being the way he thinks I should be. I don't like that about him. I get the impression that just because he was there and got lucky and knocked out that troll, I should be whatever he wants me to be. Deep down, for some reason, I know it was you who came to find me and it was really you who saved me that day. He just came along for some reason and … I think he would've scampered given half a reason. You're my best friend, Harry. Ron's your friend and I guess a friend of a friend can be a friend, but there are times I really, really don't like him."

Harry nodded. "I know I guess. I think he tolerates you but only because I want you as my friend."

"And I help him with his homework."

"You help me," Harry began.

"Because I want to, Harry. You may not believe this but you are very smart when you try to be. I can have a meaningful conversation with you. I help Ron only because it would cause problems if I didn't. He just doesn't seem to get it yet that school is important and not just a place to talk about quidditch and find people who he hasn't beaten at chess yet. I just don't understand why he thinks I should be someone I'm not and why he gets all upset when I am who I am. You don't act that way, not really anyway. You only seem to get upset with me when your mind is set about something and I try too hard to change it."

"That's not that often."

"No. It's not. And it's usually…"

"When Ron's upset because he thinks I should do it."

"Yeah."

"Weird. Then again, you're usually right in the end."

She kissed him again. "Not always."

"What? No Thank You?" Harry chuckled.

"That was a Thank You."

"Oh. You know, if you keep thanking me like that people will think you're my girlfriend."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "I thank my Daddy that way and no one thinks he's my boyfriend."

"That's 'cause he's your Dad, I guess. I think it's different with us."

"Maybe with you boys, but not with us girls according to my roommates," Hermione said. "While a kiss on the cheek shows … um … affection, it does not mean I'm your girlfriend in that sense, just that I'm a girl who is your really good friend. For a kiss to mean I am your girlfriend and you are my boyfriend in that way, it has to be different."

Before Harry could reply, Hermione shifted in a way so she was facing him. She leaned in, smiled for just a moment, and kissed him on the lips. It was probably intended as a demonstration and most likely was meant to be no more than a quick peck, but that was not how it turned out. It did not stop. He kissed her back, as she had secretly hoped, but it did not end. They kept at it for a long while, each lost in what was happening and unaware of anything around them except each other. It seemed beyond wonderful for both of them and neither wanted the feeling to end. Then something else happened. Images began flashing through their minds. They were almost like memories, except they both knew that many of the images had never happened. It was like their lives playing out before them well into a distant future and as wonderful as their kiss was, the images were not so wonderful at all. There were pleasant images, but it seemed that most were images of suffering, heartache and death. None of it made any sense to them and what was even odder was that as soon as the image passed, they could not remember it at all. They just were left with the knowledge that it had happened.

The kiss finally broke and the two of them looked at each other in confusion.

"Wh-what just happened?" Harry asked.

"I … I kissed you and you kissed me back," Hermione replied.

"No. Not that…"

"It was wonderful… at first."

"Yes it was but then … it was … I don't know what happened. It's like …"

"I saw my life except it's not my life … not yet."

"Yeah."

"You saw it too?" Hermione asked.

"A life. A lifetime. My lifetime and I didn't like it so much. Do you think it means we're not supposed to be together like this?"

"That's just it Harry," Hermione said. "I can't remember anything in particular, but what I sense of that life thing was that in it we were not together for some reason."

Harry nodded. "We were just friends."

Hermione nodded. "It was about the only pleasant thing there was."

"Maybe it means we are supposed to be together," Harry offered.

"As more than just friends," Hermione concluded. "I think … I can't believe I'm saying this … but I think it's a sign of some sort. Magic can be very different after all and … and I think it's like the other thing."

"What other thing?" Harry asked.

Hermione gave him a nervous look and then, before she answered she kissed him again. This time there were no images. It just felt wonderful and again they had no idea how long they kissed.

"Wow!" they both said when the kiss finally broke.

"That was much better," Hermione said softly, placing her head on Harry's shoulder.

"Much. No images. Not like before. Why'd you…?"

"The first time?"

He nodded.

"I wanted to let you know what kind of kiss would tell people that we're boyfriend and girlfriend. I suppose I just could've told you but … Something told me to kiss you properly so I did. The second time was … well to find out. We didn't see it again so maybe…"

"We're supposed to be together?"

Hermione nodded. "I think so. I … I wouldn't mind at all, really."

"Neither would I. So are you my girlfriend now?"

"No."

"But…"

"You're supposed to ask and I'm supposed to think about it."

"They're rules?"

"Of course."

"Do you want to be my … um … girlfriend?"

"That's not the question, Harry."

"It's not?"

"You're asking my opinion, not for my decision."

"More rules?"

"Mm-hmmm," she nodded.

"You're not making this easy."

"It's not supposed to be," Hermione giggled.

"Is that another rule?"

"It might be."

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"That's better," Hermione replied. "Yes."

"So how long until you decide?" Harry asked.

"I've already decided, Harry."

"Oh. So I guess we're just friends then."

"I didn't say that, did I?"

"I asked you differently and you said that's better."

"And then I answered the question."

"You did? I thought you had to think about it?"

"No. I said you ask and then I decide. I said nothing about how long it would take and if you remember, I did say yes to you."

"You're teasing me," Harry complained.

"Just a little," Hermione giggled. "But honestly, Harry. After that kiss, what possible answer did you expect? Of course I will be your girlfriend if you're serious about it. Now, if you're just teasing me…"

"I'm not."

"Good."

"So, you're my girlfriend now. Um … What do I do next? There's probably some rule or something."

She then turned to him and kissed him again.

When the kiss finally broke, she looked at him. "There's only one problem that I can see," she said.

"Oh?"

"Well, there's this whole summer and … and we won't be able to see each other."

"Don't be so sure," Harry replied.

"Harry!" Hermione growled. "What have you done? How can you see me? We don't live anywhere near each other!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Harry said.

"You've done something and you're not going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope. Wouldn't be much of a surprise if I did. Besides, I'm not sure it will work yet so no sense in saying I will see you until I know for sure, is there?"

"Just so you know," Hermione said, "my parents are taking me to France for a month or so beginning a week after we get back from school. We'll be gone until August 5th which should give you plenty of time to figure out this secret plan of yours. But I do want to see you this summer. Something tells me it's important that I do and not just for a few hours here and there and not just because I've agreed to be your girlfriend. I don't know why it's important. I think those whatever they were I saw when we first really kissed are part of it but not all of it. There's also…" Her voice faded and she paled a little.

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked with concern. "You can tell me."

"Um… It's silly really."

"If you think it might be important, then it's probably not silly."

"But… Harry, you might think I'm crazy…"

"Why? I thought I was hearing voices, you remember and while you agreed that was not normal, you didn't think I was crazy. You can tell me."

"It's … well, it's so weird. All of this. Today. Sitting here with you. What we're talking about. The kissing. All of this. Harry, it's never happened before."

"Um…," Harry began. He wondered where this was leading. "Well, of course it hasn't. I think I would remember if it had."

"That's kind of just it, Harry. For a long time to me it seemed that everything that happened had happened before. It was like…"

"Déjà vu?"

"Sort of. I mean, I've had that on occasion. But it was only for a second. It was like that but all the time. Everything was like it had happened and yet it was so infuriating because with all that was going on…" she paused.

"You still had no idea what was going to happen next," Harry finished. "Could've been useful to know that, don't you think?"

"H-how…?"

"I was going through the same thing until recently," Harry said. "Really annoying."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you? As for me, it sounded mental. Add to it thinking I was hearing voices no one else could hear…"

"But you were!"

"But I didn't know that. So how long? Was it since you were little or…?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. It started about a month before I first came here. It ended," she paused. "Well, it mostly ended just after Hagrid got back from prison although I've had an occasional, and mercifully brief and unimportant flash of it a few times since."

Harry nodded. "Mine started on my eleventh birthday, which was as you said about a month before we first came here. It ended, mostly like you said, not long after I left Dumbledore's office after saving Ginny. You've been trying to do things different since it ended, right? You figure if you think of doing something to do something else so that it doesn't start again, right?"

Hermione nodded. "What does this mean?"

Harry shrugged. "It's odd. All three of us…"

"Three? What do you mean three? Was Ron having it too?"

"No. Not that I know of."

"Ginny?"

"Haven't seen her since they took her to the Hospital Wing. That was back when it all still seemed like it happened before and now she's in St. Mungo's, or at least she was last I heard."

"Then who's this third person who also had it happening to them."

"Um … Her name is Luna Lovegood. She's a First Year in Ravenclaw and she told me about this couple of days ago. She thinks it's important somehow. She went home this morning."

"Lovegood? I'm not sure I know her. How do you know her?"

"I didn't. Not 'til she sat down here with me a couple of days ago and introduced herself. I know she is a student here 'cause I remember seeing her before – and yes I mean a real memory – but I know I didn't know her name and that we never spoke to each other. It was kind of weird. Okay, more than just kind of. I have no idea why that happened to her too and she has no idea why either. She has a theory of sorts."

"Oh?"

"She thinks it was a message of some kind," Harry said. "She has no other idea about what it could be but it kind of made more sense than what I was thinking."

"Which was?"

"Well, if you consider she doesn't believe The-Boy-Who-Lived really exists and all I've been through, I was thinking we were both mental."

"Harry, I don't think it works that way, being mental that is. One person having something like a delusion is mental. Three people having identical ones or nearly identical ones?"

"That started and ended right about the same time…"

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"She started experiencing the 'French Word' thing…"

"French Word thing?"

"It's what she calls 'déjà vu.' Anyway, she started experiencing it about a month before her eleventh birthday, which is in the beginning of September and about a month after my eleventh birthday. I'm guessing it started for all three of us on my eleventh birthday and only began to change a week ago Saturday when I had an interesting conversation with a House Elf which I knew I never had before and she got a strange letter that didn't say much from someone she was sure she didn't know, which also had not happened before and…"

"I was still petrified then," Hermione said. "For me, it was after Hagrid came back and you told me what happened regarding the Chamber of Secrets. I have a feeling you probably did or would have, but it was not at that time. It would have been later, I think. I've been searching the Library ever since to see if I could find out what had happened to me. I mean there was the bit of being aware and not feeling alone when I was petrified when I shouldn't have been aware of anything and this déjà vu thing. But so far, I haven't found anything. Not even anything remotely similar. It's gotta be magic of some kind, but there seems to be no reference to it. I've even used Lockhart's pass to the Restricted Section."

"Hold on, I thought you were trying to catch up."

"Please!" Hermione replied indignantly. "Honestly Harry, you know I've always been a few weeks ahead in my course work. Yes, I did a little revising just to remind myself and I looked over your notes to see if there was anything I hadn't gone over, but that didn't take a week or more. Besides, even if I was this was more important. I can do that at home over the summer but this is the only chance before next fall to use the Library."

"Did you get any sense of that thing while using the Library?"

"I think I would have if I was working on my Summer Essays," she admitted. "I guess that's why I haven't."

"It's why I have," Harry chuckled. "I'm pretty sure if I didn't, if I goofed off, that thing would be back. It's also why I've been sitting here when I wasn't working on those essays. I have no memory of this tree at all so this seems to be a good place to be to avoid that sense, if you know what I mean."

Hermione nodded and sat in silence for a time. "So this – what's her name?"

"Luna," Harry replied.

"She thinks what happened to us was a message?"

"Or something similar. She thinks it was meant to get us thinking in a way so that when it stopped we'd pay attention. Don't ask why or for what for I don't know and neither does she. But she thinks that letter she got might be important."

"I guess that kind of makes sense," Hermione said. "I mean the message thing. Actually, no it does not. Then again, there's a lot about magic and stuff that doesn't make sense if you ask me so why should this be any different? Did you see this letter? What did it say?"

"No. She didn't show it to me. There was no point right now."

"No point? What do you mean, no point?"

"Because what the letter said was it would not reveal anything until after we left Hogwarts for the summer and then only if the two of us were there together to read it I guess."

"But not me?"

"She didn't say so. She also didn't say that you couldn't be there. I mean, what happened to you happened to Luna and to me so there must be a connection. Maybe whoever wrote that letter only knows about me and Luna."

"I suppose. Still, it would seem that letter is the only clue we have to any of this, don't you think? I can't see the harm of my being involved. Did you discuss when you were going to try and read it?"

Harry nodded. "Next Monday at her place, and no I don't know where that is and the reason it's not at where I live is 'cause even though I only just met her I have no intention of exposing her – or you for that matter – to that place or the people who live there." He left out that the Dursley's probably would not be at home.

"But if you don't know where she lives, how will you go there?"

"How does a post owl find where it's going? You know you don't have to really address the envelopes."

"Harry! You're not going to address a letter to her and send it off with Hedwig and follow on your broom!"

"I wasn't even thinking of that! My point was there's kinds of magic that can do that…"

"But you're not allowed to do magic outside if Hogwarts; not until you're seventeen!"

"I know. But that rule doesn't apply to House Elves."

"What are you on about, Harry? What's a House Elf?"


	5. Chapter 5: A New Home

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I do appreciate your reviews. Not telling where this story is going. Sorry... (Lot's of good guesses though and some might have been near the mark...)

**CHAPTER FIVE: A NEW HOME.**

Harry was careful about how he described House Elves in general and Dobby in particular to Hermione. He told her everything he knew, but made sure to do so in a way that told her that Dobby's former situation was probably an extreme. Dobby thought so. He also took care to explain that Elves needed to associate with witches and wizards to survive and, more than that, needed to be bonded to them. Harry emphasized that he felt Dobby was more a friend than anything else. He did not know why he was so careful. He just had a feeling that if he painted too grim a picture – which would have been surprisingly easy given Dobby's former situation – Hermione might have done something. He didn't know what, but whatever it was it would have been a distraction from what was important to them both right now. Obviously, this was their strange experiences and why they and Luna had gone through them. On a slightly less serious note, much as it would have been so like Hermione to get focused on something to the exclusion of all else and that was one of the things Harry liked about her, he preferred that the focus be on them as both the recipients of this message or whatever it was and as newly, if still very privately declared boyfriend and girlfriend. Harry found he really liked that time with Hermione and wanted as much of it as he could get.

Naturally, Hermione was not the type of girl who would spend all her time down by the lake snuggled in his arms and kissing him until they both needed a brief breather. Harry was certain the only way he could have that time with her all the time is if they were somewhere where there was not a Library in existence, much less nearby, and sometime when there was not a need to figure out what was going on. For the next few days, the two of them split their time between the Library and the tree by the lake, the latter being at Harry's insistence but without any resistance from her. He finished his Potions Essay and figured he would be well towards finishing his History of Magic Essay before they had to leave and she did read over his finished essays – and provided a list of suggestions and correction as she was wont to do. She, in the meantime, was buried in stacks of books when they were not alone by the lake. She was still searching for any explanation about what had happened, but also spent some time reading about House Elves. She knew little about them, which was all the excuse she needed to read about them.

Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, no one at the school seemed to pick up on any change in their relationship. True, they didn't flaunt it. They didn't spend their evenings in the Gryffindor Common Room snogging away nor did they spend any time "inspecting broom closets," although they did look in one and neither of them could understand the allure those things had for the older students. They sat together at all the meals, but that would hardly raise an eyebrow as they always had. They held hands – a lot – but that was also written off given that they were known to be very good friends and, after all, she had been petrified. The truth was that few paid them any attention at all. The majority of the students who still resided in Gryffindor Tower were still sweating out their O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s and, even if they were not, they seldom paid much attention to Second Years anyway unless the Second Years in question were particularly annoying. The remaining students were all doing their own thing.

The two of them were thoroughly enjoyed their time together and were disappointed that it ended so quickly. All too soon it was the last night before the train ride back to London. The Leaving Feast was not what it was the last year with so many students already gone, but that did not seem to faze the Headmaster at all. One would think the whole school was there as he announced the final House Points and then the winner of that year's House Cup. It was Gryffindor again and once again Harry's end of year adventure had a lot to do with the win with some late House Points, never mind the Award for Special Services to the School that he and Ron had already earned and that Hermione picked up at the Feast.

Saturday morning found the two of them sitting across from each other in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express as it pulled out from Hogsmeade Station for its eight hour trip south to London. They had the compartment to themselves which was a little odd. Then again, over half of the students had already gone home yet despite this the train had the same number of carriages as usual. They decided to wait before they began doing boyfriend/girlfriend things, which to them was still limited to snuggling together and kissing. They had not succeeded in finding any clues about their déjà vu thing or why Hermione had any awareness of anything during the time she was petrified. By then they were pretty certain that whatever it was it was either extremely rare or maybe even unique, each of which bothered Harry. He might be getting used to being unusual, but that did not mean he embraced it.

"I totally forgot to ask you!" Hermione said looking up from a book. "Did you pick your courses for next year?"

Harry gave her a mischievous grin and nodded.

"Okay Harry. What's with that face?"

"Nothing."

"No, it's not nothing!"

"Um, remember how we discussed trying to do things that would not bring back that weird feeling?"

Hermione nodded.

"You know Ron was trying to convince me that I should only take two electives, right?"

"Yeah. Muggle Studies and Divination, as I recall."

"Well, I told him I had no interest in Muggle Studies really."

"I think it would be interesting to see the world I grew up in from a wizading perspective, don't you?"

"It would, maybe. But you know that's not why Ron wanted me to take the course."

"He wanted to copy your work figuring you'd get top marks or something."

Harry nodded. "I didn't tell him that's why I wouldn't take that course for all the money in Gringotts. Told him why should I study something I already know? It would bore me even worse than Binns to sit through it and one boring class was enough, thank you. He wasn't thrilled, but then went on about Care of Magical Creatures and I had to agree that sounded interesting. Didn't say anything about Divination to him, although I think he thinks I'm taking it."

"You're not?"

"I read the stuff. Sounds like nothing more than fortune telling to me and I really could care less about that. What would I do with that? Hang out a shingle as Harry Potter the Medium?"

Hermione gave a slight laugh. "Well, that would blow the image of the Boy-Who-Lived all to naught! So if you're not taking Divination, what are you taking in its place?"

"Um … Arithmancy," he began.

"Really? Of the two of them, I would've thought you'd be more inclined towards Runes."

"What makes you think I didn't ask for that as well?"

"You did?"

Harry nodded.

"You do know those are probably the two hardest of the electives?"

"They're said to be. But if you ask me, of all the electives they're the only ones that are really useful. Care of Magical Creatures sounds interesting, but do you see me having a magical menagerie?"

"You have Hedwig."

"Yes I do. And she'd be right put out if I started collecting other creatures. If you ask me, she's a little possessive."

"Where is she, by the way?"

"Sent a note off to Luna just before we left. I really don't feel right keeping her all cooped up in a cage. It's bad enough I'll have to do that most of my time at my relatives."

"And what did you write her?" she asked.

"Not much. It was an experiment as I didn't address the envelope. I just told Hedwig to take it to my friend Luna and wait for a reply. If I get one, then I know our plan will work and that Dobby can bring us there even if we don't know where there is."

"So you still want me to come?"

Harry nodded. "You went through the same thing she and I did. It makes you a part of this as well and that letter might hold answers. Besides, while I think she's pretty smart, having two very smart people working the problem is better than one, don't you think?"

"Don't sell yourself short on the smart stuff, Harry. Your marks aside, you're smart too. So, Monday morning at nine you'll come over to my place and then we go to Luna's?"

Harry nodded. "That's the plan. And if this works it also means we can see a lot of each other this summer – once you get back from France, of course."

"Of course. Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really happy you decided to take Runes and Arithmancy."

"That's also a reason why I did it, although at the time I was only hoping you would appreciate it. What are you taking?"

"Everything, of course. Yes, Divination might be useless and who knows about Muggle Studies. Percy Weasley suggested it, but he was raised in the wizarding world. Still…"

"You want to learn as much as you can," Harry finished earning a smile from Hermione. "How's that going to work? Can you take all five? I mean does the schedule work seeing as it's not like we have loads of professors for any course, just one right?"

Hermione shrugged. "Professor McGonagall said that might be an issue but she also said she'd try to work something out so that I can. She wouldn't tell me what, 'though. Now come sit next to me."

"Why?" Harry teased. "I like the view out the window from here."

"Because I'd like some boyfriend time," Hermione said with a false pout and matching whine.

"Good," Harry said as he got up to shift benches, "'cause I've been wanting serious girlfriend time since before we left!"

The train pulled into King's Cross station on time, as it always had. Harry and Hermione said their more intimate goodbye before leaving their compartment. They had talked about it beforehand. After all, no one at school seemed to know they were a couple yet and they saw no real reason to let them know too soon. After all, Hermione had reasoned, it would completely mess up Fred and George Weasley's betting pool if they managed to keep it quiet until next fall or even later. The other reason was they had only just become a couple and as Hermione's parents would be waiting for her on the platform, she would rather not have to explain why she was giving some boy a long, goodbye kiss when she had yet to even suggest there was a boy like that in her life. Harry wondered how her parents could be on the platform for his Uncle always waited for him in the main terminal. Hermione explained that any Muggle related to a magical by blood could access the magical platform if they knew how. Harry's Uncle was not so related.

They stepped off the train together and walked towards the front where the baggage cars were located to retrieve their trunks. This did not take long at all as all of the trunks were already on the platform when they arrived. They then walked towards the area where the parents were waiting and Hermione quickly found her parents in the rather small crowd. Harry stood back as she hugged her parents debating whether he should move on or meet them. In the end, he waited for even though he was not expecting another goodbye kiss and even though they would probably be seeing each other in a couple of days, he still wanted to say goodbye to her again. Besides, he reasoned, he had not really been introduced to her parents before.

"Mum and Dad," Hermione finally said turning to Harry. "I'd like you to meet my best friend Harry. I was going to introduce you to him last summer at Diagon Alley but things got a little out of hand."

"I'll say," Mr. Granger chuckled. "Never thought I'd see a prize fight in a crowded book store." He offered his hand to Harry. "Robert Granger," he said, "my friends call me Bob as in 'Bob's you're Uncle' and all that but seeing as you are Hermione's friend and a boy, you can call me Mr. Granger."

Hermione's mother rolled her eyes. "Oh Bob! From her letters we know Harry is supposed to be a very nice young man. Do you have to try to intimidate him?"

"Of course," Mr. Granger said with a mischievous smirk. "Hermione is our only child and our daughter. It's a rule that I, as her father, am expected and required to put the fear of God into any potential suitor however remote said potential may appear at least until such time as she turns … oh I don't know … forty or so. Under sixteen, she is protected by law and after menopause by nature to an extent. In between, her – um – virtue is my concern."

"Daddy!" Hermione exclaimed clearly mortified.

"You're such a Neanderthal," Mrs. Granger said. "I'm Rose Granger and you may call me that if you're comfortable with it, Harry. Don't mind the troglodyte next to me. His rules or no, he knows who's in charge."

"Um, thanks?" Harry said shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I would make some comment about seeing where Hermione gets her – um – beauty from, but won't for fear of setting off her – um – virtue protection device?"

Mrs. Granger chuckled. "It would seem, Robert, that you now may be outnumbered three to one."

"Not unless he pees sitting down," Robert Granger quipped eliciting a gasp from Hermione, a stifled laugh from Harry and a smack at the back of his head from his wife.

Before anyone could think of a verbal retort, a cough caught all of their attention. The source of the cough stood about three feet tall, maybe a little more. It wore black sandals on its feet which were clearly too large for such a small body which were worn over two mismatched and quite garish socks. It wore trousers that were dark grey with black, vertical stripes that ended about mid-calf and reminded Rose Granger of Capri pants. It had on a white, button down shirt with a black bow tie and grey waistcoat over which was a black jacket not unlike a dinner jacket with some kind of coat of arms above its left breast pocket. It's face was somewhat pointed in appearance and almost comical with a long, pointed nose, huge eyes and ears that reminded one of a bat. Its complexion was a grayish green color and it had no hair. For the Grangers, this was the first time they had ever seen a House Elf. For Harry, it was the first time he had seen Dobby wearing something other than a soiled toga made from a torn pillow case.

"The socks are a bit much, Dobby," Harry chuckled.

"They be's a reminder of the Great Harry Potter's savings and freeings of Dobby from cruel, nasty wizards!" the elf said proudly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said, "Hermione? This is Dobby. He's my friend and House Elf."

"The Great Harry Potter Sir is too kind to Dobby," the elf almost cried. "It be an honor to be just the Great Harry Potter's Elf, Sir. But friend?" The elf pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and blew his long nose.

"Er, what does a House Elf do?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Dobby be doing whatever the Great Harry Potter needs be doing," Dobby replied. "Dobby be taking the Great Harry Potter's trunk backs to nasty muggleses house and then Dobby be taking the Great Harry Potter theres as well."

"You've been there?" Harry asked.

"You's says to find a way for you's to be there without being bothered by nasty muggleses so Dobby goes and sets things to rights. Nasty muggleses not be bothering Harry Potter Sir."

"What did you do?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"They be sayings that theys can do's to Harry Potter whats they wishes when they wishes 'cause Harry Potter be underage wizard and not be alloweds to be doing magic arounds them. They needed be understanding that Dobby cans so Dobby be givings them lessons. Dobby did puts nasty muggleses and their things and house and stuff backs together when Dobby was finished, Sir."

"Um, I'm not sure that was such a good idea," Harry said. "I will have to see them and all."

Dobby shook his head. "Harry Potter tells Dobby he musts live in that house untils his birthday but he nots to be wanting to 'deal' with nasty muggleses what lives there too. Dobby has it all set up. You nots be seeing nasty muggleses and theys nots be seeing you, Sir."

"How?"

"It be surprises but Dobby thinks Harry Potter will likes it so Dobby not saying 'til Dobby be showing or it won't be surprises." Dobby then turned to Hermione. "Yous must be's Harry Potter's Grangy. Harry Potter be's telling Dobby of Miss Grangy's kindness, smarts and beauty but he's not be tellings it all," and the Elf bowed to her. "And you's must be parents of this Great and Pretty friend of Harry Potter," he added bowing to Hermione's parents. "Dobby be taking trunk now so Harry Potter can says his farewells." Before anyone could say anything, the elf and the trunk disappeared.

"That was an odd little – er – elf," Mr. Granger said.

Harry shrugged. "Can't say if he's odd or not seeing as he's the only Elf I've ever met."

"How long has he been…?"

"In my employ?"

Mr. Granger looked confused but nodded.

"He bound himself to House Potter two weeks ago today. To be honest, while I've learned House Elves had served and their magic needs to serve witches and wizards, I have no idea what they can really do. What little I've seen is pretty amazing. We had a long chat about how he could help me seeing as all I have really is that trunk and a small bedroom at my Aunt and Uncle's and Elves are usually on staff at Manors and stuff. He told me he had some ideas, but didn't tell me what and went off to do whatever he was doing two weeks ago and I haven't seen him since. I have no idea what he's been up to. I just hope he didn't overwork himself 'cause I asked him not to."

"It must be expensive."

"Dobby was able to give me some idea of my finances," Harry said. "Apparently, Elves know that to the last knut from the moment they accept a bond. I had more than enough to pay him 200 Galleons a month but he's actually a brutal negotiator about salary and work conditions and I finally managed to get him to accept 1 Galleon a month with a holiday bonus by telling him he could use it to buy presents."

"He talked you down?"

"I talked him up," Harry said. "He was adamant about not being paid and not taking any days off at all. He finally agreed to one day off a month, provided he's not required to take it."

"I read about Elves, Daddy," Hermione said. "Harry told me about Dobby and their 'payment' or 'compensation' is not monetary. By serving a magical family, they benefit magically. As a race, there are few places they can live without the ambient magic that a magical household provides. They need a relationship with witches and wizards to survive. They know this so they consider it an insult to serve for any other form of compensation."

"Which is why I had to tell him to accept his pay and use it for buying presents, if he wishes, 'cause even if serving me is enough for him it seems wrong not to pay him something. I'm pretty sure he's underpaid already even if he is the highest paid Elf in Britain. I also think the reason he agreed is I insisted that I be allowed to cook meals on occasions if I have an opportunity to entertain friends."

"It sounds like a form of slavery," Mr. Granger said.

"If Dobby were human, it might be," Harry agreed. "Elves, however, need their association with witches and wizards far more than witches and wizards need Elves. Dobby explained that slavery is an exploitative relationship. The bond Elves must have to a magical family can be abused just as any relationship can be abusive. Elves are a different species from us. Dogs are smart and very useful and most of them are eager to please their owners, yet some are abused. Is the fact that some people mistreat their dogs reason to forbid anyone from having one and teaching it to do things for them? Dobby's last family was abusive and, well I can understand that about him. But the truth is in most cases we are the ones being exploited since it's our magic that keeps them alive and healthy."

"So they're like parasites?"

"Except they cause us no harm whatsoever," Harry said. "Well, that is Dobby can't cause me harm. I've learned he can be quite dangerous to anyone who wishes to harm me in his presence."

"And the socks?" Mrs. Granger asked after a long pause while they digested what Harry had said.

"Dobby's last family was beyond the pale abusive," Harry said. "I get the impression it takes a lot to push and Elf to the point where they wish for their bond to be broken with their family since it is usually a death sentence for them unless they find a new family and bond with them in fairly short order and most witches and wizards raised in this world will not take on an Elf that has been cast out. It might be some kind of rule or something, I don't know and I don't really care 'cause if it is it's just plain stupid. His old family was not about to let him go one way or another so I tricked the Head of that family into freeing him. Apparently, if the Head of a family bestows proper clothes to an Elf, it breaks the bond and I tricked the man into giving Dobby something – a ruined book. Inside the pages of the book was a sock, which broke the bond between Dobby and that family. He wears those socks in memory of that, I guess."

"But he was wearing clothes," Mrs. Granger observed.

"I didn't give them to him. I told him I wanted him 'properly attired' if he was to work for me. I have no idea when or where he got that stuff but I did say he's been off doing things for about two weeks."

"Did you tell him to do something to your Aunt and Uncle?"

"No. Not really. I told him I had to stay with them for a month or so but I don't want to have to … um … see them or hear from them or deal with them in any way. They were never … well, they're not nice to be around at all. I guess he's figured that out and saw fit to deal with it."

"What did he do?"

Harry shrugged. "He didn't kill them. Aside from that, I'm not sure I … Anyway, it's not your …" and Harry went silent for a moment his eyes almost vacant. "I'd rather not talk about that," he said softly.

"Don't, Rose," Mr. Granger said softly when it looked like his wife had other ideas. "Later."

Harry took a deep breath and it seemed most of the light returned to his eyes. "Anyway, one of the things Dobby can do apparently is bring me places magically so I don't need to get rides or such. I asked Hermione if I could come and see her this summer. I know you're planning on going to France for some of it…"

"We're leaving next Sunday for about a month," Mr. Granger said.

"Yes Sir, she said that," Harry said, "so I was wondering if I could come by and visit her?"

"I'm sure that would be lovely," Mrs. Granger replied.

"Would Monday be okay?"

"Um…," Mr. Granger began.

"Ordinarily my husband and I work during the week, but I'm sure I can rearrange my schedule to be there," Mrs. Granger said.

"Um … Well … I was … Well, another friend of mine invited me over too and I thought Hermione could come with me to visit her."

"I would love to meet some of Hermione's other friends," Mrs. Granger said. "I assume this Elf of yours could take me along as well?"

"Um, I suppose," Harry replied who looked at Hermione who gave him a shrug as if to say there was no way out of it that she could think of.

"Wonderful," Mrs. Granger said with a smile. "So what time were you thinking of popping by?"

"Um… nine or so?"

"That would be lovely. Ah! I see your Elf is back so this might be a good time to say goodbye until then."

Hermione then hugged Harry, kissed his cheek and whispered "Sorry about that, Harry." Harry just smiled at her and watched as the Grangers walked towards the magical barrier that would take them back to the Muggle side of King's Cross Station.

The Grangers had barely passed through the barrier when Dobby took hold of Harry's hand and the next moment Harry found himself in what he recognized as the smallest bedroom at Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey; his Aunt and Uncles home. As far as he could recall, he never really considered it a home for it was not one as far as he was concerned. As a little boy he had a concept of a home, even if it might have been idealistic. This place fell far short of that notion when it came to him. It was merely the place where he lived and if he had ever been given another choice in this life, he would have taken it sight unseen. This was not an instance of the grass seeming greener somewhere, anywhere else. As compared to the life he had here, any grass was probably greener or so he had always thought.

He looked around. "And my relatives?" he asked. As much as he utterly disliked them, he would rather leave and never come back than seek any restitution from them as to do so would be to acknowledge their lives had at least some miniscule meaning worthy of acknowledgment.

"Dobby does nothing that cants be undone. Theys might not be knowing thats. But theys be rememberings what Dobby dids to them and why. Theys be rememberings that no wizards be comings to helps them. Theys not be hurting Harry Potter again. But Dobby didn'ts think lessons alone be's enough so Dobby be warding this room so's neither Muggles nor Wizards be entering unless it be's by Harry Potter's leave, Sir."

"So they weren't harmed?"

"Only in their minds," Dobby concluded.

Harry seemed to accept that and frankly was unconcerned with what Dobby did since it seemed the Muggle authorities would probably find nothing even if they were called, aside from two people with crazy stories about aliens or some such and nothing to prove they were telling the truth. Moreover, from what little Harry had learned in the last couple of weeks, if wizards showed up, they too would find no evidence of magic, although they would probably be more likely to listen to his relatives' rants. A problem remained, however.

"So, I'm stuck in this room for a month then?" Harry asked.

"You can't leave through the door," Dobby nodded. "But you's not stuck. Dobby can takes you out and brings you back. And, while Harry Potter must be in this room for a time, Harry Potter not being in this room at all."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dobby be checking. Dobby be checking nasty muggleses and their living shed. Dobby be wondering whys the Great Harry Potter be living in such … begging Sir's pardon … squalor. Dobby be thinking that anywheres better for Harry Potter than this room, Sir. But Dobby be finding magic, Sir. Powerful magic in this place. Unnatural Magic."

"Unnatural magic?"

Dobby nodded. "Many wizards be living in places with natural magic. That be magics that exist whether there's be wizards there or not. Hogywarts be having natural magic. Diagon Alley be having natural magic. These be places where House Elves could lives without being bonded to wizards, if wizards would be letting it be. But many wizards not be wantsing to share with others: not with Elves, not with Goblins, not with Centaurs, not even with other wizards truth be known. Most wizards be then living in places not having natural magics. They be letting Elves live there too, but Elves then needing to be bonded."

"So you could have been free if you could have lived in a place with this natural magic?"

"Maybe. There being over four hundred Elves at Hogywarts what not be bound to witch or wizard. There being other not bound elves in magic places. But elf magic be far more powerful and Elves live far longer even in magical places if they be bound to a wizarding family that treats them proper.

"But Dobby wants being with his friend Harry Potter and Harry Potter not be living in such places. Dobby would rather be Harry Potter's Elf and friend than be wanting anything else. Harry Potter not be making Dobby his Elf. Dobby be choosing. But that not being what Dobby be trying to tells Harry Potter.

"There is being many wards on this Muggleses House, powerful wards, wizards wards and they not being natural. They all being set by same wizard one hundred and thirty-one moons ago. They all be designed to keep all but a few wizards from ever finding this place. Many, many kinds of wards. But all wards being tied to one ward and that ward be's tied to Harry Potter and his nasty Aunt. That ward is very powerful and very protective of Harry Potter, Sir. Dark wizards cannot be killing Mr. Harry Potter so long as that ward remains. But that ward be the weakest too. It cannot remain if Harry Potter not be here for at least thirty days a year. So Harry Potter be returned here to help that ward remain and to keep bad wizards from killing Harry Potter."

"Didn't protect me from my Uncle," Harry grumbled.

"They not be doing that. Wards must let muggleses in and let them know or Aunt not being here and wards fail. So, Dobby shouldn'ts be taking Harry Potter away from here while wards that keep Harry Potter safe from bad wizards remain. But, Harry Potter not says how he should stay here. A room can be a palace if one knows how."

"I don't think I have that kind of imagination," Harry said.

"But Dobby be finding that kinds of magic," the Elf added with a huge smile. "How to be in a room, to be here to recharging wards, and not to be in room? But Dobby being good House Elf be having answer. If Harry Potter be turning around, please?"

Harry turned. Behind him, in the space at the foot of his small bed was a trunk. He immediately knew it was not his trunk, not the one he had taken to Hogwarts the last two years. It was a little larger and certainly less battered about in appearance. But other than that, it would not have looked out of place in his dormitory. "It's a trunk," he said stating the obvious.

"Ah! Be true, Harry Potter. But what kinds of trunk? Dobby be going to Gringotts. Being Harry Potter's Elf, Dobby can be going to Gringotts to help Harry Potter and check on his accounts and to make withdrawals to attend to Harry Potter's business, and Harry Potter be giving Dobby lots of business to be doing, yes? Dobby be buying this trunk at shop what be selling special magical trunks. Look, look!" the Elf finished practically bouncing on his toes.

Harry was a little hesitant. Dobby's ideas of helping Harry in the past, while arguably well intentioned, had been painful in one way or another. But Harry now understood that it was the best that Dobby could do to help given he was then bound to another wizarding family and was actively trying to thwart the plans of that family's Head of House. He knelt down and opened the trunk. He expected to see an empty trunk. What he saw was the "trunk" was at the top of a ladder that descended he had no idea how far into a space below, except there couldn't be a space below, could there? His bedroom was above the kitchen and that dark space did not look like the kitchen. But curiosity got the best of him and he climbed into the top of the trunk with his feet on a ladder tread where he guessed the cabinets should be. If felt real and solid enough so he climbed down slowly. It was not far to whatever the bottom was although it seemed to be a floor. At most he had climbed down about ten feet and he looked up and saw Dobby following him. Dobby closed the trunk as he climbed down and suddenly the dark space was bathed in light. It seemed to be all wood: wooden floors, wood paneling to the ceiling and a wooden ceiling with light coming from bronze sconces on one of the walls and pegs lining another wall at eye level At either end of the trunk was a wooden door.

"Dobby? Where am I?"

"Harry Potter be in the Trunk. This being Harry Potter's cloak room which be where you enter and be leaving without magic or Elf. Pegs is for coats and such."

"What kind of trunk is this?"

"It be live in trunk for witches and wizards what cans affords it and not be wishing for big houses. It being harding to's finds than houses, but just as nice – and less expensive. This way," Dobby finished leading him to one of the doors. "The other door be leading to the rests of the trunk, but yous needs to see Control Room first to sets things up."

"Control Room?" Harry asked as Dobby opened the door and led him in. The room was not very large and was dominated by large panels of what looked like nobs, switches and darkened lights on the side walls and what looked like a screen on the far wall just beyond a desk like place with a chair.

"Here first," Dobby said pointing to something on the back wall. It was the only "panel" there and all Harry saw were what looked like two holes. "Harry Potter be placing finger in hole on left and wand in hole on right. It be keying – that being the word – keying Harry Potter to trunk and trunk to Harry and being keyed, Trunk obeys Harry Potter's commands and magic and no other witch or wizard can changes that. No ones, nothings not bound to the Great Harry Potter Sir cans open or enter without Harry Potters saying and without Harry Potter knowing."

"OUCH!" Harry cried out pulling his left forefinger from a hole after be followed Dobby's instruction. "That bloody well hurt!" He looked at the afflicted finger which had a drop of blood clearly visible and then looked at Dobby.

"Dobby is sorry, Sir. The magics of the Trunk and Wards being Goblin and wizard with Goblin security and … in…ter…face. It be needing blood and magic to set up for owner."

"Any other surprises like that?" Harry complained.

"No Sir. Now be pushing the panel itself," he added.

Harry did and it opened. There was a small space beyond barely the size of a shoebox and in that space there was a single, rather large brass key. Harry took it out and looked at it for a moment. Dobby indicated the wall of panels to Harry's right. It seemed there was a long row of knobs on the wall each having what looked like a column of five darkened lights above it. The lights were labeled from top to bottom: On Line, Standby, Charging, Failure, Magic Available. There was also a place for the key on that wall closets to the back wall which Dobby instructed Harry to insert his key into and turn to the right. Once he did, he heard a hum and the bottom two lights came on. The bottom one was white and the next one, "Failure" was red. Dobby explained that the bottom light meant there was magic available either from Harry or the environment to charge the systems. Failure meant the system had no charge and was not working. He learned each of the columns controlled either a ward or some other magical function which included more than he could have thought of. At each column, Dobby told him to turn the corresponding knob one click to the right to begin charging. As he did this the "Failure" light would flicker off as the yellow "Charging" light flickered on. He was told it might take a while for each system or ward to charge which gave Dobby time to explain each in turn.

There were several different wards on the trunk. Many were designed to protect the trunk from damage both from internal events and external threats. There were defensive wards as well to prevent attempts to break in either through the lid or by many magical means. Then there were wards designed to conceal the true nature of the trunk. It was explained that neither witches or wizards nor Muggles would find the trunk of any interest to them at all. This way, it was less likely to be tampered with or stolen. There was also a special ward that would allow Harry to enter or exit without magic without anyone noticing anything odd even if he were to do so in front of scores of people. Finally, there were wards that prevented any forms of magical travel into the trunk or out of it unless Harry himself allowed both that form of travel and the person or Elf or Owl for that matter that sought entry or exit. Apparently there was a way for Hedwig to enter the trunk magically and leave the same way. She would not even have to enter the building where the trunk was located so she could now come and go as she pleased at Privet Drive without his Muggle Relatives having any cause for complaint. Finally, there was one ward that really caught Harry's attention for it apparently shielded magic. What this meant was Harry could do magic inside the trunk anywhere, anytime once the ward was up and running and it could never be detected.

Then there were various magical systems that would work automatically when fully activated. There was a system that circulated air throughout the trunk and replaced the air as well. There was another for water and removal of waste water. There was a system for special storerooms that held perishables such as food and certain potions ingredients in a form of suspended animation. There was also a lighting system throughout the trunk. Apparently, there were fireplaces in the trunk so there had to be a magical way to draw away the smoke in such a way that it did not vent into whatever place the trunk was located. There was a magical system that made the trunk light enough to carry and move for, as Dobby explained, without this feature the spell Dobby had placed on the trunk would one day fail and it would then weigh as much as its entire contents which, Dobby said, was several tons at least. Finally, there was a "Motion Dampener" system. As the trunk could be moved about, stood on its side or even turned over, unless there was some magic to prevent it, everything and everyone inside would do the same thing. This could be both messy and dangerous so there was magic that meant the trunk could be tossed end over end down a hill but everything inside would be as if it was not moving at all. There was, apparently, an alarm feature to alert those inside if the trunk was being moved without Harry's authorization.

The whole idea of a trunk like this was that a witch or wizard could travel the world and never have to worry about accommodations because their "vacation home" was always with them.

Harry was amazed at the complexity of magic involved for a trunk. Eventually, the yellow lights flickered off and the blue "Standby" lights came on and Harry was asked to turn all the knobs one more time. As he did, the blue lights were replaced with the green "On Line" lights.

The Front of the trunk was his "Surveillance System." The wall was some kind of magical screen and the desk had some controls on it that Dobby explained. With those controls Harry could see outside of the trunk in every direction. Naturally at this time "down" was just black as he would be looking at the floor of his room at Privet Drive, but he could look all around the room and even directly overhead. It was, Dobby said, a good way to see if "nasty muggleses" or "Bad Wizards" somehow got into the room and were snooping.

Finally, on the wall opposite the large set of controls there was a single panel. It was similar to the ones on the other side except it only had one column of lights and next to it a couple of what looked like numerical key pads. Dobby explained this was a time compression ward as Harry turned the knob to begin charging it up. It would take at least a couple of days to build up a charge so that it could be activated. Then Harry had to tell the system what he wanted it to do and when he wanted it to be done. The activated ward altered the flow of time such that far more time passed in the trunk than outside. How much and how long was up to Harry. He could gain 720 hours in one go over an outside time of not less than three hours and not more than a day. It would then take a week for the ward to recharge before he could do it again. This was a way to gain time for relaxing or training or whatever Harry felt he needed extra time in the trunk to do. Harry felt the best bit was that people in the trunk would age at the same rate as those outside. The drawback was he needed to have enough food and supplies stockpiled in the trunk before the ward was activated for the duration of his "inside time." While water could be conjured magically, food could not. Thus if he wanted to use this feature he had to plan ahead, although Dobby would be there to help with that should Harry decide to try it out.

Harry already thought this trunk was the coolest thing he had ever seen or heard of and he still hadn't really seen any of it yet.


	6. Chapter 6: Hermione & Harry

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Sorry for the delay - which was even longer then I thought. I'm trying to keep ahead in this one and have been a little stuck in Chapter 16. I have my outline and all... the devil's in the details...

**CHAPTER 6: HERMIONE & HARRY**

Hermione's first trip on the Hogwarts express almost two years ago had seemed like an adventure in itself. It was her first real trip away from home without her parents and it was leading to what only months before she would have thought was nothing but a fairytale – a castle where she and others were to learn to do real magic spells and such. Perhaps like most all her classmates on that ride she was nervous and maybe a little scared as to what lay ahead, but there was the sense of wonder as well as the train traveled north from London to this new life. After six rides on the train, for she had not gone home for the Christmas Holidays this past year, she was beginning to wonder about the logic of this magical train, especially for Muggle Borns like her. It was truly an 'express' train. It travelled between King's Cross Station in London and Hogsmeade Station far to the north in Scotland without any stops in between. Yet she was also pretty certain that while the train was a magical conveyance, for almost the entire journey north the rails it traveled on were not. How it managed to avoid running into other trains along the way she had yet to find out but she knew it passed through and by Muggle train stations from Stevenage, through Petersborough, Grantham, Newark, Ratford, Doncaster, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick, Dunbar, and onto to Scotland and Edinburgh, Sterling, Perth, Pitlochry, Avienmore and Inverness before continuing on what she now thought was a magical spur to Hogsmeade. She knew this because she had noted the stations as the train passed through them during her trip over the Christmas Holiday her first year and realized when she looked it up in her local library that these were the same towns that one could travel to from King's Cross on British Rail.

She had not really questioned the logic of the Hogwarts express before. But when Dumbledore allowed students to return home early when he cancelled end of year exams, she began to question it. It was, after all, only the students who could get to where they needed to go by floo who were allowed to leave school early. This left those Muggle Borns and Muggle raised students such as herself stuck there, for lack of a better term. She had not minded. It gave her uninterrupted access to Hogwarts Library and, far more important to her now, access to Harry who was stuck there as well. She wondered if they would have become boyfriend and girlfriend had they not had to wait almost two weeks for a train and she was grateful for that time. But a part of her was now a little put out by the fact that it seemed Muggle Borns were yet again set apart and left inconvenienced by their new world. She already knew that magicals traveled to London by floo and other magical means to get to Diagon Alley and King's Cross. There was, in fact, a magical section in the Old Midlands Hotel, a huge, red bricked Victorian hotel in front of St. Pancras rail station and right across a small road from King's Cross. Some families stayed there while most used the magical hotel's floo the day they arrived from or departed for home.

For Muggle Borns like her, they had to get to King's Cross by Muggle means which had to be extremely inconvenient for a Muggle Born from Ireland or Scotland or Wales or anywhere that was not a couple of hours or less away by car or train. Harry had told her that his Uncle drove him in from where he lived in Surrey and had complained about parking when he was there to pick Harry up last summer. She wouldn't know about that. The truth was she had not seen the outside of King's Cross at all since she got her Hogwarts Letter. Her parents drove from their home a few miles to the rail station in Slough, then took the train from there to Paddington Station and then the Underground to King's Cross. They were minutes away from the Slough station and the truth was parking there was much easier than trying to park in London proper. She thought about this sitting on the trains as they made their way back to Slough to take the short drive to their home. King's Cross was somewhat convenient for Hermione and her parents, but made less and less sense for Muggle Borns who lived further from London and no sense whatsoever to those who lived along the Muggle rail line from King's Cross to Inverness. She knew from reading _Hogwarts: A History_ that it had been arguably worse for Muggle Borns before the introduction of the Hogwarts Express in 1902. Before then, Muggle Borns never returned home for the holidays at all.

She had time to think of these things as she and her parents sat on their various trains back to Slough station. The trains they were on were not conducive to meaningful conversation at the best of times and given that magic was bound to be a significant part of their discussions for the foreseeable future, they could not talk at all about her year at school until they got home and away from any possible prying ears.

It never crossed Hermione's mind as she thought about the Hogwarts Express that she was, perhaps for the first time in her life, questioning what had obviously been decisions of adults and, more importantly, adults in significant positions of authority.

Her father, Robert Granger, was also lost in his own thought on their trip back to Slough. He and his wife were both thirty-five years old having been born within weeks of each other in the spring on 1958. They had known each other for as long as they could remember, although they both knew it had not been all their lives. Rose Parker had moved into the garden house in London four doors down from where Robert Granger lived with his parents with her parents and her older brother and sister when they were both five years old. They attended Infants and Primary together and knew of each other and, they both would admit, were friendly to each other but it was not until Secondary School that they became friends. Neither of them attended the local Comprehensive, rather they both found themselves attending a rather atypical "independent" secondary school in London. It was independent in that it was not part of the British School system so their parents had to pay to send them there and they had to pass an admissions exam to get in. It was atypical because it was from its relatively recent start co-educational. It had been established by a very wealthy and somewhat eccentric (it was said) businessman who thought public education was too standardized and the independents elitist and old fashioned. However it came into being, Robert and Rose found themselves in a school where the only other students they knew from before were each other and as a result they went from being friendly to becoming friends.

For some reason they still found rather peculiar (as did their families) the two of them had wanted to become Dentists from a rather early age. Privately Robert had told Rose that it was probably in part due to the fact it was the only way he ever got a lolly from his Mum without significant effort, after all the Dentist gave it to him. But whatever the reason was, they both were set on that path which, if anything, brought them closer together. They studied together for their classes and even more for what were then called "O Levels" which they sat when they were sixteen and were arguably the biggest potential stumbling block in their path to their goals. After all, you needed high enough "O Levels" to take the classes you needed for the A Level exams that you needed to do well on to get into a university. If you didn't do well on your "O Levels," you could forget university and the closest they could hope to achieve in their desired occupation was to attend a technical school to become a dental hygienist or x-ray technician or some such.

But they did do well on their exams and they both went to the same university in London and studied dentistry. Unlike most undergraduate degrees which took three years, dentistry took five. But at least this was not the United States where they would have had to take a four year undergraduate program after Secondary School before they could even sit the exams to apply for a dental school and where both degrees would probably cost a small fortune in tuition. By the time they started university together they were engaged and they married after their second year which was when Robert received a nice inheritance from his Grand-uncle who had recently passed away. Had it not been for the inheritance which allowed him to buy a car and a nice garden house in a nice London neighborhood, they would have waited until they had their feet on the ground as Dentists.

Their daughter Hermione had always been full of surprises. This was certainly due to the fact that she was very intelligent and had always been well ahead of peers her age when it came to reading, writing and school work. Robert also knew now that magic had a lot to do with some of the odd surprises over the years as well. But she had been a surprise since the beginning and an object lesson that no method of birth control is absolutely perfect. He and his new wife were planning on children one day, but not until after they finished dental school and were settled in their careers. Hermione, it seemed, had other plans and arrived at the beginning of the fall term of their fourth year in Dental School. Things would have been difficult trying to attend university and raise an infant daughter at the same time had it not been for the inheritance Robert had received from his grand-uncle which paid for a woman to take care of their daughter when they were at school and later when they were working.

They moved to their current home not long after leaving dental school. They had attained work at a dental surgery in Slough and bought a house a few miles away – again thanks to that inheritance. They lived within five miles of Windsor Castle and, perhaps not so oddly, had never been to see it really. Well, Robert and Rose had not done the tourist thing although they did drive by on occasion. Hermione had been there a couple time on class trips while in Primary School.

As he sat on the train that day, Robert reflected upon his daughter, what she had been telling them in letters and when she was with them practically from the moment she had left to attend Hogwarts and what he had seen with his own eyes earlier at King's Cross. One thing that had always bothered him was that while living at home his daughter had never had a single real friend. He could not see why that was. He could understand how some children might be put off by her intelligence and her ambition to succeed in classes, but he and Rose had been like that too when they were young and they had friends even before they became friends with each other. Hermione did not seem introverted and certainly was no shrinking violet. But she had never made a friend until she went to Hogwarts. There was a part of him that suspected that maybe magic had something to do with that but he had no real evidence to support his suspicion beyond the fact it was the only thing he could think of that distinguished her from her parents as a child.

Then she goes to Hogwarts and within a couple of months she had two friends – or one in particular. She did tell him about being trapped in a bathroom by a marauding troll and how the two boys had come to her rescue which Rose had to say was romantic in a way. But it was obvious that while she claimed she was friends with both of her rescuers, one had truly stood out and that one was Harry Potter. As a father, there was a part of him that was worried that her best friend was a boy. But then again, when he was her age his best friend was a girl so while he was willing to play the game of trying to scare off suitors, it seemed a bit hypocritical to him to try too hard with Harry assuming what his daughter had said about the boy was accurate enough. Then again, if Harry proved to be the absolute worst sort of lad whose only real interest in her was getting in her knickers all bets were off. And right now that was one of the things that concerned him because even though their daughter had not told them he was her boyfriend in the kissing and potentially knicker dropping sense, it was obvious to him seeing them together earlier that they were more than "just friends." He assumed it was a recent development for she had always been honest – at times disturbingly so – about what was going on with her at school and he was pretty certain she would have written about that kind of change in her relationship with the boy.

Then again, they had not had a letter from her in over a month. They knew she had been petrified by something. They also knew that being petrified was not in and of itself life threatening and that the "medical" staff at the school was hard at work preparing to "restore" their daughter, whatever that meant. They had received a letter from Professor McGonagall telling them about what had happened to their daughter and that she was not the only one and the staff was currently at a loss as to how it happened but was working hard to find out and make sure it never happened again. It was of little consolation to them at the time and they definitely had begun discussing other educational options for their daughter and the only thing that had prevented it from moving beyond the discussion stage was this Harry boy for it was clear just how important he was to her. This all went back to her not having any friends before. She had one now, one that even before they saw him with her earlier they both knew meant a lot to their daughter and they were concerned what would happen if they interfered with that even if it was otherwise in what they saw as her best interests. Professor McGonagall had written them a few weeks later saying that the problem had been dealt with and their daughter had been restored with no ill effects which was a relief. But they had been a little disturbed not to receive one final letter from her prior to her returning from school. It had been the only thing they had talked about thus far once they passed the barrier into the Muggle side for it could be asked and answered without obvious references to her magical world. She had told them she was working hard to keep up with her classes and find out what was going on and, as she was going to be home in less than two weeks, she decided to focus on that than writing a letter.

Robert was forced to wonder if she was really focusing on that Harry boy and in what ways. True, she was only thirteen and he was only twelve and what he saw did not suggest anything inappropriate for their age or any other had occurred, but that did not mean they weren't engaging in "recreational activities" he was not inclined to be happy about.

Rose Granger also spent the train rides in silence reflecting upon things. After all, in her two years at Hogwarts Hermione had been attacked by a troll, almost turned into a cat and petrified and it was only the cat thing that was in anyway their daughter's fault, which may explain why she and her husband heard it from her in a letter before they heard the official version from Professor McGonagall. Hermione, it seemed, probably told them the unvarnished truth about what had happened: about making a potion that was years above their level and how it had worked and would have worked for her if she had been more careful about verifying the final ingredient. Hermione had assumed that the long hair she had taken from another student's robes was that student's hair when, in fact, that student had a long haired cat. The potion she was making was supposed to allow the user to assume "the form" of another person by adding one of their hairs. If done properly, it would be impossible to tell the person apart from the original based upon appearance and the timber of their voice. It was also supposed to be temporary. Apparently, it was not meant to be used to turn into an animal as there was a branch of magic dedicated to that art and such a partial transformation was not so temporary.

Hermione told them why they made the potion and without naming names who they sought to impersonate and why. Something was prowling the halls of Hogwarts petrifying students and they thought they knew who was behind it. By the beginning of the Christmas Holidays a cat and two students were in the infirmary as a result of the attacks. It turned out there was no basis for Hermione and her friends suspicions even if their suspect "seemed like the type" so the potion had been for naught and Hermione had not even been able to ask for extra credit as, apparently, use of that potion was against school rules. Were it not for the threat posed by whatever it was that was stalking the school, Rose would have considered this misadventure quite humorous especially as Hermione had managed to send her parents a photograph of her as "Catgirl" as Robert had dubbed her.

Rose was pretty certain there had been no further attacks after the first two until Hermione herself had become a victim a little over a month ago. Her certainty was based upon the simple fact that Hermione would have told them about it in a letter and her last letter dated the day before the attack on her was silent on that point. All they knew was that she and Harry were still trying to find out who was behind the attacks and what was causing the petrifications. Hermione tried to assure them that this was a safe pursuit, that most of the work was either library research or observing as opposed to skulking around when it was dangerous, but their daughter reassurances had not been very effective and were not worth the parchment they were written upon once Hermione herself had fallen victim.

Like Robert, Rose's first instinct had been to pull Hermione out of that school the moment she recovered from whatever had happened to her. But she was also aware that as dangerous as things seemed at the school, she had no idea if that sort of thing would not happen somewhere else. Moreover she had never seen her daughter happier since she started at that school and more importantly since she became friends with one Harry Potter. Rose knew that pulling Hermione out of school might keep their only daughter safe, but at what cost? It would break her heart and given how hard it had been for her to make friends before there was no guarantee she would do so again anytime soon. They had decided not to pull Hermione out of Hogwarts, but that did not mean they were not going to have a long, serious discussion about what she had been through at that school over the last couple of years.

Of course it really was not that simple. As for pulling Hermione out of Hogwarts, there were two major problems. The first was Robert and Rose knew next to nothing about the wizarding world and had no idea if there were any other magical schools in Britain or anywhere else for that matter and if there were they had no idea if what had happened the last two years was out of the ordinary for that world. Every letter home from Hermione suggested that the wizarding world was like some place out of a fantasy novel or children's fairytale and the problem with fairytales was that those fictional worlds were hardly child safe. The only other option was to send her back into the Muggle school system or to an independent Muggle school. First off, there was no denying their daughter was a witch and to take her from that world would force her to spend the rest of her life denying a significant part of who she was. Moreover, she had been out of that educational system for two years and, with GCSE exams only three years away, to throw her back in now could be a disaster for her. She was two years behind her peer group and they had no excuse for the discrepancy as, after all, education was compulsory until the age of 16 and they would have to show she had been receiving a "proper" education over the last two years. The Grangers could not and any attempt to hide it, such as sending her back with her peer group, would fail. She had been at the top of her classes all through school, even at Hogwarts. As smart as she was, she would certainly struggle just to get by at first and if she had not caught up to where she would have been had she not ventured into the magical world by the time she took her GCSE's, in addition to depriving her of her life as a witch, they could have effectively deprived her of her full potential as a Muggle as well. That was unacceptable and argued strongly for keeping her at Hogwarts, trolls and student petrifying monsters roaming the halls notwithstanding.

Naturally, the fact that pulling her out of Hogwarts and its affect on the only friendship Hermione had ever had did weigh into Rose's decision even just a few days ago. Until today, while Rose knew of Harry, all she really knew and all she really had to go on was what Hermione wrote and told them about him. She was all too aware that a besotted girl – and she had suspected her daughter might be – might not be able to see things as they really were. Rose still needed to get to know the boy better for her to be truly comfortable with the relationship, but it was obvious seeing the two of them together that if anything Hermione had understated things. Rose suspected some of it was simply because there had been a recent development in their relationship, one which had occurred since Hermione's last letter. But there seemed to be more than that going on. Rose had a strong feeling that whatever was between the two of them went far deeper than the hopes and desires of a formerly friendless girl or the immature, hormonally charged infatuations of two young teenagers. She suspected Harry had issues unrelated to Hermione. But it seemed that those issues were not a major factor right now. That's not to say they had not been nor ever would be, but Rose felt that they were not going to be a relationship ending thing in and of themselves. The truth was, seeing the two of them together almost reminded herself of Robert and her at the same age. They looked like she remembered feeling.

She could not deny her daughter a chance at that life that she had enjoyed. She would rather Hermione follow in her footsteps – not that she would ever tell Hermione the details: best friend of the love of her life at age eleven, girlfriend to the only boy she would ever have a romance with by thirteen, lover of the only man she would ever love by sixteen, engaged to him and certain he was the love of her life by eighteen – although she was certain of the latter much sooner, married and twenty, and so on. Rose had been spared much of a young woman's romantic angst and she wished that for her daughter. True, she and Robert did have their own interests. She was into gardening, which pleased Robert in that as her flower beds increased there was less yard to mow. He was into golf, which she thought was a little ironic since he had become a self proclaimed expert on a properly cut fairway, but had to be prodded to properly cut the lawn. Their marriage had its bumps and heartaches for she miscarried three times since Hermione was born and the Doctors were baffled as to why. But she would rather Hermione have this life than many she knew of.

Especially that of her older sister Liz. Liz was six years older than Rose and while Rose had but one man in her life, the one she first kissed at thirteen, Liz had changed boyfriends as often as she changed outfits while shopping for clothes. Liz honestly could not remember the names of most of the men she had dated in her life and even a fair few of the men she had slept with when she was still single. And her married life had been as unstable as her single life. She had been more prolific, bearing four children from her first two husbands. She was currently engaged to potential husband number three and Rose was at a loss as to what her sister sought in life. That was not the life she wished for her daughter.

She saw in Hermione's relationship with Harry hints of the relationship she had with Robert at that age. That alone was a reason to keep her daughter at Hogwarts for now, although it also meant there would be much to talk about once they got home.

There was a final control panel on the wall in the Control Room. But Dobby told Harry it was not yet necessary, although he would explain what it controlled in a little while. Dobby led Harry from the Trunk's Control Room now that all the various magical things were working. They again passed through the Vesituble with the ladder leading up to the Trunk's lid and Harry's room at Privet Drive. Dobby then opened the door to another small room. There was another door opposite where they entered and to one side there were several trunks, eight in total.

"What are these?" Harry asked.

"They being Connection or Access Trunks, Harry Potter Sir," Dobby replied.

"Connection Trunks?"

Dobby nodded. He opened one for Harry and Harry looked in and saw another ladder leading down. "It being just a ladder, a coat room likes Harry Potter just be seeing and but one door out. That door be taking yous to a door in this Trunk," he added indicating the one they were in not the one they were looking in. "Connection Trunks cans be anywhere Harry Potter be or Harry Potter cans be giving it to trusted friends he keys in to the Big Trunks wards. Only theys or Harry Potter or Dobby cans be entering and leaving the Connection Trunk. Harry Potter coulds have a Connection Trunk here or somewhere else and the Big Trunks with Harry Potter at Hogywarts and he can get between the Trunks. He cans enter the Connection here and steps through its door into this Big Trunk at Hogywarts or Harry Potter's friends cans have a Connection Trunk and Harry Potter cans be going to sees them or theys can be comings to sees Harry Potter even if they knows not where Harry Potter be and Harry Potter nots be knowing wheres they is being."

"So," Harry said, "if I were to give Hermione a trunk like this," indicating the Connection Trunk, "I could visit her whenever I wanted or she could visit me whenever she wanted even if she was on holiday?"

Dobby nodded. "She be needing to haves her Trunks with hers and it cans only brings you to where her Trunks be. If she not being there… But yes, Harry Potter Sir. She cans be coming to Harry Potter's Trunk and yous can be goings to hers."

"Brilliant! Why eight?"

Dobby shrugged. "They nots be costing much at all and Dobby thinks being betters to have too many thans too few."

"I take it that's what the other control panel was for?"

Dobby nodded. He then walked to the far door and opened it for Harry. Harry stepped from what he thought of as the "Spare Trunk Room" into a large space. It had very high ceilings, tall windows on either side, a large set of double doors across from where he stood with a stair leading up to a small balcony and another door and another stair leading down somewhere. There were also two huge fireplaces on the far wall as well, one between the stair going up and one of the windowed walls and the other between the stair going down and the other windowed wall. The floors appeared to be polished wood and the walls, well he didn't know what they were except white and elegant. He could swear this room was easily almost as big as his relatives house. Fancy chandeliers hung from an ornate ceiling providing light. Oddly, the room was unfurnished. Harry turned and saw the door he and Dobby had come through and four door frames on either side. The four frames were odd in that there was no door, just a blank section of the wall where the door should be.

"What are those?" Harry asked.

"They be where Connecting Trunks Doors be opening if Connecting Trunks are being used," Dobby answered.

Dobby then told Harry that the very large room they were in was the Entry, whatever that was. Dobby then led Harry up the wide stair to the balcony and through the door. They were in a corridor. There was a door on either side and one at the far end and it was to this last door that Dobby led Harry. Beyond it was what could best be described as an apartment of sorts. They entered into a Sitting Room furnished with some comfortable looking chairs, a couch and some polished wooded tables set on either side of a large fireplace flanked by windows. There was a door to the left and to the right. One led to a study with a large wooden desk, fancy looking file cabinets on one wall, floor to ceiling bookcases on another and a fireplace flanked by more windows on the third wall. Harry could see that his school books were already placed in the bookcase, although they barely took up any room at all. There was a large leather chair at the desk and some smaller ones in the room as well. Across the Sitting Room from the Study was another door that led to what Harry thought was the largest bedroom he had ever seen. In addition to the huge, four poster bed with ornamental curtains, the room also had places to sit, a couple of large dressers and wardrobes, nightstands beside the bed and a dressing mirror. There was also a huge bathroom with a bathtub that, were it any larger, might be a small swimming pool and a separate and very large shower. Harry's few toiletries were already arranged on the marble looking counter by the sink and he had already noticed his real trunk was at the foot of the bed. He also learned that next to the bathroom was a huge, walk in closet.

He could not imagine anyone needing so much space just for a bedroom for Dobby had told him that this suite of rooms was his bedroom. He then learned that the other two doors along the corridor led to somewhat smaller bedroom suites. Dobby suggested they were for his friends should his friends come and visit and that Dobby could expand the floor to add up to six more such suites if need be. Again, Harry could only wonder as to why anyone would need so much. Harry was sure he could have made do with a small bedroom, small bathroom, small kitchen and one other room that could act as his sitting room, study and a place to eat his meals, but he did not want to disappoint Dobby with this.

Dobby then led him on a tour of the floor below, beyond the double doors across from the entrance to this part of the Trunk. The doors opened into a huge Hall with tall windows and four fireplaces, two on either side. There were also doors on either side as well. The hall seemed to be furnished with endtables, chairs, couches, sideboards and other things yet it still seemed more empty than full. Four doors opened on either side. On the right, the doors opened into two smaller, furnished Parlors, although each was large in its own right and had its own fireplace and windows. Harry wondered how there could be windows in the Hall when these rooms would just be in the way and Dobby replied:

"How cans there be windows in a Trunks that not have any that cans be seen? Magic. We cans makes the windows look out at mountains, forests, fields, streams, the sea or whatever and its will look real."

Harry had to think about that for a bit as Dobby showed him the next room on the left hand side which was a dining room set for twenty. He wondered if he was somehow smaller in this trunk. He did not feel any smaller. Dobby had said that the trunk could weight tons without magic to lighten it and had Dobby not reinforced the floor of his bedroom it would have crashed right through the floor so maybe he wasn't really smaller, just in some kind of magical other dimension. He wondered if this sort of thing was covered in either Runes or Arithmancy as Dobby led him to the final room on the left hand side which was a very Muggle looking kitchen. Dobby explained that this kitchen was for Harry Potter to use as Harry had said he liked to cook. Dobby would be cooking meals in the Elf Kitchen which was in the basement and the meals would be delivered to the Dining Room much as they were at Hogwarts.

On the right hand side of the Hall were two large bathrooms. They had four sinks and four toilets each and one also had two urinals which he guessed made the other one for girls. There was also a room with various games. He recognized a chess set on a table, a pocket billiards table and dart boards, but there were others as well. Finally there was a huge Library which already had a lot of books although it was by no means full. It turned out the books were from the Potter Vaults for, while he could not access the money until he attained his full inheritance, as the last Potter he could access the books – at least the ones that were in the vaults for it was possible there might be others at a Potter property but until Harry went to Gringotts to learn of such properties, Dobby had no idea if there was more.

"I really don't need all of this," Harry began.

"Harry Potter be living heres for rest of Summer and maybes evens 'til he be finishing Hogywarts seeings as Harry Potter cans be bringing this Trunks there or, if not it, Connecting Trunk so he's can comes and goes. It be much nicer than Nasty Muggleses house, yes? Dobby hoped Harry Potter would be liking. Betters to have too much thans not enough, Dobby be thinking."

Harry decided not to press the issue as Dobby had clearly worked hard on this. Dobby then led him to the floor below. Here he found there was a large gym, a swimming pool – which he felt was odd given that he couldn't swim – what Dobby called a dueling room for practicing spells a potions lab – which Harry also found odd given the fact he loathed everything about potions – and a "Pantry" filled with ingredients from "A" to "Z" under a magical stasis field to keep them fresh. The final floor, the basement or dungeons, contained the Elf Kitchen, storerooms and what Dobby called the Elf Quarters which he assured Harry were luxurious as compared to his prior accommodations. What Harry was sure of was he had absolutely no feeling he had ever seen this place or done any of this before which was a relief.

"Dobby," Harry asked once the tour was over, "not that I don't think this is brilliant, but can I afford it? I mean, it's huge! You could fit my relatives' place in here several times over! This has got to be expensive."

Dobby nodded. "It not be coming for knuts 'n sickels, be true. But Harry Potter be having far mores than knuts 'n sickles."

"Oh?"

"Dobby not by buying without knowing what Dobby cans spends. Dobby be's goings to Gringotts first and speaking with Goblin what handles Elf matters, those be Elf access to Masters' Vaults for buyings and such. So Dobby be knowing what could be spent for Harry Potter and what nots be spendable. Harry Potter's Trunk be expensive – very and be more so with furnitures and things. But Dobby not be spending even one of three parts of Harry Potter's spendables."

"Um, what do you mean?"

"Potter Family be quite wealthy and be that for many and many lives before. Dobby not beings allowed to know how wealthy. Potter Family Vault cants be touched until Harry Potter cans claims what's his full rights. But Harry Potter be having his own vault and Dobby be getting more than enough Galleons from that vaults for all the purchases and there still being lots and lots left. Dobby cans tell Harry Potter about his Vault."

Harry nodded.

"It be called a Trust Vault. When the Great Harry Potter be born, his grandfather be Head of House. His father be living offs his own Trust Vault at the time, and the Trusts be similar and same as Potter Trusts have been for many lives before. When Harry Potter be born, Grandfather Potter be paying for Harry Potter to go to Hogywarts and then be making Trust Vault for Harry Potter so Harry Potter's cans be living until he become Head of House."

"Grandfather?" Harry asked. "Is he alive?"

Dobby shook his head. "He not be. He be dying around the times the Great Harry Potter be surviving."

"Oh."

"The day the Great Harry Potter be born, 10,000 Galleons be placed in Harry Potter's Vault. It be earning interest every year since, as has the 10,000 Galleons that be added to Harry Potter's Vault on Harry Potter's First Birthday, Second Birthday, Third Birthday and so on. The monies what be added from the Potter family Vaults be added every birthday until Harry Potter be Head of House or twenty-five, whatever be first. This be called 'Principal' and Harry potter cants be spending 'Principal' until he be Head of House. But Principal be earning interest and Harry Potter cans be spending interest, some, most or alls of it whenever he be wanting. When Dobby be goings to Gringotts, Harry Potter be having 130,000 Galleons in Principal which he cants be spending. That Principal be earning Harry Potter 11,700 Galleons this year. Harry Potter having spent 470 Galleons for Hogywarts things last two summers so as of Dobby seeing Goblins, Harry Potter be having 118,819 Galleons in interest he cans be spending whenever he be wanting and what not be spent also be earning interest. Dobby be spending 35,207 Galleons on Trunk and what be in Trunk. Harry Potter still be having 83,612 Galleons in Vault he cans spends whenever he be wanting."

To be honest, Harry's knowledge of money was mostly academic for it had been taught in Primary School, namely how to count change and such. Harry rarely ever had any money of his own before his first trip to Diagon Alley and what he had was either very reluctantly given to him or was change he found lying about. He knew there were piles of magical coins in his vault, but if asked how much he had withdrawn he could not give any precise amount. It was enough to fill a small pouch, he would say and he had a pocketful on the train to Hogwarts. But even he knew that Galleons were like Pounds and seventy-three thousand was quite a lot in either world. He knew one had to exchange Pounds for Galleons to shop in Diagon Alley for Hermione had told him about her first trip to the magical shopping district. He did not know what that exchange rate was and assumed it was one for one. That was probably a good thing given that the current exchange rate was 6.75 Pounds to the Galleon. As large as 35,000 of anything sounded as the money Dobby had spent or 83,000 for the money still left, the truth was Dobby had spent 237,647.25 _Pounds_ and Harry had 564,381 _Pounds_ left that he could spend at will, not including any interest he would earn on that and the 877,500 _Pounds_ he had in Principal. Harry would probably have passed out in shock to learn that he was already effectively a millionaire.

"Is that a lot of money?" he asked.

"It being more than many have, less than some," Dobby replied.

"Do the Dursleys get any of this?"

Dobby shook his head. "They be muggleses. They not being allowed wizard's money even if they be family unless they be spending it all on wizards."

Harry was relieved to hear that. "So, I still have a lot left then?"

Dobby nodded.

"Well, that's good. I've been meaning to buy some decent clothes for once."


	7. Chapter 7: History Lessons

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: HISTORY LESSONS.**

"So let me get this straight," Robert said. He and his wife were sitting with Hermione talking about the year that had gone by. After all, they had not seen their daughter since September and it was not exactly a quiet year at her school. "A basilisk is a huge, ruddy snake of sorts that does not exist in nature, magical or otherwise, but is really a creation of Dark Magic and is hatched by a toad sitting on a chicken egg?"

Hermione nodded.

"We may accept the fact that magic is real and you are really a witch," Robert shook his head, "but even so it still sounds … crazy."

"Actually," Hermione replied restoring to her recitation tone of voice, "you will find a similar description of a basilisk in Encyclopedia Britannica aside from the reference to Dark Wizards or any implication that they are anything but a myth or fairytale. Last year it was the Philosopher's Stone which is the Holy Grail of Alchemy and Nicholas Flamel who is said to have made one, again that can be found in Encyclopedia Britannica but it is discredited as a legend. Most of the stuff I've learned is known of in the Muggle World, just not believed. Well, that and I am learning it in greater detail."

"And does our Encyclopedia say that a basilisk's gaze can kill or turn a person to stone? Does it say that only the crow of a rooster can kill it?"

"It doesn't say anything about petrifying, but then again neither do the magical sources I've read. Otherwise yes, it does. And as to the roosters, both it and the magical sources are wrong. There are other ways to kill them, it's just unbelievably dangerous."

"So the learned treatises on the subject state that its gaze kills, but does not petrify? Why?"

"Daddy, they don't even mention petrification. I don't know why although if I were to have a theory it would be that the right conditions for petrification had never occurred before or, if they had, it was blamed on something else."

"So why is it you and three other students are not dead?"

"None of us really looked at it," Hermione said. "Colin was the first and he saw it through the view finding lens on an old muggle camera – you know the ones where the real lens is at the end of some accordion thing? Justin saw it through a ghost, which would be like seeing it through a fog or a mist. Penelope and I saw it reflected in a mirror. Not one of us saw it with our naked eyes as it were which I think was why we were just petrified."

"So you went looking for it?" Rose asked.

"No Mum! I had the mirror so I could avoid it if I could. I was using the mirror to look around corners. I didn't think I'd get it in the face, I mean what are the odds of that?"

"Pretty good if it was stalking you as prey," Robert noted. "But at least she was thinking ahead, Rose. So, how'd the staff get rid of it? They did, didn't they?"

"Well, it's dead," Hermione said, "but it was Harry who killed it."

"He just happen to have a rooster in his pocket, did he?" Robert said teasingly.

"No. Someone had killed all the roosters anywhere nearby by then."

"But you said they were almost impossible to kill with magic!"

"Harry didn't kill it with his wand," Hermione said, "he had a sword."

"And how did he avoid the gaze?"

"He closed his eyes and a Phoenix which had come to help him gouged out the basilisk's eyes."

"This sounds even more unbelievable than last year," Robert said. "And once again there were no teachers there to do their jobs?"

"Professor Lockhart went with them," Hermione said. "Of course, Harry and Ron had to encourage him to help."

"Encouraged?"

"According to Harry, Professor McGonagall – who was acting Headmistress – told Lockhart to deal with the situation as he had been bragging all along he knew exactly what was going on and what needed to be done. Harry and Ron followed him and rather than do his duty it turns out he was trying to do a runner. Harry disarmed him and he and Ron brought him along at wand point. They had the drop on him as it were and Harry said his thought at the time was to use the coward as basilisk bait but Lockhart managed to get a dodgy wand off of Ron and then, while trying to erase Harry and Ron's memories, erased his own instead. Harry was told Lockhart will probably be in Long Term Spell Damage at the magical hospital for years."

"I don't know whether to burst out laughing or to seriously reconsider our decision about all this, Rose."

"Let her tell the whole story, Bob."

And so she did; both the parts she knew and the parts that Harry told her later.

"And just how big was this snake thing he killed with a sword?" Rose asked when Hermione finished.

Hermione shrugged. "I asked him and he said he really didn't know. He wasn't about to stick around and measure it. But he said it was about as thick around as he was tall and … well sixty feet long or so."

"Impossible!" Robert said. "That's twice as long as any snake known!"

"It was a basilisk, Daddy. It's not really a snake as we know them. Moreover, if the legend is indeed true then it's been down there for over a thousand years. It might even be bigger."

"Don't you think he might have been exaggerating, dear?" Rose asked. "After all, you weren't there. Maybe he was trying to impress you."

"Harry does not exaggerate about that kind of thing," Hermione growled defensively. "If anything, he was probably understating what happened. And as for impressing me? First off, I was still petrified at the time and no one told him for certain I would be restored. True, he told me after I was, but he knows better than to brag about that sort of thing to me. As for impressing me, he didn't need to kill the thing to do that. He won me over last year with the troll and what did impress me is he figured this one out without my help."

"So…," Rose said, "did he kiss you before or after he told you that tale?"

"He told me just after I recovered and sat with him in the Great Hall," Hermione said. "And I kissed him first and that was over a week later!" she added without thinking.

"WHAT?" Robert asked.

"Did he kiss you back?" Rose added.

Hermione just sat there and blushed furiously in reply.

"Was it on the cheek or on the lips?"

"Yes?" Hermione replied meekly.

"Well?" Robert asked, "which was it?"

"B-both."

"And was that all or did the two of you go further than that?" he continued with accusation in his voice.

"Robert...," Rose began.

"Daddy, I spent less than a week as his girlfriend after our first kiss. Most of that time we were in the library studying or working on our summer assignments. Our "alone" time was spent under a tree by the lake where anybody could see us and all we did was talk a lot and kiss a little. If you are suggesting Harry's even thought of doing more than that … well, maybe he has because I have … but we didn't. He didn't ask it of me nor I of him. That doesn't mean we won't one day. We're not ready for that step yet."

"I'm not happy with this! You're too young!"

"ROBERT!" Rose snapped. "Say another word and you're on the couch until further notice!"

"But Rose…?"

"But nothing, you hypocrite! How old was I when you first kissed me? I was a few months younger than Hermione is now, wasn't I? How old was I when we first slept together? It was my sixteenth birthday, in case you've forgotten and the only reason I was sixteen is we both agreed to wait that long!"

"But it's different."

"How? You've heard Hermione talk about him and read her letters. How is her relationship with Harry any different than our relationship was before our first kiss? And don't say because he's a wizard and she's a witch 'cause that's a red herring and you know it! Is it possible this is nothing more than a teenage romance that will fizzle out in a few months? Of course, but I don't think that this is what we're dealing with here. She's our daughter, Robert, and I'm convinced she is our daughter in this as well! I am not going to deny her the chance at the kind of relationship we have had just because we may well be exceptional. To do so is to say that we don't think she is as well!"

"That's not what I meant, Rose! Do you think I would not want our daughter to have the kind of life we've had together? Everyone said we were an odd lot when we were about her age, remember? And yet we never had to play the game they all got stuck playing or, as in the case of your sister, are still stuck playing after twenty years! I would love it if she and Harry are at the start of something like we have. I just don't see it and … I'd rather not see her…"

"What don't you see?" Hermione said trying to keep from running out of the room. "Why can't we be like you, Daddy?"

"Because Harry's been abused."

"What?" Hermione began but was ignored for now.

"What a load of tosh!" Rose said. "Of course he has, but so what? Why does that matter? And don't say it's 'cause he's liable to do the same to Hermione! First off, something like that would have happened by now and you know it. Second and more importantly, while most abusers were themselves abused as children, it does not follow that most victims grow up to be abusive!"

"What do you mean Harry's been abused?" Hermione yelled. "When? By whom? How do you know?"

"What has Harry told you about his home life?" Rose asked.

"Well, he's from a town in Surrey," Hermione began and then stopped when she realized she knew far more about Ron's home life than Harry's even though she saw Harry as her best friend and she was certain he knew far more about her life outside of Hogwarts than she did of his. Whenever "home" had come up in conversation or "family," Harry was content to listen and never said much of anything. "Not much, really. His parents were murdered when he was a baby, but everyone knows that and he doesn't talk about it at all. In fact mentioning that is one easy way to see the back of him. I know he lives with his mother's sister and her family, but that's it."

"You said he spent the last two Christmas Holidays at school," Rose commented.

Hermione nodded. "Ron was there both times and I was there this Christmas."

"Did he stay there 'cause Ron was there?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "No. Not First Year anyway. He was going to stay anyway."

"And you said something about bars on his window," Robert added.

"I didn't see that," Hermione nodded. "That was when Ron and his brothers Fred and George went to bring him over to the Burrow. All his stuff was locked up too. Harry said his Uncle was upset about an owl they got from the Ministry for underage magic, although Harry said it wasn't him. It was his House Elf, although Dobby wasn't his House Elf then."

"Ah yes, Dobby," Robert nodded. "While there were plenty of suggestions of an abusive home life, Dobby cleared that up."

"What do you mean?"

"As I recall, the Elf was instructed to set things up at Harry's summer place so that he wouldn't have to deal with his Aunt or her family and so that they couldn't have any contact with him. Dobby told Harry his relatives were not very receptive about that arrangement and he dealt with them. He didn't say what he did, but seeing as he was pointing out he could do whatever he thought was best without intervention from the magical authorities, I don't think he discussed the arrangements over a cup of tea. My guess is it was either painful, terrifying or both and Harry never batted an eye. His only concern was whether it worked, not what the Elf may have done. Rather cold, don't you think?"

"Harry or the Elf?" Rose asked.

"Both."

"Well, I have read that House Elves are very protective of their … families," Hermione commented. "But that doesn't mean he was…"

"We can't say how he was, Hermione," Rose said. "We've been trained to look for the signs of it, though. He shows some of them for certain. My guess is it was mostly emotional in nature based upon a few of the things you observed in your letters, but he may have been physically abused as well. Still," Rose said turning to Robert, "he seems rather well adjusted to me under the circumstances. Many such victims become bullies in their own right and certainly aren't about to stick their necks out for anyone. And yet he does. I don't think you have to worry about his home life being a real problem."

"Until he talks about it and gets it out of his system, it can be," Robert said.

"What do we do? How can we help him? Are there any books…?" Hermione asked with concern.

"This is not something that can be answered or solved with a book," Rose said patiently. "It is not something that you can ask him about. As his friend, all you can do is to be there for him and remember that none of what happened to him was his fault, because when he does open up, he will probably tell you that it was."

"But … but I can help him!"

"Not like you're used to doing, Hermione. He needs time. I can't tell you how much time he needs, but he needs to come to terms with his past in his own time. You can help him, but only by waiting for him to come to you and open up that part of his life to you and when he does, you can help him by listening. Do not try and think for him on this or offer advice or anything else. Listen when he comes to you and offer him comfort if he needs it."

This was not Hermione's way. She wanted to charge in and help her friend but she had to admit she had no idea what had happened in his past or how to help.

"Hermione?" her father asked. "Do you care for Harry?"

She nodded.

"As a friend or as more than just that?"

"As a friend _and _as more than just that," Hermione emphasized, "but always, always as a friend."

"Then take your mother's advice on how to help Harry," he said softly. "And my advice on this subject is that you should forget this conversation ever happened. If you did not know or suspect his home life was what we suspect it is, do not let him know that's changed. If you do … you may lose him altogether."

Hermione could only nod, for there were now tears forming in her eyes which she knew would be not be able to hold back if she spoke. She needed to think about this and a lot of other things and decided it was best to go to her room. She said a soft "Good night," and was grateful when she heard her mother tell her father "Don't." She would not hear the rest of their conversation.

"She needs time, Robert," Rose said. "I don't think she put it all together and it's bothering her. She probably feels like she's not been a very good friend when the opposite is probably the case."

Robert nodded in agreement.

"So, you're not upset about this?" she continued. "You're not upset your daughter is dating and dating a boy with his past?"

He shrugged. "What good would that do? You're right. I can't tell her she's too young or any of that given our own past and our life since we first became best friends, can I? I think I saw what you did in those two earlier, not that I want to admit it. Were I to interfere … she'd hate me. But I just don't want to see her get hurt."

"Neither do I."

"I also don't want them getting too far, too fast regardless of when we did."

"Why do you think I invited myself along on their little trip on Monday?"

Hermione would tell her parents about the rest of her recent experiences the next day. It was then and for the first time she told them of her near constant feeling of déjà vu and how frustrating it was to always have the feeling that everything seemed to have happened before. She told them it started about a month before she first left for Hogwarts and ended only recently and that she had spent the better part of the last two weeks in the Hogwarts Library trying to figure out what it was just in case there was some kind of magic involved. She also told them about the sense of not being alone when she was petrified and how that should not have happened at all. Finally, she told them about her first kiss with Harry and the strange sensation of a life passing before her eyes. She had to assure them she was quite certain she was not dead nor a ghost only to learn they were teasing her.

"That's the reason Harry asked to see me tomorrow and to go with him to visit a friend," she concluded.

"Oh?" Rose asked.

"Sorry. Don't see how that fits," Robert added.

"I wasn't the only one feeling that persistent sense of déjà vu since around the end of July of 1991," Hermione said. "Harry had it too and like me said nothing probably for similar reasons."

"And what reasons might that be?" Robert asked.

"That I was losing it," Hermione replied. "He also had that life flashing thing when we kissed, which is also odd."

"It seems there's a lot about this magical world that we would consider odd," Rose commented.

"True, but this is odd even for magic. Then there's this friend of Harry's. Her name is Luna and she's a year behind us in Ravenclaw even though she was born only about a month after Harry. As she was born after September 1st, 1980, she had to wait until last September to start. Harry only really met her last week and I haven't met her, I don't think. The name didn't mean anything to me when he told me. She talked to him when I wasn't around and left before I started spending my afternoons with Harry. Anyway, she's been having that déjà vu thing too and got an odd letter the day after Harry went down into the Chamber of Secrets saying that it might have answers, but the answers could not be revealed at Hogwarts and Harry had to be with her for them to be revealed. Since I went through the same thing, Harry and I thought it best that I go as well."

"He never knew this Luna person before?"

"He had seen her around, but no. To be honest, I couldn't tell you the names of most of the students at school unless they were in Gryffindor or in our year so that's not too surprising really."

"Well," Rose said, "this sounds like it might be interesting."

Harry spent that Sunday sorting through portraits that Dobby had brought from the Potter vaults. There were twenty one portraits representing eighteen generations of Potters depicting the husbands and wives from Marcus Potter (1395 – 1499) and his wife Adelaide Longbottom to his parents James and Lily Potter. The reason why there were twenty one portraits was because Marcus's great-grandson Gregory Potter (1489 – 1594) had three wives so he also had three family Portraits. It seemed that he had lost two of his wives in childbirth as there was at least a couple of years between the death of one of his wives his marriage to the next of his wives. There were also portraits of all of the children of all of the marriages once the youngest had turned eleven – except for Harry himself. In addition to his paternal ancestors, there were also a total of twenty-two distant Great-Aunts and only three distant Great-Uncles. Dobby explained that there may have been more but they probably died before they were old enough to attend Hogwarts which was why they would have been left out.

There were also fourteen elf made tapestries representing another eight generations of Potter going back to Harold Potter (1024 – 1130) who married an Agnes Slytherin which Dobby opined was the granddaughter or great-granddaughter of Salazar Slytherin himself. Harold's grandson Henry (1128 – 1219) married an Amelia Gryffindor who Dobby said was a direct descendant of Godric Gyrffindor, another Hogwarts Founder. The final tapestry – or most recent – was of Silas Potter (1361 – 1466) and his second wife Enid Black. The tapestries depicted not just his distant ancestors but another twenty-seven Great-Aunts and only two more Great-Uncles. Apparently, the children were added once they were old enough to attend Hogwarts which explained why they all looked to be about the same age.

"That's a lot of girls and not many boys," Harry observed.

"It be a miracle House Potter be surviving as long as it had," Dobby agreed. "But there being a potion what a fathers cans takes that makes a boy and nots a girl and it be around for hundreds of years so maybe nots so much miracle as potions."

"So I really am Slytherin's heir then?" Harry added thinking about his very, very distant Great-grandmother.

"Dobby not be knowing. Gringotts mays be able to tells Harry Potter. But Dobby be thinkings not."

"Why?"

"Evil wizard claimed it and yous not being his blood. If he being from line of oldest son and yours being from younger son, if there bes any in the oldest son line, yous not be heir. If your Great-gran being a younger girl with older sisters, the older sister lines also be having heir befores Harry Potter, Sir."

"Thanks. With all I got going, being that heir is more than I want. Wouldn't mind being Gryffindor's Heir but if I was I'd probably keep that quiet. I don't need more reasons to be famous. I'd rather had no reasons at all."

Harry was surprised at the number of names he recognized. His Potter ancestors had married five Longbottoms the most recent being his Great-great grandmother although he could only claim four as his ancestors as the first only had daughters and apparently died in childbirth and her husband remarried to Harry's distant Great-grandmother. It also seemed that seven of his distant Great Aunt married into the Longbottom family. Another recurring name was Black. His Grandmother was a Black as were three other Potter wives, two of them his distant Great-grandmothers, and one distant Great-aunt who married a Black. There were also a lot of Bones in the family tree. While there was only one distant Great-Grandmother Bones, there were five distant Great-Aunts who married into that family. He also had two distant Great-grandmothers who had been Weasleys and one distant Great-aunt who married a Weasley. There were other names he recognized from Hogwarts or somewhere else in the wizarding world as well including Abbott, Boot, Hopkirk and Turpin and some names from families he did not like such as Burke, LeStrange, Nott, Parkinson and Rosier who he either associated with Slytherin or had heard they were notorious Death Eaters, followers of Voldemort during the last War. Some of these names were his distant Great-grandmothers although more of them were distant Great-Aunts who married into those families. He even had one distant Great-Aunt who married a Dumbledore.

"Why don't they move like the pictures at Hogwarts," Harry asked.

"No all pictures at Hogywarts be moving," Dobby replied. "Tapestries cants be moving. Only paintings be moving and then only if they are new enough. Before 1430, paintings not be moving either but alls these paintings be after 1430 so's they coulds be moving eventually."

"Why eventually?"

"Dobby be thinking paintings mays be copies of paintings what hangs in House Potter houses. Copies not be moving 'tils they hang in their owns house and have times to absorb magic. Originals be losing magic if not hanging so's if theys goes into storage, they lose magic and not be moving anymore but theys cans gets magic back in time. Couple of months, maybe more maybe less, theys be moving again. Couple months laters, they be ables to talks and a little later they's be having memories of a sort back."

"Can we put them up?" Harry asked.

"Dobby already be's picking places but be asking yous approval, Sir. We cans be hanging in Dining Room, Great Room, Parlors, somes in Library and Games Room, the Entry Way and the corridor on the bedrooms floor. If Harry Potter be wishing, yous can also haves some in your study or sitting room ors both."

"Not my bedroom?"

"It being up to Harry Potter, Sir. But painting in bedroom is nots normally done 'cause they's be's seeing what's going on and if Harry Potter be … be with … be having girlfriend, paintings might be talking abouts what Harry Potter be doing or coulds be doing."

"Okay, that's right out. So, does having this kind of family history mean anything?"

Dobby was almost bouncing on his feet. "Dobby be's understanding. From what's Dobby be seeing and heards Great Harry Potter not be knowing abouts his family. Dobby is honoreds to be teachings it."

"You know it?"

Dobby nodded. "Dobby be good elf and learns what good elf learns and good elves who be workings for family what wants to be mores than they is or cans be be learning about the families that's be their betters. Harry Potter being the only surviving heir of and Ancient and Noble House which be the top and most respected families in wizarding world."

"But I'm a Halfblood," Harry protested.

"There be Purebloods whos be thinkings they shoulds be top of all because they's be Purebloods forgetting that if they's be having no Muggle Great-great grandparents they's be Purebloods even if all their three greats be Muggles. Magic cares not. More powerful to be's from long line of which and which parents and such thans short line even if long line being mostly Halfblood like House Potter. There be twenty-seven Lords Potters in these paintings and tapestries and twenty-eight here in this place including Harry Potter, Sir. Only seven being considered Purebloods."

"Lord Potter?"

Dobby nodded. "The Great Harry Potter being heir to be Head of Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Sir."

"What's that mean?"

"Ancient Houses being Houses from the original clans what forms Wizengamot in 886. Ancient Houses be having passed from father to son or grandson of same name without breakings for daughters. Ancient Houses being: Abbott, Avery, Black, Bones, Cuthbert, Diggory, Doge, Dumbledore, Flint, Grasser, Hunter, Longbottom, Marchbanks, Nott, Potter, Rosier, Selwyn, Talbot and Weasley.

"Noble Houses be different. Nots matters how olds they be. To be's Noble House, a Muggle King must makes a wizard a Baron or Earl or such and must makes it so's the title be passing from father to son. It nots be mattering whethers the King's line be arounds anymores or nots. House Potter being a Noble House 'cause long times ago, before even Hogywarts, a Potter being made Earl by the Anglo-Saxon King. There be Noble Houses what were mades later by the Norman Kings and later ones. Once a Noble House be mades by a King, even if later King says they's not noble no more in Muggleses world, so longs as there's still being sons, it stills be noble in Wizarding World."

"So am I a Noble in the Wizarding and Muggle World too?"

Dobby shook his head. "Anglo-Saxon nobles being losing lands and titles to Norman invaders after theys takes over in 1066. Only nobles mades by Norman Kings and their later kings being nobles in Muggleses World and many not being ables to pass title to their childrens. What wizards considers Noble House in Muggleses – assuming theys considers them at all – only being ones what pass from father to son. Those recognized today being much newer thans Harry Potter's family. In the Muggleses world, the oldest Noble Houses still being Noble be Baron of de Ros mades by English King Henry III in 1264 ors, 'cause British be honoring it Earl of Sutherland which be Scottish Earl mades by Alexander II of Scots in 1230. Potters, being Earls of Hwicce of Kingdom of Mercia since 668 being much, much olders."

"Guess I won't be invited 'round to Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen," Harry said somewhat relieved.

"Nots for being Earl of Hwicce, no Sir," Dobby said.

"So, being a Head of an Ancient and Noble House," Harry contemplated, "what does that mean?"

"Each such House be differents, Sir. Some be rich. Some nots. Some having many families to be rule makings for. Some, like House Potter, not be havings any. What be same for all is Head of House be having hereditary seat in the Wizengamot."

Dobby then went on to give Harry one of the best history lessons he had had since starting Hogwarts and Harry was certain that much of what Dobby talked about had yet to be taught there seeing as the Professor, who was a ghost, seemed far more preoccupied with Goblin Wars and the Statute of Secrecy, all of which were far more recent events really. As far as Harry could recall, there was no History of Magic before Hogwarts, at least not in their book on the subject. Moreover, the Wizengamot was only in there when it did something. How it came into being at all was not. It was as if Magical Britain and the Wizengamot had come into existence out of nothing which was hardly the case.

The Wizengamot was founded in 886. Before then, Magical Britain was not united at all in any way. It consisted of several clans which were extended families headed by a Clan Chief as well as lesser families under the Clan Chief's protection. The Clan Chief was, for all intents and purposes, the sole ruler of the witches and wizards in his clan and clans affiliated with the Muggle rulers or ignored them as they saw fit. Clans also fought one another, as well as the Muggles, over land and insults and even brides. It was, for a lack of a better word, chaos.

In 886, fifty-four Clans called the "Acknowledged Clans" because they recognized each other's rights over their families and lands formed the Wizengamot. It was basically a council of the fifty-four Clan Chiefs that was tasked to pass laws that applied to all Clans and magicals, decide as a body all disputes between clans and would deal with all the various Muggle Kingdoms and rulers on behalf of all of the Clans. Enforcement of the laws within the Clans themselves remained the right of each Clan Chief. Likewise, a Clan Chief could enact his own laws that applied only to the members of his Clan and enforce those laws as he saw fit. Before, he could enforce his laws against any magical that set foot in his territory. Often these Clan Laws were set up so as to trick non-clan magical into breaking them such as where a Clan Law stated that the drinking of Ale was forbidden at an odd time, a time that only made sense to members of the Clan. With the establishment of the Wizengamot, Clan Laws only applied to the Clan and could not be enforced against other witches and wizards but any Clan Chief could enforce Wizengamot law against any witch or wizard upon their lands.

Today's Wizengamot retained the fifty-four hereditary seats. Nineteen were held by the Ancient Houses, each had managed an unbroken line of wizard Heads of House since the founding of the Wizengamot. Twenty-three seats were held by Ancient Lines which were direct descendant of one of the original Clan Chiefs but the seat had passed through at least one – and often more than one – witch daughter where there had been no surviving wizard heir. The remaining twelve were seats which had either died off completely, lost their magic completely or had been abandoned by their lines. These seats were now held by lesser families and whenever and Ancient House or Ancient Line came to an end, the Wizengamot was to find a replacement among the oldest lines that remained but did not have a permanent seat.

The Wizengamot was the forerunner of today's Ministry of Magic. It began to centralize certain functions immediately in the aftermath of the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Whereas the Norman Muggles conquered England, they did not at that time succeed or even try to deal with Ireland, Wales or Scotland. The Wizengamot and Clans were from those places as well and were able to combine their fighters to crush the Norman wizards and force them to submit to the Wizengamot thus ensuring that any Norman Muggle Lord including the King that had a magical advisor had an advisor sworn to uphold the interests of the Wizengamot and, by extension, the magical peoples of Britain. But there was now a need for a permanent voice and not just one that spoke when the full Wizengamot was in session. So they established the Permanent Committees which ran the magical country's day-to-day affairs. There were in time: the Permanent Committee on Barbarian Affairs which dealt with the Muggles and with any magical governments across the English Channel as well as issues of magical trade outside of Britain; the Permanent Magical Committee on Defense which organized the Clans to keep foreign wizards out and made sure that Hogwarts taught magic they needed to defend the islands; the Permanent Committee of Justice which maintained a magical constabulary, a forerunner of the modern Department of Magical Law Enforcement; a Board of Education and a Permanent Committee of Revenue and Taxation. Each of these Committees and the ones that would follow over time such as the Committee on Dangerous Magical Beasts and Committee on Regulation of Magical Transportation were headed by a hereditary member of the Wizengamot even if much of their staff were "commoners." They all answered to the Wizengamot directly as there was no central head in charge of all the various committees.

During the reign of King John of England (1199 – 1216), the Wizengamot completed its all but total divorce from the Muggle World. Future Kings and Queens and later Prime Ministers would have a contact with Magical Britain, but it was advisory only. They found they could no longer rule over their magical residents which meant they could no longer levy taxes against them nor call them to fight for them which was, after all, the whole issue the magicals (and most of the Muggle Barons) had with King John. The only change within the magical world – aside from no longer having to answer to Muggle Lords or tax collectors – was the addition of twenty-seven "temporary" seats in the Wizengamot. These seats were by appointment and were not hereditary. The only requirement for attaining a seat was proof that one was descended from a family, Muggle or Magical, that had been in Britain before 1066. It seems the British Magicals wanted nothing to do with anything of French origins. When the temporary member retired or passed away, the seat became vacant and a new member was appointed to fill it without regard to his or her relation to the previous holder of the seat. Since the establishment of the "temporary" seats, several Muggle Borns had held them although none within the past 150 years. But not one person of French ancestry along his or her primary lines had ever been appointed.

Dobby explained that this was a major factor that weighed on his former family. The Malfoys had been the French equivalent of an Ancient and Noble House in France before 1789 and that line remained so to this day. But the revolution that swept Muggle France also swept magical France, although for different reasons. The magical equivalent wished to end the monopoly on power held by the Ancient and Noble lines and the systemic repression of Muggle Borns. House Malfoy was divided on this issue with the Head of House supporting the revolution and some of his lesser sons, who would lose everything they thought they had if the revolution succeeded, opposing it. They were forced to flee France altogether and Draco's five times Great-Grandfather settled in Britain. While Britain was more than willing to accept Gringotts assertions that Henri Malfoy and his wife were "Purebloods" as defined under British law, they were denied any rights associated with being of an Ancient Line. Basically, they were just higher than Muggle Borns in the social order which always annoyed them to say the least and they were destined to remain so for generations unless a son of House Malfoy married into the right line.

Draco's father was that son. It had cost the Malfoy family a small fortune but Lucius was contracted to a daughter from a cadet line of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. It was the only way any "French upstart" could hope to marry into the right family unless they got lucky and found a love match but being the Pureblood Supremacists that they were they were not about to take the risk of any of their children marrying a non-Pureblood. The first four generations of British born Malfoys had little choice but to seek brides from other French Pureblood families which had fled the revolution for at the time none of the "respectable" British families would ever sink to letting a French usurper buy into their heritage. Draco's Grandfather got lucky, as it were, and married a British Pureblood but she was by no means from an old line and only just qualified as a Pureblood under British magical custom as all of her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents were witches and wizards. The next generation back was over one half Muggle which would be the same generation as the Malfoy who had come over from France. Two more generations back and there was not a single witch or wizard in her ancestry. But it was enough, if one included the huge amount of gold as well, for Lucius to be arranged to marry the youngest daughter of a cadet line of an Ancient and Noble House.

"Why is this important, Dobby?"

"It be important, Harry Potter Sir, because yous being Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Harry Potter be all what is left of that House and as Head of House and Earl of Hwicca, Harry Potter be having a Seat on the Wizengamot when he be twenty-one. Most seats only be having one vote, but being Head of an Ancient House be giving yous five votes and beings an Earl be giving yous another nine votes. Earls be getting nine, Barons be getting five, and if there be a Viscount, he be getting seven. A Duke be getting twelve votes but the last Dukes being Edward Duke of Cornwall and Richard Duke of York who be sons of a King and be leaving the muggle world when their father be dying because they also be wizards.

"But, Harry Potter not being just Head of House Potter," Dobby said. "Harry Potter also being Heir Apparent to become Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black should the current head be dying without a son to follow him. Malfoys be thinking the young boy woulds be Head because theys be tolds that the current Head be disowned and there being no better claimant. They be assumings to inherit the family upon the death of the last Lord Black who be dying in 1991. But they learns that theys not to be Head of House and nots be getting seat in Wizengamot because the surviving grandson of Lord Arcturus Black was not being cast out House Black as they thoughts. Sirius being Head of House nows, even if he be in prison. Harry Potter being Heir Apparent 'cause he be the closest living male decendant of Phineas Nigelus Black who's not being disqualified for marrying Muggles or beings Squib and whose ancestors not being disinherited for betraying their House.

"It also being important because Dobby be knowings that Harry Potter be's wonderings if he has family. Dobby nots be knowing 'bout Harry Potter's mother's family, except for nasty muggleses, but Dobby be's knowing 'bouts the family of James Potter. While there be no relations from House Potter, James's mother be Dorea Black, of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, daughter of Cygnus Black who be the younger brother of Lord Sirius Black who be great-grandfather of the current Lord Sirius what be in prison. There be loads of cousins from Harry Potter's grandmother's family."

Harry learned that his First Cousins once removed who were still alive, which were his Dad's First Cousins and his Grandmother's nieces and nephews, that were still alive were Mrs. Mira Doge and Mrs. Penelope Travers who, Dobby said, had married a Death Eater that was killed in the war. His Second Cousins included the Sirius Black who was in prison, a Death Eater named Bellatrix LeStrange who was also in prison, her sisters Mrs. Andromeda Tonks and Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, a Mrs. Carla Yaxley who was also married to a Death Eater as was Mr.s Moira Nott, a Death Eater named Caratacus Travers and, oddly Harry thought, Madam Amelia Bones who was the current head of DMLE. His Second Cousins once removed, the children of his Second Cousins included: Nympadora Tonks who had finished Hogwarts the year before, Bert and Carl Yaxley who worked for the Ministry of Magic and their younger sister Fannie who was a Fifth Year Ravenclaw the past year and, much to Harry's dismay, two Slytherins in his year Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, Jr.

Second Cousins once removed included Hiram Burke who was now the part owner of Borgin & Burke a store that bought and sold dark artifacts in Nockturn Alley, Bartimius Crouch who was the head of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry, And Bilius, Percival and Arthur Weasley who was the father of Harry's best friend Ron. There were a fair few other such cousins, but those were the ones who stood out. Naturally, his Third Cousins then included Ron and his brothers and sister. He had begun to see them as family and it turned out they were to an extent. But he was also surprised to learn that Professor Snape was a cousin as well. His mother was the granddaughter of Sirius Black who had once been Head of House. It also turned out that his mother had been disinherited for marrying a Muggle. The list of his Third Cousins once removed was also a surprise. Most of these were around his age or younger and this included a number of students at Hogwarts including: Lisa Malone who was a Sixth Year Ravenclaw, Katie Bell who was a year ahead of Harry and played Chaser on Harry's Quidditch team and her younger brother Josh who was a year behind in Hufflepuff, Adrian and Marissa Black and their First Cousins Michael and Suzanne Black all of whom were ahead of Harry and either in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, Marcus Flint who was Captain of the Slytherin team, Cedric Diggory who played for Hufflepuff, Roberta Marchbanks who was a few years ahead in Ravenclaw and a fair few of his own classmates. In addition to Ron, there was Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw, Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin and, to his surprise, Dean Thomas from Gryffindor. Dean had always said he was a Muggle Born, but Dobby insisted he was descended from a Head of House Black. Finally, he saw that Luna was also a Third Cousin once removed.

He wondered why when he had so many family members in the wizarding world he had been stuck at the Dursleys of all people. He was even Third Cousins with Neville as his Great-Grandfather had married Neville's Great-grand Aunt. Anything would have been better than the Dursleys and all this time he had thought the reason he was with them was because he had no other relatives. That was what he had been told by those who should have known better. Why hadn't Ron told him they were Cousins? Why hadn't some of the others? It was possible Ron didn't know and possible others didn't know, but all of them? It didn't make sense to Harry at all.

A/N: And no, Dobby has by no means covered it all…


	8. Chapter 8: A Blast From The Past

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER EIGHT: A BLAST FROM THE PAST…**

Luna Lovegood was excited. She had been practically since she knew the Hogwarts Express was back and even more so since she got a letter from her friend Harry Potter. Harry's beautiful owl had arrived with a letter for her probably while Harry was still on the train. He said he was going to write her and while she accepted that he meant it, she was certain he would forget. But he didn't. It wasn't much of a letter. It merely told her he was still planning to come to her house on Monday - today - to find out what her strange letter meant about the French Word thing they had both been experiencing. But he added they were not the only ones for his best friend Hermione had experienced the same thing so he asked if he could bring her too as he thought it might all be connected in a way. But Harry was a gentleman, Luna thought. He let her decide whether Hermione could come. As it was another chance for a friend, Luna was not about to say no so she told Harry it was fine.

And now she had her friend coming over and his friend who might become her friend. She could not remember being this excited about anything in a long time, not even when her Daddy had taken her on expeditions to find Crumple Horned Snorkacks. She didn't know why having friends over was more exciting than that, but it was. She had spent the entire day after getting Harry's letter making sure her room was clean and inviting and she got up early to finish all the preparations. She made sure her bookcases were all in order, even if they were not looked at and she made her bed and arranged her plushies just so and then got dressed. She was wearing her favorite yellow sundress without knickers. She really didn't like wearing knickers at all and only wore them when "convention" required but as her sundress reached to her mid calf she figured there was little chance of Harry or any odd creatures seeing that at all so no knickers.

She made sure that odd letter was out so that they could find out what it had to say when Harry arrived and then Luna waited. Harry said he would be there at ten. He promised. Luna believed him. And yet it was almost ten and he wasn't there yet. She didn't know how he was going to get there or even if he could find her house, but he had promised. She watched the clock and it seemed to barely move. It always amazed her that time did not seem to be a constant. If she was having fun or enjoying herself, it seemed that time went by way too fast. But if she was waiting, it seemed that time slowed down just to spite her. She had a book in front of her. It was one of the many left to her by her mother when she died and Luna hoped it might help explain this French Word thing that had happened. So far it had not, but Luna still hoped she would find some reference to the magic as she was sure this French Word thing was some kind of magic. She lost track of the time and at 10:15 there was a flash of light that caused her to look up. Standing before her bed was Harry and a girl Luna knew was Hermione Granger and an older woman who looked a lot like Hermione and a House Elf.

Luna was practically bouncing on her bed when she saw Harry. "You came!" she exclaimed. "You promised and you came! Oh I do hope we're friends!"

"I told you we're friends, Luna," Harry said.

Luna all but flew off of her bed and threw herself at Harry hugging him and thanking him for keeping his promise to her. She then kissed him on the lips. She was not trying to be his girlfriend. She wouldn't mind if she was but the kiss was not for that reason. She was just so happy that she was not being ignored or picked on so she couldn't help it. The kiss felt so wonderful and so perfect, but there was this life of hers passing before her eyes and it was pretty awful, to tell the truth. It was odd she couldn't remember it later or even as it happened.

Hermione saw the blonde kissing Harry. Harry had told her that Luna had not had a friend in a long, long time so the fact that she was "thanking" Harry for being a friend was not surprising in and of itself even if the means was or should have been. But for some reason, Hermione seemed to expect this kiss at some point. If she had had more experience with relationships of the nature she had with Harry, she might have expected to be upset and would have been surprised that she was not. She was not jealous of Luna nor did she feel threatened in any way. Harry was her boyfriend and she was certain that this would not change ever, even if Harry was becoming Luna's boyfriend as well. Oddly, Hermione found that thought rather pleasing and expected. She felt happy for Luna.

Rose Granger saw something very different and wonderful. As soon as Luna and Harry's lips met, they seemed to literally glow. A golden light soon enveloped them and then spread outward to envelop her daughter as well. She looked at Hermione who was now glowing as well and saw what Rose thought was an expression of bliss on her face as if she were part of the kiss as well. Rose knew this was some kind of magic and it seemed wonderful in a way, but she wondered what this meant for her daughter. She knew that Hermione considered herself Harry's girlfriend and wondered what this meant. It would crush her daughter to be cast aside but for some reason Rose did not think this would happen. Deep down Rose felt that this Luna was now a part of Harry's life as well and it only meant that Hermione was a part of this too.

"Well," Luna almost sighed, "the kiss was quite nice but I sure could have done without that life passing before my eyes thing, especially 'cause I can't remember any of it."

"It happened to you too?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"And me," Harry said, "again! Why does everything weird happen to me?"

"So, you two had the Life Flashy things when you kiss as well?" Luna asked.

They nodded. "But only the first kiss," Hermione said. "Hasn't happened since at least not to me."

"Well, maybe it's 'cause Harry Potter kissed me for the first time, or I kissed him," Luna said. "Yes, I suppose I kissed him is more accurate. Perhaps if I kissed you or you kissed me that Life Flashy Thing might happen again since Harry wrote to me and told me you also had the French Word Thing as well."

"The … the what?"

"Déjà vu," Harry explained.

"Oh. Yes. Right. I think we can skip the kissing."

"Yes," Luna said, "that would probably be best. I really didn't enjoy the Life Flashy Thing the first time."

"It wasn't any better the second," Harry added. "And kissing a girl would be weird."

"Why would it be weird?" Luna asked. "After all, you kissed me and you've kissed Hermione and we're girls."

"Um… I think it's different when two girls are kissing each other."

"Why would it be different?" Luna asked. "I am aware that there are certain physical differences between boys and girls, but I'm pretty certain their mouths are substantially similar."

Harry did not know how to reply. He looked at Hermione who was looking at Luna like the girl had two heads and maybe three.

"Excuse me?" Rose said, "what just happened here?"

"Let's see," Luna said. "Harry and I and apparently Hermione have been experiencing some French Word Thing since about the time of Harry's eleventh birthday until just a couple of weeks ago when something different happened to each of us, I would guess. In my case, I got an odd letter which said the writer could explain that French Word Thing but it couldn't be done at Hogwarts for some reason – and no that was not explained. The letter also told me that Harry was involved and needed to be here when the writer explains all this so I went and spoke with him about it and he agreed to come visit. Harry sent me a letter a couple of days ago saying that Hermione had also been having the French Word Thing so it only made sense that she be here too, don't you think? So Harry shows up and … well, I haven't had a friend in a long time and most people try to trick me or make me look silly or feel sad so I was almost expecting Harry would not keep his promise. But he did so I kissed him and had that Life Flashing Thing happen, which apparently happened before when Harry and Hermione first kissed each other and I was wondering whether kissing made that happen – or more precisely a first kiss and then Harry was trying to explain why he thinks two girls kissing is odd."

"G-girls kissing?" Rose asked in shock.

"Well, it does make sense in a way. Harry and Hermione had the Life Flashy Thing happen when they first kissed and Harry and I had it happen when we first kiss and as all three of us had the French Word Thing too, I figured it might be possible that the Life Flashy Thing would happen if Hermione and I kissed. After all, I'm pretty certain we've never done that before. Still, it might be important to know if the effect is different, don't you think?"

"That's not what I meant," Rose said. "I meant when you kissed Harry there was this odd – it was quite beautiful actually – this golden glow about the two of you at first and then it seemed to spread to include my daughter as well."

"Really?" Luna asked as the other two looked at each other blankly. "Well, that is different. But I didn't see it as my eyes were closed at the time."

"Mine were too," Harry admitted.

"I – I thought I saw something for a moment, but then I didn't," Hermione admitted.

"Well," Luna said, "it was obviously some kind of magic, but that is obvious isn't it? I mean anyone would have guessed that – provided they know about magic. I'd think a lot of Muggles wouldn't have guessed that and probably have said is was a reflection or gas leak or something like that. But saying it's magic still leads us nowhere for there's all kinds of magic out there and no one really knows what it is."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "Hogwarts has a whole library filled with works on magical theory."

"Yes, and most of it's rubbish or of little use," Luna replied. "You'll find loads of 'theory' that talks about what can and cannot be done but very little on why it can or cannot be done. It just can or cannot. It's all very observational which isn't really theory, is it? I mean everyone can see that apples fall from trees but that doesn't tell you why they fall, does it? You might call it gravity but that doesn't explain what gravity is only what it does. Have you read anything that theorizes about what magic really is? Arithmancy can tell you what works and what doesn't, but it doesn't really tell you why. Is magic a part of nature or separate and distinct? Why are some humans capable of using magic when the vast majority are not? Why is the same true with other life forms? Wouldn't it make more sense if either all humans were witches or wizards or none of them were? We're not really a separate species as some Purebloods would love us to believe otherwise how can you explain Muggle Borns? Daddy has said there are some who think Muggle Borns steal magic, but if that's the case why haven't they stolen it all? There are, after all, far more Muggles than magical people. No. What you will find consistently is that witches and wizards accept magic as a given and do not question it at all. In that way we are far, far behind Muggles as they have been questioning everything for ages and occasionally find answers to those questions. Of course, anyone who asks these kinds of questions in our world are laughed at and called Looney."

"I'm sure there's got to be something," Hermione disagreed. "I always thought it would be at NEWTs when we have learned more of the basics."

"It's not," Luna said. "I've been asking these questions since I was five and reading to find the answers since not much older. My mother was a researcher and said that no one had really bothered to write about it, or at least to publish about it if they had. She wanted to one day, but she didn't write any of it down."

"I'm sure she'll get around to it eventually," Rose said innocently.

A sad look crossed Luna's face. "Maybe. But what good would it do us here? I'm pretty sure if they publish in Heaven, they don't sell it down here. My mother died three years ago, you see."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rose gasped.

"Why?" Luna asked. "It wasn't your fault she died. Oh. That's one of those courteous things you're supposed to say to be polite, isn't it? Well, I guess I should say thank you. It still makes me sad sometimes, my mother being gone. I'm sure there some things that a mother should be telling her daughter at certain ages and I have missed out on that – although I've heard it can be rather embarrassing," she added with a slight chuckle. "Perhaps like why a girl kissing a girl in front of people is somehow different than a boy kissing a girl. But I do miss our deeper conversations about things such as what is magic and why is it here.

"But, we're not here to answer those questions, are we? We're here to see what this letter says about that French Word Thing and maybe find out about that Life Flashy Thing and that glow that you saw, Mrs. Granger. I assume you are Hermione's mother?"

Rose nodded.

Luna smiled and picked up a piece of parchment. "It doesn't say much, does it?" she said handing it to Harry who then handed it to the others.

_Dear Luna:_

_By now you have probably noticed something very odd, a persistent sense that everything that has happened has happened before perhaps? This was expected and is not far from the truth. But the truth will have to wait until you return home for the summer and it can't be told to you alone as there is at least one other who should have noticed the same thing. His name is Harry Potter and I'm sure you at least know of him and can – if you try – speak to him about this. Have him with you when you get home and the two of you touch your wands to the seal below and your questions will be answered._

_A friend._

Harry and Luna looked at Hermione who merely shrugged. Harry pulled his wand from his back pocket and Luna seemed to have had hers tucked behind her left ear and they both touched the seal together and … nothing seemed to happen. Both of them sort of expected the letter to change somehow and perhaps Harry did as well.

"Well, that was a little disappointing," Hermione commented.

They then heard a loud crash from somewhere below them and a male's voice bellow "Bugger it all! I swear woman, I'll never get used to these new fangled portkey thingies!"

"Now you hush, George! It's not my fault Xeno keeps this place in such a state. LUNA? It's George and Clara, sweetie."

"Oh goodie!" Luna exclaimed. She then looked at the others. "It's Great-grampy George and Great-grammy Clara. They're my mother's, mother's parents. We're up here in my room," she called out. "I thought the handwriting seemed familiar," she said to no one in particular. "They usually aren't so cryptic, however."

They could hear the sounds of footsteps on what sounded like metal treads and soon a grey head of hair appeared in a spiral stairwell off to one side. It was followed by the body of an elderly witch and then an elderly wizard who was rubbing his nearly bald head.

"Looks like a bit of a crowd," the older man said. "We were expecting only two of you."

"This," Luna said, "as you know is Harry Potter. This is his girlfriend Hermione Granger – she's a Muggle Born you know – and her mother … sorry, I didn't catch your name, Ma'am."

"Rose," Rose replied.

"Granger, you say," the man replied. "Well, that'll make things a little easier I should say. I go by the name of George Tennyson and this is my wife who goes by the name Clara Tennyson … for now at least."

"He was really into the works of Alfred Lord Tennyson when we picked those names," the woman said, "pity he never learned to write a decent poem."

"I beg to disagree! They may not have been up to his standards, but they were quite good I should think."

"There's more to poetry than meter, a clever turn of a phrase or rhyme. They are supposed to make sense."

"I still believe that 'a trollop' and cadswollop is a perfectly acceptable rhyme!"

"But it's not much of a love poem" Clara snorted. "I see you got my letter, Luna," she added turning to Luna.

"Picked your names?" Rose asked. "So George and Clara Tennyson are not your real names?"

"Oh, they're quite real, thank you," George said. "We've even got the paperwork and all to prove it.

"Actually, my maiden name was Parker at the time," Clara said. "While George here might have wanted to name himself after a dead poet, I had no such false illusions of grandeur. I became 'Tennyson' when we married again in 1928."

"Why did you change your names? Did you immigrate here or was there another reason?" Rose asked.

"Ah," George said, "yes we did immigrate here once long ago, but they didn't call it that back then and we did change our names back then as we were from France originally and at the time the English and French were hardly chummy."

"Not that they've ever been chummy," Clara said, "not within our lifetimes at least."

"So what were you before?" Hermione asked with a suspicious look on her face.

"Philip and Charlotte Denson," George replied.

"Although I was actually Charlotte Marston originally," Clara added.

"That doesn't sound very French," Hermione observed.

"Right in one," George said, "not very French at all. Before that we were Stephen and Elizabeth Browne although the wife here originally went as a Rhys-Thomas for some reason."

"I thought it had a bit of elegance," Clara said.

"A little trouble with the law?" Rose asked.

"From time to time," George said, "but never anything major and certainly nothing that in and of itself required us to assume and alias but alias's are fun don't you think? Before that we were what? Ah yes: James and Anne Cuthbert, although Anne here was Anne Howard – no relation to the Howards that were the Dukes of Norfolk and before that it was Thomas and Mary Eldridge or Mary Seymour again no relation to the famous Seymours. Then it was our first English names: Edward and Catherine Standbridge…"

"I picked Catherine after Catherine of Aragon," Clara said. "I thought she was really nice for a Queen. My surname was Fitzpatrick…"

"Then we were French: Francois and Michelle Armand then Jean and Marie LeMonde – deliberately misspelled that one and finally and first…"

"Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel," Hermione said.

"Very astute," George replied.

"There were a few small clues that suggested you are much older than you look," Hermione replied.

"Who?" Rose asked. "You mean that Alchemist whose invention got you into all kinds of trouble last year?"

"I can assure you Madam that was not our fault," George said. "Dumbledore did manage to piece together our original identities when we were about thirty-three – this past time. Naturally, we were not terribly inclined to become public spectacles which is what would have happened if our original identities became common knowledge so I agreed to work with him on a few relatively minor projects from time to time on the condition he kept that information mostly to himself. He did, of course, let on he was working with me – Nicholas Flamel that is – but not precisely who I was. Can't fault him for that, really, annoying as it was at the time."

"You don't look like you're 667," Hermione commented.

"And what would someone that old really look like?" Clara asked. "And that also assumed that the Philosopher's Stone as others call it does what they think it does which it doesn't. Then again, maybe what we came up with is not it at all."

"But Dumbledore said that with the Stone gone the two of you only had enough Elixir left to get things in order and then you'd die," Harry said with concern.

George laughed. "Well, at least he told you what we told him. Can't say he always does that. I can assure you we were less than honest about that. We learned long ago that our invention is very, very impractical so never truly let on it worked in anyway and we certainly did not teach anyone else how to either make or use it. The truth is we could sell our invention at a stall in Diagon Alley for all the good it would do anyone else. You see, the first thing you should know is that it only works for its maker and his or her spouse. That idea that it turns base metals into gold is a load of rubbish. That was an idea proposed over two thousand years ago by early Alchemists who wanted something that could do that but it's a fundamental rule of magic that you cannot truly change the nature of a thing at the atomic level which is what you would have to do to change let's say lead into gold. A simple transfiguration can make lead look and feel like gold, but even the Muggles figured out long ago how to detect that bit of chicanery. Likewise true immortality is a pipe dream as far as we've been able to determine. The Elixir won't stop you from being killed or dying a natural death as some might think – otherwise Dumbledore would not have believed we would die."

"So what does it do?" Hermione asked.

"The Stone as you know is a key component in the Elixir of Life as some clueless Alchemist named it again over two thousand years ago and long before anyone had even a remote clue as to how to make one, what it was and what it could and could not do. It does not grant true immortality. It is basically what you could call a permanent de-aging potion. Take it when your seventy or older and an hour or two later your sixteen, let's say, and you begin aging again from there."

"A Fountain of Youth?" Rose asked.

"Do we look sixteen?" Clara laughed. "Yes, you do de-age and when the process is done you wind up at an age between just before the onset of puberty and full magical maturity – which is between the ages of ten and a half and twenty-six for the both of us – depending upon how much of the Elixir you take. That being said, you age at a normal rate from that day forward and I do so love going through puberty again," Rose added sarcastically.

"I don't know, it still sounds useful even if it doesn't do what people think it does," Rose observed.

"But not very practical," George replied. "You see aside from 'The Stone' a critical component to the Elixir is amniotic fluid and it must be obtained when the woman's water breaks…"

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"It's the fluid that surrounds a baby when a woman is pregnant," Hermione said, "and he means it has to be collected when the baby's about to be delivered at the moment the woman's placenta breaks and the fluid is released."

"Which would be problematic," Rose nodded. "It's not as if you can time that with an egg timer or something. It happens when it happens."

George and Clara nodded. "And it can't be just any woman's amniotic fluid," George continued. "It must be the fluid from the maker's daughter, granddaughter or great-granddaughter; daughters being preferable as later generations create a degree of inaccuracy in terms of what age you and your spouse will de-age to. And it will only work for the maker and his or her spouse. Hence, not very practical and most who might find the prospect useful are … well let's just say they're not the types that would marry for love – that's also important apparently – or would prefer daughters to sons. For our purposes, daughters are far more important than sons. Haven't had a son since our second time through, truth be told."

"That could be a problem," Rose nodded.

"It wasn't so much back in the day where midwives were in common use even in the wizarding world," Clara said. "I was always qualified as that and my children were apt to ask for me to be there during their confinement. But that practice fell out of favor about two hundred years ago which made things more problematic as I wasn't about to become a Healer each time through life. It proved easier for us to have a daughter who gave birth out-of-wedlock as we did not have to convince potential in-laws that I needed to be there when the child was born. Fortunately, we only had to do that twice and it was during a time when there were a fair few unwed pregnancies at Hogwarts. The last time – which was 1935 – our daughter was married and we were able to convince her husband that I should be there when the child was born. That child was your mother's mother, Luna."

"But how could you use sixty some odd year old amniotic fluid?" Rose asked.

"Stasis Charms," Hermione answered. "They almost literally freeze something in time, as it were."

"Very good," Clara said. "If I were a professor, I'd award you House Points but alas I am not."

Hermione beamed.

"How many children have you had?" Rose asked.

"Twenty-seven who lived to adulthood," Clara said. "Four were sons and the rest were daughters. Our first, a son was born in 1346 and our last, a daughter – Luna's grandmother to be exact was born in 1935."

"How many descendants? Grandchildren and such?"

"We had sixty-one grandchildren from our nine lives total," Clara said. "When you start talking great-grandchildren and so on and so forth, naturally the numbers are much greater. To be honest, we only have a vague idea and can only know with any certainty as to any one person if we perform an inheritance test with Gringotts. What we do know it that our descendants from each of our lives are still being born. In the case of our first life as the Flamels, in the last twenty years or so there have been children born who would be our nineteen times great-grandchildren to children who would be our thirty times great-grandchildren, the first of the older generation being born in 1720 and has been dead well over one hundred years and the first of the later generation being born in 1970."

"Why the differences?" Hermione asked.

"The generation that has been born since 1720 are from oldest children of preceding generations for the preceding generations with the most recent being descended from the youngest of each subsequent generation while the last generation is being born from the youngest child from every subsequent generation back to us. So, as you can see, it could conceivably be quite a large number. If we assume only one and a half children are born per parent who live to have children of their own – and not taking into account any cousins of any degree marrying cousins – there are or will be about 400,000 'Flamels' once the latest generation is born in full and eleven generations are still having children. If we assume two children who live to reproduce, the number is over four billion. Naturally, we are pretty sure the number is far, far closer to 400,000 than four billion; but it's probably in the millions."

"You could be related to anybody!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Distantly," George nodded. "From that line it would be distantly, but you are probably correct. Luna is truly our great-granddaughter as her mother's mother was one of our most recent daughters. But we are also distant ancestors of a lot of people, including everyone else in this room."

"What?" everyone but Luna and Clara exclaimed.

"We consider the closet degree of kinship to be where one of our children married a direct ancestor of someone," Clara said. "We usually don't spend the time to find out the more distant degrees of kinship such as where our grandchild or great-grandchild married into someone's direct line, or at least we haven't for our older lines in a long, long time. That being said, Harry's fifteen times great-grandfather married our younger daughter Patricia Standbridge in 1552. She was his third wife as he was twice the widower at the time. Hermione's seventeen times great-grandfather on her father's side married our younger daughter Suzette Armand in 1590 and her thirteen times great-grandfather on her mother's side married our younger daughter Agnes Eldridge in 1625."

"But my husband and I are Muggles!" Rose exclaimed.

"Indeed," George said. "But if you go back enough generations, you will begin to find witches and wizards in your ancestory, including our descendants."

"Everyone is related to everyone else if you go back far enough," Clara said. "With the Flamel line, we're talking that the most recent generation – assuming no other more recent connections of any kind – they would be thirty-first cousins of each other although we think that distant degree of kinship is not particularly likely."

"So we're all related in a way?"

"More so than we've let on. Remember, we only chose to include where one of our daughters married one of your great-grandfathers – or in Luna's case her grandfather – not where a later generation of ours married into your ancestral line and you are their descendant. Now, as to your own truly closest degrees of kinship, that's different. Harry and Luna are Third Cousins once removed from Harry's grandmother and Luna's father's ancestral lines specifically Harry's great-great grandfather and Luna's three times great-grandfather was Lord Phineas Nigelus Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Harry and Hermione are fifth cousins on Harry's mother's side and her father's side and sixth cousins on Harry's mother's side and her mother's side. Luna and Hermione are sixth cousins as well. Luna's descended from a witch and Hermione from that witch's squib brother."

"Squib?" Rose asked.

"It's a child born to a magical parent who is not magical themselves," George said.

"Oh."

"What's 'once removed' mean?" Hermione asked. Harry was surprised that she did not know this but, then again, he had not either.

"In this case, it means that Harry and Luna's father are Third Cousins and she, as his daughter is one generation removed from that degree of kinship. It can be annoyingly confusing which is why the law simplified things to a large degree. Under British Magical law 'family' is anyone who by degree of kinship could possibly inherit from someone if that person died without a will and in that case, family is no further out than the Second Cousin's of that person or those who share the same Great-grandparents on one side or another. For marriage, it tracks with Muggle law. First Cousins – those who have the same grandparents – are not considered family such that they cannot marry each other."

"So," Rose said slowly after a long pause, "the two of you have been skulking around for close to seven hundred years?"

"I wouldn't use the word skulk," George said. "We may have done our best to hide the fact that we were born Nicholas Flamel and Perenelle Mont Clair in 1326 and 1330, but we did not hide our current incarnation as it were."

"So how did you come back? You said the Elixir made you a lot younger," Hermione asked.

"First time was an experiment," George said. "I was ninety-two at the time and Perenelle was eighty-eight and I was pretty sure we had figured it out so we took the Elixir and we woke up both aged twenty-six. We had used our Great-granddaughters fluid and did not know how much to take which was why we were not younger. We also thought it was the legendary Elixir, not that it would make us younger and you can suppose that caused some problems."

"More than some," Clara chuckled.

"True. Hadn't thought it through yet but then again we didn't know what we were playing with either. Thinking fast, we faked our deaths. Unfortunately, we couldn't leave anything to ourselves so we walked out of it with just the money in our pouches. The rest of what we had was split between our two sons and it was quite a bit."

"I'm not surprised, being a renowned alchemist," Hermione said.

"Never made a Knut or whatever it was back then off of that," George said. "Nicholas Flamel's work in alchemy was not discovered until ten years after we disappeared. Someone discovered a copy of my notes – fortunately it was in a code only Perenelle and I understood otherwise someone might have copied us. Alchemy was a hobby, not my line of work."

"So what did you do?"

"As Flamel, I was a scrivener and sold manuscripts and dabbled as an author. I wrote documents for customers, made copies of manuscripts as well and sold them. I was actually very well known for that back then. Some of my own writing had a limited following, but as that was before the printing press, my skills paid very well. We had a very nice home in Paris in our final years. It's still there, if you're interested: 51 sue de Montmorency. It went to my oldest son along with all the writings and manuscripts.

"So there we are, twenty-six years old or so and without any way to explain what happened to Nicholas and Perenelle or that we were they so we became Jean and Marie LeMonde. Records weren't very good back then so no one questioned us when we hired on as potions assistants in Le Havre. We spent that life making potions and, of course, making another Stone as they can only be used once. We were rather well regarded as potioners back then and were well known by magicals and Muggles alike – as this was before the Statute of Secrecy and Muggles bought potions as well. Made a good living and figured a way to leave some of it to us when we decided to go. We 'died' in 1466 at what most thought was age seventy-four.

"This time, we were sixteen year old Francois and Michelle and again already married."

"At sixteen?" Hermione asked shocked.

"It was fairly common back then," George shrugged. "We established our new life in Calais and apprenticed as enchanters, which by then was strictly a magical profession. We moved to London in 1490 and opened our own shop in Diagon Alley. I believe the premises is now the location of Madam Malkins. In 1527, aged seventy-seven we again went back as it were. This time and every time since then we were ten years old. I was Edward Standbridge and Perenelle was now Catherine Fitz-Herbert. By then, Hogwarts had its magical book that detected accidental magic so we 'accidently' did some magic and were recorded as orphans of unknown parentage raised in the Muggle world and entered Hogwarts as eleven year olds in 1527. We married at fifteen, again not totally uncommon back then."

"But if you were Muggle raised, that meant a Professor came and would tell your parents about magic," Hermione observed.

"Not as orphans," Clara replied. "While there were orphanages in one form or another, many orphans lived on the streets and such. We'd set things up such that while we were street urchins of a sort, we didn't really scrape about much meaning we avoided the fates that befell many such children. Add to it we had wands and knew how to use them. But yes, a Professor would find us and bring us to Hogwarts. Until the Hogwarts Express, magical children raised in the Muggle World did not leave the Castle until they finished school except for Hogsmeade visits. It was too hard to explain, really."

"Well, after raising our daughters which included Harry's distant Great-grandmother, the Standbridge's 'died' in 1595 at age seventy-nine and ten year olds Thomas Eldridge and Mary Seymour came into being."

"I'm sure I've heard those names," Hermione said. "Of course! Thomas Eldridge was a Headmaster at Hogwarts and his wife Mary his Deputy. It was in _Hogwarts: A History!"_

"Very good," George noted. "What that book won't tell you is we were the last married couple in that capacity and I was the last Headmaster who was not from a family with a proven Hogwarts connection. Every Head since had at least one parent who had also attended that school."

"It also shows we weren't skulking around as was said earlier since Headmasters and Professors at that school are hardly obscure people during their lifetimes," Clara added.

"Our life as George and Clara was our ninth life and before you ask it's not like being a cat," George continued. "We again came back aged ten in 1917. This time we had to have a fake family because of the Hogwarts Express and better records since our prior reappearance in 1841. That and there had been a major effort to clear the streets of homeless orphans by that time and we can tell you orphanages were not pleasant places at all. But thanks to Polyjuice Potion, we were able to disguise ourselves as each other's parent – adoptive naturally as the records now would show us to be Purebloods of some description."

"How did Dumbledore figure out who you really were?" Harry asked remembering they had mentioned this practically at the beginning.

"Ah!" George replied. "We had done a fairly good job of covering our tracks. The records of our prior selves and of us now are not related at all. We even had the means with which to ensure that the records supporting our new cover were pretty much impeccable, namely Clara here and Charlotte, Elizabeth and Anne before her all worked in the Ministry hall of records and its predecessor. The only way for someone to tell that any of those records are not what they appear to be is if that someone also had access to Gringotts' records. Dumbledore, apparently, did which is a loophole we've now managed to close. That's not to say Dumbledore stumbled onto us purely by accident. Oh no. You see, he had particular suspicions about a later Hogwarts student, also an orphan, one who claimed a magical heritage for which there were no clear records in the Ministry for he had been born in a Muggle orphanage. That student was named Tom Riddle…"

"Voldemort!" Harry said.

"Oh you know this?"

Harry nodded. "It was explained to me recently. Didn't know about the orphanage, but his father was a Muggle and his mother was a witch."

George nodded. "Well, given Dumbledore's concerns about that lad he went back over the records of all muggle raised orphans identified in school records as something other than Muggle Borns looking for discrepancies. This was around 1939 or so. Somehow, he noted that we existed in Ministry records as of the date of our births in 1907, but not in Gringotts records until about a year before our prior incarnations were 'retired' in 1926 and there should not have been that kind of error if both sets of records were accurate. Oops. So, suspecting Clara and I had to be up to no good, he came looking for us."

"And as we said," Clara continued, "we never really skulked around so we were not all that hard to find, especially as our oldest daughter was already a student at Hogwarts."

"I can't see what possible interest you could have been to Dumbledore at the time," Hermione said. "After all, what was he? Deputy Headmaster and Transfiguration Professor? Why would he care about a records discrepancy?"

"He was also and is also the Head of an Ancient House and held that House's hereditary seat in the Wizengamot," George replied. "And, if that was not enough, he was the de facto leader of the progressive movement within the Wizengamot. They were a very vocal minority, but a minority nonetheless and at that time Grindelwald and his fascist, Pureblood movement was taking control of the Continent. Britain was arguably at risk of following suit, regardless of the position of the Muggles with respect to what was happening across the Channel at the time. Dumbledore was concerned that Tom Riddle had either become an agent of Grindelwald or some such as Riddle was quietly stirring the Pureblood Supremacy pot over here. Naturally, he was concerned that there might be others like him or, worse, that Grindelwald had planted agents here years earlier to pave the way for his movement's take over. I don't know how he got access to the Goblins' records, but he did and as there was a suspicious discrepancy in our records he sought us out to find out what we really were.

"Naturally, we were not enemy agents as it were. Far from it. If we were agent provocateurs at all, it would not be for an autocracy of an inbred minority! They say that age leaves one inflexible and set in their ways. Perhaps that is true for those who know they will not live to see the consequences of their actions. But Clara and I have been alive for so long that what we see as the only constant is change. To resist change is to ask for trouble. Dumbledore is the voice of the progressives in the government. He advocates for tolerance and acceptance, not change. He believes the wizarding world can go on as it always has, not being truly old enough to know that there never has been an always has been. His views might have been prudent four hundred years ago, but not today."

"Wh-why not?" Hermione asked.

"His views are designed to placate the various factions within the governing elite – and it is an elite. Fifty-four seats in the Wizengamot are hereditary, twenty-seven are life appointments and twelve are assigned by the sitting current Minister for Magic and last only as long as that Minister is in office. Not one of those seats is elected. The life appointments are nominated and approved by the hereditary seats so, naturally, they might be disinclined to appoint a radical and certainly not a Muggle Born these days."

"Why not?" Hermione and Rose asked.

"A few hundred years ago it didn't mean much," George said, "but back then England and the rest of Britain was hardly a democracy. Muggle Borns today were brought up in a system where the government either does what their constituents want or they risk the possibility going home and having to find real jobs after the next general election. The closest thing in Britain to the Wizengamot is the House of Lords and over the last hundred years or so it's had its teeth pulled as it were. Most recently, they capped the number of peers who can have a seat and there's even talk that Lords might one day have to stand for election as well, although probably with being a peer as a prequalification. In the magical government, the Ministry answers to the Wizengamot and the Wizengamot answers only to itself."

"But they have passed progressive laws since the War," Hermione protested.

"Which generally go unenforced," George replied. "Bandages, placebos, that's all they really are. There are over 65,000 witches and wizards in Britain and only the 78 in the Wizengamot truly have a voice and they are not accountable to the rest. Of that 65,000, well over half have family ties to the Muggle World and are at least somewhat aware of concepts such as democracy and government accountability to the governed. Dumbledore pushes for tolerance and always has, but he does not address the real issues which are a Pureblood Supremacy that is the one constant political block in the Wizengamot and the fact that that block speaks for less than ten percent of the country and yet it is entrenched and cannot be ousted by political process. Sooner or later it will boil over. It always has in the past where the elites try too hard to hang on to the ways things had always been in their memories."

"What will happen then?"

"Revolution, which seldom ever turns out well for the losers."

A/N: I would've left one, but then I changed my mind… Oh… we are by no means done with the Flamels… And yes, the kiss bit will be explained...


	9. Chapter 9: Time Is Relative

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER NINE: TIME IS RELATIVE…**

"Well," Luna said after a long, silent pause, "I'm pretty sure there won't be a revolution tomorrow." She then paused and looked aside. "Then again, Daddy did have an interesting conversation with Minister Fudge at a cocktail party last year. The Minister said something like he thought the only good the Goblins could possibly serve was as a filling for meat pies sold from Diagon Alley stalls. Daddy did say the Minister was clearly – what was the term – in his cups? The editor of The Daily Prophet heard it too but chose not to write about it and neither did Daddy. But he's keeping it in mind just in case the Minister really is crazy 'cause goodness knows how the Goblins would react to that tidbit even if it was only meant as a joke – one in bad taste, pardon the pun."

Hermione snorted. "The Quibbler writes about non-exisitant creatures…"

"Just because Newt Scamander chose not to include Crumple Horned Snorkacks, Wrakspurts, Nargles, Plimpies and Blibbering Humbdingers in _A Thousand Magical Beasts and Where To Find Them, _does not mean they don't exist," Luna said. "After all there are exactly one thousand magical beasts in that book. Maybe he stopped because _One Thousand Three Hundred and Twenty-Seven Magical Beasts and Where To Find Them _didn't sound right or maybe his publisher was only willing to publish a book on a thousand beasts."

"Or maybe there was a paper shortage," George (Nicholas Flamel) offered, "'cause there was at the time."

"But," Luna continued, "I'm pretty sure that as much as I love talking with Grampy and Granny, they didn't call us together to talk about their true identities, as fascinating as that was, or how we're related or about Professor Dumbledore and politics."

"No, we did not," Clara (Perenelle Flamel) said. "But our true identities and histories were necessary because what we have to tell you needs more than the average degree of credibility and the Dumbledore angle would have come up as well as it places certain things in the proper context."

"This is about the French Word Thing and Life Flashy thing, isn't it?" Luna said almost bouncing while seated on her bed."

"The what?" the older coupled seemed to ask in unison.

"A persistent sense of déjà vu that began around Harry's eleventh birthday and ended – pretty much – about two weeks ago," Hermione said. "That's the French Word Thing as Luna calls it. The Life Flashy thing is something all three of us experienced even more recently. For me it was about a week ago when I first kissed Harry. For Luna it was earlier this morning when she first kissed Harry and for Harry it was each of those times. It was like our life flashing before our eyes except most of it hasn't happened yet. The one thing all of us can remember is it wasn't pleasant."

"Interesting," George said looking at his wife.

"What about the golden glow?" Rose Granger asked. When the older couple looked at her with interest she continued. "When Harry kissed Luna they started glowing. It was golden in color and within moments Hermione was glowing as well."

"Well, that will certainly make some things a little easier," Clara said with a smile.

"What did you all think those events were?" George asked.

"Magic," the three young people replied.

"Obviously," George drawled sounding disturbingly like their least favorite professor at school. "Any idea what kind?"

They shook their heads.

"Any guesses as to what it means?"

"Luna said she thought the déjà vu was sort of a message," Harry said. "Not a message exactly but something that would get us to pay attention when we might not ordinarily. No idea what the other stuff was."

"Luna was essentially correct about the déjà vu," George said. "It was a technique designed to if not open your minds to what otherwise might seem unbelievable at least get you listen when otherwise you might think you were losing it. As for what she called the Life Flashy Thing, it sounds like that was the message itself, imbedded in your subconscious and spontaneously released by another form of powerful magic."

"Not much of a message if we can't remember it," Hermione grumbled.

"It wasn't meant to be released that way," Clara said. "It was to be triggered at certain times by certain events and probably will be as intended. As a small benefit, you will know it for what it is now when it happens."

"Okay," Harry said, "but who sent this message and why?"

"The three of you sent the messages to yourselves."

"That's impossible!" Hermione said. "I know no kind of magic that can do that and I think I would remember if I had read about it."

"Unless we were obliviated," Luna added.

George smiled almost evilly. "Whether you were obliviated or not is not relevant. The magic you used you will not find in any books in any library."

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"Because it hasn't been discovered yet," Clara finished.

"You're from the future?" Harry began.

"Don't be silly," Hermione chided. "They said we sent the messages."

"Oh, right. But how? Why?"

"Time magic is fairly complex," Clara began.

"But aren't Stasis Charms and things like the Impediment Jinx time magic? They're taught at Hogwarts," Hermione interrupted and blushed when she realized what she had done. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Clara said. "Yes they are. But if you've read about them you also know they merely alter the flow of time on a given object or, if applied in a ward construct, in a specific and limited area. I was talking more in the nature of time travel."

"You can do that?" Rose asked.

"Arguably," George said, "our being here when we were born over 660 years ago is proof that it is conceptually possible. Admittedly, we did it the slow way," he laughed. "The truth is traveling into the future is not possible, at least not that we are aware of because the future has infinite possibilities. The past, however, is fixed so the theory was since it was fixed it was therefore possible to go back in time. There is truth to this theory, but sending a physical object back in time is not very practical, particularly if the intent is to alter the timeline itself."

"Why?"

"Because it _IS _fixed to an amazing degree and cannot be physically altered. All you can do is participate in events that have already happened really, not truly change the outcome. It's rather complicated. There are devices called Time Turners which allow a person or two to go back, but only a couple of days at most. However, whatever you do would have been part of the timeline before you went back anyway. This means you can't possible alter things in any way that would cause the original version of yourself not to go back in time. Kind of defeats the purpose in a way since you can't save someone who died or kill someone who lived if that their death or life was the reason you went back in the first place. Best you can do is go back _before _someone _might _have died and interfere with the events that _almost, maybe _killed them. If they died before you tried to go back to stop it, they're dead. You can't change it. Needless to say there's little real utility to those things and they're highly regulated because their only practical use is to allow the user to be somewhere else when his original self commits a crime of some kind so that he has a damn good alibi. You didn't change the fact the crime happened the first time around, did you? All you did was give yourself an alibi in the event you were caught.

"It is considered an axiom for now that you cannot physically travel back in time and _change_ what has already happened. All you can do is go back and participate in what has already happen."

"Then how…?" Hermione began.

"Have any of you wondered why George or Nicholas, if you will, decided to live so many lives?" Clara (Perenelle) asked. "You must admit it seems rather selfish and to an extent it is after all we have outlived all of our children and all but one of our grandchildren thanks to the recent war and others as well. We do care about them and it's painful whenever we lose one. Why go through that? Why go through that knowing it will happen, knowing you will outlive them all? To end it all, all we ever had to do was not take the Elixir and nature would have seen to the rest. We would have died of old age at the end of our most recent life span. Why didn't we?"

They shook their heads.

"Our first life we were focused on Alchemy and once we seemed to have perfected our technique, we then moved on to other branches of magic in our other lives. But Nicholas Flamel in all his incarnations and I in all mine have always been interested in the nature of time. Arguably, what you call the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life is a specialized form of time magic as it makes someone physically younger but you don't skip about the time line. We wanted to know how and to what extent it might possible to actually skip about the time line. While we didn't take credit for it in any of our incarnations, the Time Turner was our creation – officially it's attributable to 'Unnamed Unspeakables' in the British Ministry of Magic. But as we explained, that form of magical time travel is not useful. We kept coming back because life proved far more interesting after a couple hundred years and because we wanted to further explore the nature of time.

"Your recent experience with déjà vu and what our great-granddaughter called the Life Flashy Thing are manifestations of a way you can do something in the past that changes the timeline. We discovered another way to influence past events, one that does not involve sending something physically through the timeline and, while we've never had cause to try a full up test, we believe since this method does not involve physical intervention, it is possible that it can alter past events that otherwise seem unalterable."

"Okay," Harry said slowly, "if we assume someone has to do something differently, how can you change that without physically stopping them?"

"What if instead of stopping them at all, you merely sent them information they did not or could not have so that they can make different decisions?" Hermione suggested.

"Exactly," George (Nicholas) said.

"So you replaced our current memories with ones from this other timeline?" Harry asked.

"They weren't replaced," George said. "We thought that might be possible once we realized that memories or information are not governed by the same time magic restrictions as physical objects, but we felt that memory replacement as in changing who you are now, replacing who you are now with whatever you became in the timeline we seek to change, was unethical."

"Just 'cause it might be possible to do something, doesn't mean you should or that you should even try," Clara (Perenelle) said. "If we replaced you of this time with you of another time, what becomes of you of this time? Any way you think about it, the you of this time ceases to exist, doesn't it? Essentially, that's like killing. No. We decided not to go that route. Besides, there's a way to prove that we have not done this. Can any of you do a Blasting Hex?"

"No," three voices said.

"They don't teach that until Fifth Year or later in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione added. "But that doesn't prove anything. What if what you want to change happens much sooner than that?"

"Do you have any memories of our trip to France?" Rose asked her daughter.

"No. Of course not! It hasn't happened yet."

"Exactly," Clara said. "And consider the déjà vu," she added. "You had a feeling it all had happened before, but could any of you truly see or sense what was going to happen next?"

The three shook their heads.

"And the three of you aren't having that feeling now, are you?"

Again, they shook their heads.

"To begin to prepare your current minds for useful information that will help avoid certain – er – mistakes in the future, you sent to your current selves memories. Since those memories were the same as what was happening at the time…"

"Déjà vu," Hermione finished. "In a way, we really had been through it before! And it stopped when we did something different, right?"

"Or when something different happened," Luna added. "It stopped for me when I got that odd letter, remember?"

"So the thing I wanted to change was to talk to Dobby and let him become my House Elf?" Harry asked. "That's when it stopped for me mostly."

"Possibly a part of it," George said. "Having a bonded House Elf can be quite useful. But while it may be a part of what needs changing, that's all it is a part and probably a very small part. The déjà vu was, as you say Luna suggested, a mind alert as it were. Depart from the same as before and it stops but not everything is something you can change or do different, right? There are some things that have happened since that still happened 'cause they happened regardless, right?"

"Dumbledore cancelling end of year exams," the three said in unison. "And the fact we couldn't go home right away," Hermione added.

"The three of you decided to begin 'the messages' – as you will – on Harry's eleventh birthday," Clara began.

"Why then?" they asked.

"That's when the last of you learned about magic," Clara continued. "You chose that date figuring that knowing that magic was real and that each of you was magical you would consider magic as a possible explanation for what you were experiencing as opposed to thinking you were nutters. Unlike George and I who came up with the magic some time ago in this timeline and therefore knew what caused our own sense of déjà vu, you did not. Nothing had to change for some time, but the three of you also knew you needed something to get you to change the way you see things and think about things fairly early on and trying to figure out the déjà vu was an easy way to open your minds to other possibilities when the time came, possibilities you would not have otherwise considered or would have been receptive to.

"In a future time, one which has already been altered, an elderly couple by names you have not and probably will not hear taught you this magic. That was George and I's future manifestation of Nicholas and Perenelle. But there are other things you need to learn in this time to fully exploit the magic so we also sent ourselves information from that time. We too began experiencing déjà vu on July 31st, 1991 and it took each of us some time to realize it was what it was. But, as we already knew how that magic worked, we knew how to uncap the underlying messages. This is what ultimately caused us to write Luna that letter and it's why we're here today. This is the summer where some things should happen and the earliest you should begin learning how to exploit the information your other selves sent along."

"But if we in the future sent us information that we now use to change something, what happens to we in the future that sent it?" Hermione asked.

"Arguably," George (Nicholas) replied, "if the change was significant enough, it could change the timeline and certainly would change your own."

"But," Hermione continued, "wouldn't that mean the we in the future would not have reason to send that information back in the first place?"

"Probably."

"Doesn't that create a paradox of some kind?"

"Not really. The future is not fixed in any way, shape or form. There are from this moment forward infinite possible futures moving forward. True, some futures are far more likely than others, but any future is possible. All sending information back would do is possibly change what the sender does now. The sender can, of course, ignore the information which would change little or nothing. But, if they change something from that possible timeline and that change is significant enough, then that future is no longer possible. That being said, there's still a lot of possible futures which remain possible and some that are even more probable than not following that change."

"Wait! You said earlier if we physically came back we can't change the future we came from," Hermione complained. "But now, if we send information back from some future, you're saying we could now do things that make that future impossible such that we would have no need to send the information back in the first place? I still see that as a paradox!"

The older couple nodded. "If you physically go back," George said, "then you exist as two entities in that past: the past you and future you connecting that future you to that past such that it cannot be changed. But sending information from one possible future for some reason does not lock that future to the person in the past therefore that future can be changed or avoided altogether. It's very confusing if you think about it but it's also the way time magic works."

"Don't you think changing the future is dangerous? Reckless?" Rose asked.

"Aside from repeating that the future is not set, I would agree. In the wrong hands and for the wrong reasons, being able to change the past is not a good idea. We can assure you that this was not done lightly and was not done just because you three were not happy with the ways your lives turned out - which you weren't - but that was not the reason. There were things the three of you - well Harry mostly - could have done in your current near future - if you consider the next decade or so near - that you chose not to do or didn't do as well as you could have. It wasn't entirely your fault, mind you. You lacked the knowledge even in the then present sense to have done the right things as it were and you lacked the desire to take the stands and stand out and such more than you already had. The result of trying to attain the lives you wanted rather than taking charge and pursuing opportunities you had not thought of or would not pursue because it was too hard was that tens of thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands died needlessly while those who could have made a difference watched on. If it was just your lives that had not turned out the way they could have, Clara and I would never have sought you three out at all. You three could be the difference between a future of pain and suffering and a future of progress for millions. Your inactions led indirectly to the worst possible future. Your choices - many of which are years away from the here and now - helped that horrible future come to be. You three wanted to do something to change that and we spent a long time with you three trying to figure out what went wrong and when it went wrong. We all agreed that none of us can know what the right choices were, only what the wrong ones were. To avoid your wrong choices … well that's what led to us being here today and talking about it. It's why we sought these three out then - in that future - and now in this present."

"What did we do wrong?" Hermione asked in shock.

"It's a pity we can't tell you really," Clara said. "Truly it is. Deep down, only you know. This magic doesn't work like that. We can tell you what the world was like - for us and from what you told us in that future - but not truly what you could have done to have prevented it. Sorry. It's not that kind of thing. But, should you accept certain things and by accepting them unblock your magical message, you will have access to the mistakes you made and from there be able to make - if you choose - different decisions."

"Free will's a bitch," George said. "This magic can't change that we're pretty sure. That being said, there are things we can tell you lot. What you do with that… Well, that's you're decision, isn't it?

"Clara and I are here for two reasons. First, in addition to convincing you that this magic is real so that you will believe or at least be willing to consider what we're going to tell you, we are here to give you and overview of the future your other selves decided needed to be changed and why it needs to be changed. Also, as your 'Life Flashy Thing' suggests, most of what we will say is stored deep in your minds and is under a block. It is a block that only you can break and we are here to tell you the basics as to how."

After a pause Harry spoke. "Voldemort won, didn't he? In this future you mentioned, he won."

"No Harry. In this future we speak of you killed him about five years from now. Arguably, he never really stood a chance once he set his sights on you."

"But if he lost, then why was that future so bad that we had to try and find a way to change it. I would have thought that with Voldemort gone, there wouldn't be anymore problems like that."

"And regrettably so did Dumbledore," George said, "although he never lived to see his greatest mistake manifest itself. Dumbledore believes that Voldemort is the disease which is infecting our world. Due to a prophecy made before you were born, Harry, he believes that you are the cure. In that future, he was wrong on both counts. Voldemort is not the disease, but merely a symptom and Dumbledore is a symptom as well. Dumbledore's plan got rid of one symptom and ignored all the others allowing the disease to go on unchecked until our whole world was torn asunder. It is the disease that gave rise to Voldemort and it is the disease that prevents Dumbledore from doing what needs to be done to cure it. We already touched on it."

"We did?" several asked.

"You mean the Wizengamot," Hermione said. "A government you are born into as opposed to elected by the people, right?"

"That is what I meant, but it too is but a symptom although arguably the most visible one. If the composition of the Wizengamot was the only problem, we probably would never have heard of Voldemort. After all, not long ago Britain was not really much of a democracy by today's standards. Parliament was originally made up of the Nobility and Bishops - which later became the House of Lords - and the Knights of the Shire, Sheriffs, and Burgesses from the Free Towns or Chartered Towns. That group later became the House of Commons since they were, by definition, commoners. They weren't elected to Parliament at first at all, that came later and until earlier this century, most people could not vote at all. To vote for Parliament, specifically the Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, you had to own land. That changed only after the First World War which was also when they extended the vote to certain, but not all, women at first. Now everyone can participate in government through their votes, but that is a recent development and Britain did quite well for a long time without it."

"There were issues," Hermione said. "There was the reigns of King Stephen and King John that were little more than civil wars in England. Edward I seemed hell bent on trying to subdue the Scots, Welsh and Irish who, of course, didn't want to be subdued by the English which set off centuries of violence. Henry IV deposed Richard II which arguably set off a prolonged and bloody civil war for the throne - true the real fighting didn't begin until the reign of Henry VI but there you go. That war ended with Richard III dead on the battlefield and Henry Tudor taking the throne and executing opposition left and right - a ploy that continued in one form or another and to varying degrees throughout the Tudor Dynasty. Charles I was such a jerk that Parliament went to war against him and lopped of his head and James II was run out of the country sometime later by which time Parliament was more than a little fed up with monarchs who believed themselves to be all powerful so that when James II cousin Mary and her husband William of Orange were offered the throne, they had to agree to play nice with Parliament and that in many things Parliament had the final say."

"I wasn't suggesting English history was all rosy," George (Nicholas) said. "To be honest, I don't think a generation has gone by where they were not fighting someone, somewhere for some reason. But as compared to the other monarchies of Europe, while they did have their fair share of dynastic challenges and disputes, they never really had a true revolution, did they? Okay. I suppose Oliver Cromwell and his lot might count, but they didn't change much of anything in the end. Just about every other monarchy has been forced to take a true back seat in political affairs at one point and a few were dealt with quite harshly in the end. There was no French Revolution or Bolshevik take over. The English did not go to sleep one night under a monarchy and wake up the next day to a totally different form of government following a violent uprising. England managed to avoid that.

"We chose to send the message back to this time," George continued, "a time immediately following you Second Year, Harry. It was chosen because you have now faced Voldemort three times in your life and twice since you started Hogwarts so you know what you're up against and you already wonder why that is so. Most annoyingly, Dumbledore seems to know why but isn't telling you a thing, is he?"

Harry shook his head.

"A most annoying habit he has," Clara (Perenelle) said. "Once he obtains information he considers both important and sensitive, he prefers not to share it at all. He will reveal it but only when he feels it is absolutely necessary to do so and even then he'd prefer to reveal as little as possible. He came to us two years ago trying to convince us that the Stone was in danger. That's all he would tell us so, naturally, we told the little boy that he had nothing to worry about."

"Little boy?" Harry asked.

"He's a hundred and twenty-three…"

"That's impossible!" Rose said. "No one lives that long!"

"Muggles don't," Clara said. "Witches and wizards have always had a much higher life expectancy. Dumbledore is the equivalent of a muggle male in his late seventies. If your daughter should live long enough to die from natural causes, she could easily live that long and longer. 160, while uncommon, is not unheard of. But, as George and I have lived nine lifetimes and are 667 and 663 years old respectively, to us one as young as Dumbledore is a mere child or adolescent."

"This is particularly true where magic is concerned," George said. "We have probably forgotten more magic that he ever knew and he tends to forget that little fact seeing as in this lifetime we're only 86. So he came to us begging to keep the Stone safe. Of course he did not know that it was useless to anyone but the two of us. He assumed we lacked the ability to protect it, forgetting that the secret that might be vulnerable is not the Stone but the knowledge needed to create it."

"Which he did not seem nearly as keen to safeguard," Clara said. "He didn't even suggest that we should take precautions ourselves."

"Dumbledore reluctantly decided to tell us why he wanted to guard our Stone," George said. "And I mean he was reluctant. We made it quite clear we had no intention of turning it over - even though it really didn't matter - and he had to tell us everything or leave us and never return. The man has his pride and losing a 'colleague' such as Nicholas Flamel was unthinkable to him so he spilled.

"Dumbledore was fairly certain Voldemort didn't snuff it that night when you became famous, Harry. He suspected that the bastard - and he was one - had delved into certain highly vile magics that would make him hard to totally destroy. Voldemort's body was destroyed that night, but Dumbledore was convinced he could return. He had suspicions that what was left of Voldemort, more than a ghost, really, was biding its time in Albania. So long as it remained there and until Dumbledore figured a way to deal with it permanently, he was willing to let it abide.

"About a week before Dumbledore came knocking at our door all on about the safety of the Stone, one Quinirus Quirrell returned from a year's leave of absence to assume duties as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore has been having serious retention issues with that post. Since Professor Barkley retired in 1961, no replacement has lasted more than a year, two at the most. Quirrell was totally unqualified for the topic, although he had been quite well received as the Professor for Muggle Studies his prior ten years at Hogwarts. Defense? His only qualification was he spent two years just out of school dealing with security trolls. Wouldn't've known a 'Dark Art' if it bopped him on the nose. But, said professor took a year off to try and learn a bit and came back fearful of vampires and, it seemed, possessed by what was left of Voldemort.

"Dumbledore's a bit of an odd duck for a leader. If it were me, I'd've snuffed the man then and there. Dumbledore wasn't about to do that if there was any chance, however unreasonably slim, that the possession could be reversed without having to kill Quirrell. But he also knew why it had happened at that time. He suspected Voldemort would try to come back some way at that time even if he could not totally regain his powers. He knew that Harry Potter was about to start Hogwarts and would be out in the open and vulnerable. Dumbledore knew he would be remiss to prevent that, but had this other idea. He would distract Voldemort with something of more immediate interest."

"The Stone?" Harry asked. "But you said only you can use it!"

"And, aside from those of us in this room, no one else knows that. They think any blighter can use it. And Voldemort, being the vain bastard that he is, would rather snuff a helpless Firstie having regained his full power than do so as a shade of his former self dependent upon the life of what he certainly considered an inferior wizard. You should be aware as to how that turned out in the end."

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"The point it that despite even common courtesy, much less given the potential situation, Dumbledore was loath to tell us why he wanted to safeguard the stone. He did so most reluctantly and only when he was certain we would never agree to even consider being a part of his little venture without him disclosing his information. In one area, he is particularly reticent about revealing anything."

"What area is that?" Hermione asked.

"Anything and everything to do with one Harry James Potter," George finished. "He never told you about Quirrell, did he?"

Harry shook his head.

"He let that man skulk about for almost a year," Clara said. "The entire time that thing inside of him was trying to come back and that thing wanted nothing as much as to kill you, Harry. Dumbledore knew this and said nothing and did little or nothing about it. His plan was to trap the bastard. He tends to be overly complex in his plans. He could easily have overpowered that possessed professor, but he believes in the art of subtlety. He damn near handed this world over to Voldemort the last time through his subtle plans and the gentle approach he believed he needed to maintain in order to claim to be a leader of the Light. It seems he's playing that game again."

"He currently serves as your magical guardian, Harry," George said. "As such he is supposed to do whatever he can that is in your best interests. To say he has been neglectful in his duties thus far is an understatement. He was the one who placed you with the Dursleys and he was supposed to make certain you were treated well. Were you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Everything that happened to you under the care - if you can call it that - of the Dursleys is his responsibility, not that he'd ever admit to it. He is as guilty as they are. He acts as if he did not know and maybe he did not, but he was required to check on you and if he did not or if he did and did nothing, he has failed in his obligations to you as your guardian.

"You are the last of an Ancient and Noble House, did you know that?"

Harry nodded. "My Elf Dobby told me about that yesterday."

"You should have been told that before you even started Hogwarts! As you are in effect the Head of that House but are too young to fulfill your obligations as such in your own right, your magical guardian acts as your proxy in such matters. He holds your House Seat and votes in the Wizengamot. But as a mere proxy, the law requires that he at the very least submit any and all proposed legislation to you for your information once you turn eleven. In fact, you have the authority to tell him how to vote the Potter votes. You can't vote yourself nor can you yet introduce legislation for consideration nor can you tell Dumbledore how to rule when he hears a legal case as part of the Court, but otherwise he is required to consult with you on Wizengamot matters. I take it that never has happened?"

Harry shook his head.

"I take it you haven't seen your parents' or your grandfather's Wills either?"

"No."

"Even though you can only truly access a Trust Vault, you are still entitled to know about the Potter estates and you should have been told about it again when you turned eleven if you didn't know about it before then. Again, that was the responsibility of your magical guardian."

"He will say and perhaps has said that he wishes to spare you from such things," Clara said. "He wishes you to enjoy life and all that. Odd that he should say or even think such things given what you've been through since the day your parents were murdered. He has his reasons for this, as misguided as they are."

"There was a prophecy," George continued. "It was made a few months before you were born, Harry. It goes like this:

"_The One with the Power to Vanquish the Dark Lord Approaches."Born to those who have Thrice Defied Him,"Born as the Seventh Month Dies._

"_And the Dark Lord will Mark Him as an Equal._

"_But He will have Power the Dark Lord Knows not._

"_And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can Live while the other Survives."_

"Prophecies are dodgy at best," Clara said. "George and I have studied that magic and, unlike most others, we've lived long enough to know just how useless it is. They are vague and ambiguous and can mean anything or nothing. The few that might have come to pass were always known by the participant that being the object or an object of the prophecy - one who wanted the thing to be right. If you act upon it then for better or worse it can become self fulfilling."

"Dumbledore heard this prophecy," George continued. "He has been acting upon it in a way ever since. But a Death Eater heard part of it too - Severus Snape's his name - and he dutifully reported what he heard to his Master Voldemort. So Voldemort has been acting upon that information as well. Naturally, being a right evil git and a megalomaniac, Voldemort was not about to suffer a more powerful wizard to live. But, considering the language in the Prophecy and how vague it is, he waited for events to happen that would identify the One in the Prophecy. Most regrettably, he never heard the bit about 'marking' as an equal. Given that there were many possible interpretations as to who was the child born at the end of some seventh month to parents who defied the Dark Lord three times, had he known that he had to mark the lad for the One to come forth, he probably would have sat back and done nothing and your parents might well be alive today."

"You can see how dodgy the thing is," Clara said. "The only thing anyone can be remotely certain about is that 'Dark Lord' refers to Voldemort. He was the only one on earth running about with that moniker. 'Thrice defied' is supposed to identify the parents of the one. Both Dumbledore and Voldemort assumed it meant parents who were fighting against Voldemort and Voldemort acted upon that. He killed the entire McKinnon family a few weeks later and then killed Edgar and Helena Bones and this was despite the fact that neither family seemed to have a child that fit the bill. Susan Bones was born in March, before the Prophecy and Rachel McKinnon was born in November. Rachel was killed. Susan was at her Aunt's house when Voldemort killed her parents.

"Then two boys were born at the end of July of 1980 within two hours of each other. The first born was Neville Longbottom whose parents Alice and Frank had fought Voldemort three times and survived and the second, born to another couple that had fought Voldemort three times and lived, was you Harry."

"So Neville could have been the One?"

"At that time, that's what Dumbledore and Voldemort believed. They believed it was one of you two. But that assumes that 'thrice defied' referred to an enemy of the Dark Lord and the 'seventh month' referred to the end of July. It could have had other meanings such as the seventh month after an event such as defying the Dark Lord or it could have meant a premature birth. But assuming it meant the end of July, then yes it meant the both of you and only the both of you. Unfortunately for you, Voldemort heard nothing about his 'marking' his equal nor that the One had a Power of some kind that he did not. He would have known that to attack you or Neville risked setting the Prophecy in motion. But he didn't know that, did he?"

"He marked me that night he killed my parents, didn't he?"

"As near as anyone can say, that's the case."

"So I'm the one - the only one who can defeat Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"Apparently," George answered. "You did in the timeline that is calling to us. Snuffed him, you did. Whether you were the one in the prophecy and Voldemort was the Dark Lord is another question when one considers what happened after you killed him dead. He came back to a physical form about two years from now and you killed him three years later. And then you walked away from it all."

"Can't really blame you," Clara said. "You'd been fighting the bastard all your life, after all. You faced him directly six times and at worst held him to a draw. You worked at ending him forever while the rest of the wizarding world simply submitted to what they saw as inevitability after Dumbledore died. You wanted nothing to do with any of it and took a job as an Auror - a cop. You did your job for years and did it well, but you never took the next step."


	10. Chapter 10: Duty and Obligations

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Try explaining dimensional physics in a way that makes sense, is entertaining and fairly accurate - for a story device - in 10,000 words or less…

Boring part:

0th Dimension: a singularity or point infinitely small. It has no up or down or left or right or anything. The smallest subatomic particle is infinitely larger…

1st Dimension: a line. It may or may not have a starting point or end point, but it goes off in a direction of some kind. It can be short or infinite in length, but has no other dimensions at all so it is infinitely thin with no up, down, left or right. It is made up of an infinite number of points or singularities (as they are infinitely small).

2nd Dimension: a plane. It has a left and right. Think of a piece of paper infinitely thin, but otherwise potentially infinite in length and width. It's made up of lines, many of which intersect at some point - perhaps an infinite number of them do…

3rd Dimension: the reality we perceive at any given moment - volume or space; the physical universe as we know it. It has up, down, left, right and straight forward. It is the 0th dimension of time and is conceivable infinite in it's physical dimensions. In time's 0th dimension of time, in this space nothing moves, not even light itself (or anything faster either…)

4th Dimension: the time we perceive. It is and is always linear with an beginning point ending at whatever given moment you read the last bit and then continuing on from there. Our physical universe moves with it along a line from the past to the present. From there, there are infinite possibilities for you and everyone else. You might drop dead, you might not, but it's all possible if it hasn't happened yet. Think of time in this case as a line from the 2nd Dimension above with it's endpoint at what ever point you are at at any given moment… In a universe of but four dimensions, time travel is not possible into the past as the past is set. (Hence the notion last chapter that physical time travel cannot change what has already happened.) To state otherwise throws us into the upper dimensions, one of infinite pasts as well as futures. Were you to be able to go back and … let's say … kill Hitler or Stalin or Bin Laden before they became a problem, you would not change this timeline, but throw yourself into another.

Sending information back does not solve this, really. It creates another timeline - if the receiver acts on it - but the sender doesn't have to go through with living in that alternate reality… It is more moral - in my view - because any future is still possible as the actors retain their free will. My plot devices was to link a certain future to a certain past where the travel was made physically, but to break that link where all that went back in time was information from an older person to his or her younger self. Then again, what do I know?

**CHAPTER TEN: DUTY AND OBLIGATIONS…**

"What's wrong with being an Auror?" Harry asked confused.

"Nothing," George (Nicholas) replied. "Nothing at all if that was what you wanted to do and it was the best you could do and you didn't have any higher obligations. But as we said earlier, killing Voldemort cured a symptom. The disease remained and as an Auror all you could do was continue to cure symptoms while the disease continued to destroy society. If Dumbledore hasn't told you this yet, Harry, he will one day. It's our choices in life that define us all in the end. We can choose to do what is easy or we can choose to do what is right."

"Dumbledore's great mistake was leaving you with the Dursleys," Clara (Perenelle) said. "You're entire time with them you strove for their acceptance at the very least. It's not uncommon in such situations. It made you into a person that wanted acceptance more than anything else. It made you afraid to dream, afraid to stand out, afraid to take chances and do what most might consider unpopular. The one time in your life - in the future the messages are coming from - the one time when you consistently chose to do what was right regardless of whether you wanted to do that or the difficulty, was when you were dealing with Voldemort. Once he was gone, you chose to do what was easy."

"It was easy for you to become and Auror," George continued. "After all, you had just taken out the most feared dark wizard in history. You had far more skills even though you never finished school…"

"You never finished school?" Hermione gasped in shock.

"Hermione, this hasn't happened yet," Harry said.

"No, it has not," George agreed. "But it could happen again and for Harry to choose the easy road at age seventeen as he did in that timeline would lead again to disaster. There would be other wars in the future, other Dark Lords vying to take over and thousands upon thousands died in those wars. The Dark Lords and their followers were contemporaries of yours and later their children. The last one was your own grandson, Harry."

"How did that happen?" Harry asked in shock.

"The disease was never cured," George said. "The society that gave rise to Voldemort and his Death Eaters remained as it was. The Wizengamot, a hereditary oligarchy slow to change remained the only voice of government. The society continued to view people's worth based upon family bloodlines. Naturally, this allowed the prejudices and the discrimination against Muggle Borns and others with less venerable magical lines to continue and for those who believed they should get whatever they want simply because of their magical heritage - never mind their own abilities - to continue to rise up and take what they saw as their due. No one truly and effectively advocated for change following Voldemort's demise. Oh there were reforms, but the underlying disease remained. The Muggle Borns never got a voice in their government or in any policy making. Since they had no voice, it was easier for those that had a voice to continue to look down on them and easier for those who thought ill of Muggles and Muggle Borns to continue to foment hatred and to rise up whenever it appeared the government might consider Muggle Borns as anything other than inferior or whenever they thought Muggle Borns might be getting a leg up."

"What … what happened to me?" Hermione asked not thinking she would like the answer.

"You finished Hogwarts a year late due to the War. You probably would have been Head Girl but for that. Had you attended your proper Seventh Year, the Pureblood Elites and Voldemort followers would have chucked you into a camp. Many Muggle Borns did not survive the camps. The camps executed so many a day you see. There was no reason for them to do so other than their victims were there. You avoided that, but it cost you any shot at Head Girl when you returned. You finished with the highest marks in history, not that it seemed to matter being a Muggle Born. As I said, the War may have been over, but its cause was not. Despite your marks you had little choice but to accept a job working in a shop in Diagon Alley."

"Now George, that's a little disingenuous," Clara (Perenelle) said. "Had she not been betrothed to and later married to the Pureblood who was part owner of that shop, she would have had some opportunities. The Department of Mysteries and Healer Training even today are unconcerned with blood status, just marks and potential. But you know the laws as well as I do. The law requires that a husband approve of his wife working and he has say as to where she works. True, while it is the law many wizards tend to ignore it. But if the husband does not and if the husband his of a higher caste than his wife, the wife must abide with her husband's decisions in such matters."

"That's outrageous," Rose said.

"Why would I ever agree to that?" Hermione added.

"Actually," Clara said, "if you consider that the Wizarding World is at least a couple of hundred years behind the Muggle World in terms of its social mores, it's probably not that inconsistent. Women were not allowed the vote in Britain until 1918 and even then it was restricted to women over the age of 30 who were considered the Head of a Household, married to a Head of Household or had a degree. Universal voting rights for women which were the same as men did not occur here until ten years later. While today it seems silly to think that women are not a part of the body politic throughout most of the Muggle World, that is a very recent development. And with the vote, many of the laws that placed restrictions on a woman's civil liberties fell by the wayside over time."

"How do you explain Millicent Bagnold then?" Hermione argued. "She was the Minister for Magic before Cornelius Fudge. And then there's Amelia Bones! She's a Muggle Born and is not only Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, but holds a seat on the Wizengamot!"

"Perhaps as exceptions that prove the rule?" Clara replied. "Millicent's father held a hereditary seat on the Wizengamot and had no sons. She was, therefore, allowed to enter the Ministry right out of school and when he died, she assumed his seat. Amelia's the wife of the Son of the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Bones, which is a progressive family that prefers to exploit its talents. She holds the House Bones proxy since the death of her Husband and Brother-in-Law but could be asked to relinquish it once her niece is old enough to take the House Seat in her own right or once she marries. She rose to her position as head of DMLE because her husband's family opened the door for her. Whether her career survives the majority of her niece is an open question. If her niece or niece's husband insist on taking the Bones seat, Madam Bones might well find herself pensioned off."

"Look, we could easily tell you all day what is wrong with this society as we speak," George interrupted. "Is it a problem? Yes it is. It led to a society where Voldemort's message of superiority and hatred had a sympathetic audience and, moreover, an audience that included many with either political power or economic or both. Without money and a sympathetic coalition in the government, Voldemort and his follower would not have lasted a week. Because there was such support, he gained followers while those who should have stopped him looked the other way. He damn near won it all.

"You stopped him, Harry. You may not remember the first time that you did, but you've stopped him two more times since. Whether you're the one in the Prophecy as both Dumbledore and Voldemort believe is now irrelevant. You can stop him permanently, if you learn how. You did so in that other timeline. Stopping Voldemort was probably the easy part. Your mistake, Harry, was while you won the war, you took no part in truly trying to win the peace. And there was no one else with the right combination of things to do so."

"What do you mean by win the peace?" Harry asked.

"Change things," George said. "Probably most everything. Oh, there's no way you could do it entirely on your own, but you could have led those who would. You could have taken control of your Hereditary Seat on the Wizengamot rather than leave it to a proxy who voted their own way. You could have led a movement both within the Wizengamot and without that wanted to fix the problems that gave rise to Voldemort in the first place. Instead, you listened to Dumbeldore who subtly discouraged you from learning about your heritage for he feared your gaining access to such power would corrupt you into the next Dark Lord, something he had no true basis for believing. Instead, you listened to the Weasleys who convinced you to allow one of them to hold the Potter proxy, which by that time included the votes of another Ancient and Noble House as well. Rather than change things, the Weasleys followed Dumbledore's example of minor reforms for the sake of reforming but leaving most everything untouched and unchallenged. Meanwhile, despite having enough political capital that you could easily have been the youngest Chief Warlock in history and could easily have implemented sweeping reforms, you decided to become a low level ministry employee. For many people, being an Auror is an honorable profession. But as Head of and Ancient and Noble House in a time of crisis, it was a waste for you to even consider it. Whatever else Dumbledore failed to teach you, he failed to teach you about duty. As Head of and Ancient and Noble House you have a duty not just to your family, but to the entire wizarding world. You never learned that and tens of thousands would die in wars which could have been avoided had someone stood up and demanded change."

"But I don't like fame or any of that!" Harry protested after a pause. "You're asking me to exploit that!"

"Not at all," George said. "If you were older that's exactly what might be asked of you. One of the reasons you chose to send the message back to this summer was so that you would not have to suddenly change your spots as it were. You can't take your House Seat for several years. You can't even tell your proxy how to vote and expect him to follow your directions. You have time to learn about the system without truly being a part of it. Even if you should decide the entire system needs to be replaced, at least this way you'll be making an informed and considered decision.

"As for not liking fame, do you think the Royal Family likes it? I can assure you they don't, but it's a curse they are born to, just as it was a curse you were born to and the events of October 1981 only changed the degree and the hype, not that you would never had been famous without it. As Heir to an Ancient and Noble House, being well known just by being is what you were born to. What you do with that fame you can't avoid is another matter altogether."

"So I'm stuck with this?" Harry moaned.

"That is one way to look at it," Clara said. "The other way is to see it as a potential opportunity to do what is right rather than what is easy. It will be a few years before you can truly do much of anything with your fame and position. That means you have time to learn and to figure out what can and needs to be done. You want Voldemort to be the last of his kind, don't you?"

Harry nodded.

"What this world needs is a true leader," George said. "Dumbledore is not that man and never has been. He's too mired in tradition and the notion of this is the way things have always been therefore they must be right. He's too guarded with his information and does not truly believe anyone is smarter or wiser than he is on something. He is very smart and wise, but he seems to assume he is omnipotent, which is a fallacy. He is human, therefore he is flawed and on one thing or another there are people who are smarter and wiser than he is. But he's never seen that so he is flawed as a leader. A leader is not an ideologue, one whose vision is the only vision. A leader is someone who can get people to be their best, to get them to use their talents towards the common good, to get them to act for the betterment of all. He is not, however, one who knows what that betterment is. He is open to ideas, he works with others and listens to them and he shares information with those who can best help use that information for the common purpose. The only true difference between Dumbledore and Voldemort is Dumbledore is striving for a common good while Voldemort is bent upon becoming and emperor or worse. Dumbledore's common good is as he sees it. Any other version, however meritorious, cannot be right. He cannot be trusted with our future."

"Why me? Why not the two of you?" Harry asked. "After all, you're Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel and are almost 670 years old! You know and have seen and have done far more than anyone, right?"

"You are correct, Harry," George (Nicholas) said. "We have seen and done more than anyone we are aware of. But Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel neither of us have a seat in any government nor any true influence. We're Muggle Borns. Our age and lives does not truly change that fact at all. We are ancient, but not from any Ancient and Noble House either from Britain or from our original home in France. We cannot hope to change things through reform, however radical it might be. As a Muggle Born, all we can hope to do is lead a revolution, a violent overthrow of the government and society. And, as we're old, who would follow us?"

"Revolution is and always has been the folly of the young," Clara said, "even if their leaders were older. It is after all the young that have little to lose and everything to gain."

"You want Harry to start a revolution?" Hermione asked in shock.

"No dear," George replied. "We are merely messengers after all. Your older selves have also sent you messages and you will know them for what they are. Mistakes were made in their timeline. Mistakes which only the recipients of those messages can avoid. But, you are in no way being forced to do things. You will merely know what the wrong decision is when that time comes and you will know why it is the wrong one. Unless there are only two possible decisions however, you will not know what the right decision is for as we said earlier the future is not set. You are being asked to avoid decisions that cost thousands of lives and led to a bleak future. That's all."

"Doesn't sound so bad," Harry began.

"But we're still being asked to change the future!" Hermione said.

"We're being asked to avoid a bad future," Harry replied.

"And if we decide differently, who's to say that our other choices won't be as bad and even worse?"

"I think we can avoid making things as bad or worse," Luna said.

"What makes you think that?"

Luna shrugged. "I believe in Harry and you and myself. I believe we can make the right choices when we know what the wrong ones were. I have hope for the future, don't you?"

A thought crossed Hermione's mind. Earlier she had decided not to do something because it seemed selfish and she didn't think it was right even though a part of her said it was. Now she had to know if that was a message. Again, her conscious self said it was wrong, especially in front of her mother, but that sense that it was right and even necessary was now overwhelming. Harry was seated next to her so it was easy for her. She turned to him and kissed him on the lips. The wonderful feeling of their first kiss returned and seemed amplified somehow. She also saw glimpses of that other life, the one the other her wanted her to avoid.

Rose almost said something when she saw her daughter kiss Harry. It seemed impulsive and out of place. But then the couple began to glow brightly, just as Harry and Luna had when Luna had kissed him. The glow expanded outward as it had before and this time as it enveloped Luna, she began glowing as well just has Hermione had earlier. Rose had no idea how long the two kissed each other. She had a feeling that she had before when Luna kissed Harry and this glow enveloped them and her daughter. That part of her mind which thought it was inappropriate shut down. She merely thought that she was watching something wonderful happen. It was several seconds after the kiss finally broke that the glowing stopped and Rose could think again. "What just happened?" she asked.

"Something wonderful," Clara sighed.

"And one thing we won't have to explain as much," George added. "It is something our messages told us needed to happen but we were both at a loss as to how to see it done. You said you saw something like that when Luna kissed Harry?"

Rose nodded. "It seemed stronger this time."

"Clara and I've been together now for what - 656 years? I think we've witnessed such an event five times before today. It's incredibly rare and wonderful although, speaking from our own experience, the couple has no true idea what happened, just that it was wonderful as if it was meant to be."

The three smiling young people nodded in agreement on that point.

"Here," Clara said handing Rose what looked like an official document of some kind. Rose accepted the document and read it.

_HERMIONE JANE GRANGER, born at 5:45 P.M., 19 September, 1979 at St. Bartholomew's (Muggle) Hospital, London to Robert Edward Granger (Muggle) (born 22 March 1959) and Rose Elaine Granger nee Roberts (Muggle) (born 20 April 1959), has been detected as being magically compatible (potential Soulmate) with HARRY JAMES POTTER, born at 12:32 A.M., 31 July 1980 at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to James Charles Potter (Heir Apparent Head of Ancient and Noble House of Potter) (Hogwarts Class of 1978, Gryffindor) born 27 March 1960 and Lily Anne Potter nee Evans (Muggle Born) (Hogwarts Class of 1978, Gryffindor) born 30 January 1960._

_Dated this 1__st__ Day of August 1980._

"I seem to think I've seen this before," Rose said. "I don't know when and I don't clearly remember, but it was a long time ago. What does this mean?"

"Perhaps you should read this one too," Clara said handing Rose another parchment and Rose read it as well.

_HARRY JAMES POTTER, born at 12:32 A.M., 31 July 1980 at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to James Charles Potter (Heir Apparent Head of Ancient and Noble House of Potter) (Hogwarts Class of 1978, Gryffindor) born 27 March 1960 and Lily Anne Potter nee Evans (Muggle Born) (Hogwarts Class of 1978, Gryffindor) born 30 January 1960), has been detected as being magically compatible (potential Soulmate) with LUNA CELESTE LOVEGOOD, born at 8:47 A.M., 3 September 1980 at St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to XENOPHILIUS ADRIAN LOVEGOOD (Pureblood) (Hogwarts Class of 1973, RAVENCLAW) born 10 February 1955 and SELENE MICHELLE LOVEGOOD nee BLACK (Pureblood) (Hogwarts Class of 1978, Ravenclaw) born 21 October 1959._

_Dated this 4__th__ Day of September 1980._

"Well, this hardly clarifies things," Rose began.

Clara held out another set of parchments for Rose to read which she did. She understood what the document could mean, but could not believe that she and Robert would have had anything to do with such things. She held back a vocal protest until the very end when she saw her signature on the parchment. Once she saw that, she began to remember things long forgotten. This was not a memory of a future but a lost memory of her past, one which had been taken away from her, from her husband and even from her daughter. The memories were removed with magic by an old wizard removed for…

"The Greater Good," Rose said still looking at the document.

"What's that Mum?" Hermione asked.

"It was the last thing Albus Dumbledore said before he erased our memories," Rose replied. "Not even a by your leave from the bastard…"

"MUM?"

"Sorry, Little One," Rose said. "He wiped out so much. Such a strange and yet happy life. I lost the memories of my truest friends with his wand waving and I'm sure you and your father did as well. This document, this signature of mine, it brought it all back. His Greater Good be damned! He cannot be trusted! Not with you, not with Harry, not with Luna, not with any of us, Dear."

"Mum?" Hermione squeaked.

"It was late August, not quite a year after you were born, Little One. You know your Daddy and I were still at University then. We decided that we didn't want you in some day care factory as your Daddy had quite a bit of money from an inheritance, so we hired a Day Nanny to take care of you when we were in classes. Our first Day Nanny was getting married so we had an advert out for a new one.

"She answered our advert. She was about our age - actually about a year younger. Your first Day Nanny was quite a bit older than us. She seemed perfect in a way. She had a newborn son of her own and it seemed she was a good mother so your Daddy and I agreed to take her on to care for you while we were away studying. Her name was Lily Potter."

"My Mum!" Harry exclaimed.

Rose nodded. "The two of you got on so famously at the interview. How was I to say no? True, you Little One were almost a year old and Little Harry was a newborn, but you and he seemed to think the world of each other. When the interview ended and Harry had to go home, you both got quite upset and that was the day of Hermione's first bout of accidental magic, although I did not know that at the time. I would have hired your mother right then and there but I needed to talk to Robert first. Still, I did hire her within days of the meeting. It seemed clear that our little Hermione already was missing her new friend.

"For a month, Lily and Harry were over just about every day while Robert and I were attending our labs and classes at the University. Then, the two of you were joined by a third little baby: Luna."

"M-me?" Luna asked.

Rose nodded. "Your mother, Selene, was Lily's best friend from school. I was told that she had a job as well. It didn't matter to me, really, as it was clear that despite the age differences the three of you got on very well. After all, Hermione was thirteen months old and, while she wasn't able to walk yet - she was trying and could if she held on to something - she was more active than the two of you. You two were still too young to even roll over on your own. It didn't seem to matter to Hermione. When the two of you were asleep, and at that age it's quite often the case, Hermione would sit there quietly or take a nap herself. When you two were awake, she would babble at you and show off her toys. It was very sweet to watch.

"Hermione's first word was 'no', which is not uncommon. That was followed by Mama and Dada and then Hawy, Lulu and Lily. She seemed to know what time you two would be showing up in the morning and she didn't like it when you two had to leave.

"When Luna was about six months old, I finally had the nerve to ask Lily about the strange occurrences that Robert and I had noticed whenever any of you three seemed upset about something, which was usually when you knew that it was time for you to go home and be apart. She didn't answer right then and there, but set up a meeting with her husband, Selene, Robert and I for the next weekend.

"It was at that meeting with the three of you playing on the floor that Lily told us about magic. She told us it was real and that Hermione was a witch. Not just that, she also told us that she was one too, as was Selene and Luna and that her husband, Luna's father and Harry were wizards. Naturally, Robert and I both though she was either mad or was trying to get us to join some kind of New Age religion or something. Then our guests began to put on a display of magic that pretty much put paid to the notion that magic was a fantasy. It was far more impressive than what Professor McGonagall did when she visited. It was capped of when Harry's father turned into a stag that was so large it nearly filled the parlor in our little flat. Harry and Luna took it all in stride as if they had seen all this stuff before. Hermione's eyes were big as saucers, but she wasn't afraid. She cooed and said something like 'Pretty Pony.' James told his wife and Selene not to tell anyone about that, let me tell you. Seems he was afraid he'd be called that for the rest of his life."

This got a chuckle from the group.

"Anyway, Lily also showed us these Certificates," Rose continued holding up the first two pieces of parchment she had read. "When a magical child is born, the child's magical signature is automatically recorded within the Hall of Records in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Each magical child has a Certificate like this which states their name, date of birth, place of birth and their parents' names and ages and such. We were told that there's a similar recording at Hogwarts. These Certificates, while a public record, are not available to anyone but the families concerned. Now, every once in a while two children - always a boy and a girl - are born with magical signatures that are said to be complimentary or compatible. I don't clearly understand it. I'm not sure there're many who do. But we were told that those children's magic are something like two parts of a whole. They can function quite well without ever meeting each other, but their magic is strongest if it is allowed to bond with the magic of the other. This won't happen automatically. It's not even certain to happen if the two meet. But if the bonding does happen, they will be drawn together usually for life."

"You … you mean like married?" Hermione asked.

"Magically speaking, yes. Once the bond truly begins to form the couple is magically bound to each other, magically married. Under Wizarding Law, we were told, once that happens the couple is deemed old enough to legally marry each other."

"Is that what happened to us?"

Rose, George (Nicholas) and Clara (Perenelle) nodded.

"This Certificate," Rose said, "was made the day after Harry was born. It says that Harry and Hermione have compatible magic and a Soul Bond could form between them. It was why Lily answered my advert for a Day Nanny. She knew of this and sought us out so our two children could grow up together and one day, hopefully, they would bond. This second Certificate says that Harry and Luna were also magically compatible which was why Luna was also spending much of her days with us. Lily didn't need the work and Selene didn't need to leave her daughter in some kind of daycare. This was about the potential bond from the start.

"This," she continued holding up the thicker document, "is a Contract your father and I signed with Harry's parents. It is a form of betrothal contract, although it by no means obligates us to see the two of you married off for no other reason. It states that we would raise the two of you together and that if you bonded with each other, we would accept that as a legally binding agreement to allow you two to be married. It also recognizes that a similar bond could form between Harry and Luna and we would not interfere with that bonding. If both bonds formed, we would accept both bonds as legally binding two marriages. We planned to raise you three together even though all of us wanted more children. We planned to see to it you attended Infants and Primary together regardless of where we lived - the school would be Robert's and my choice. Finally, we promised to see to it you attended Hogwarts at the same time."

"You married me off when I was a baby?" Hermione exclaimed.

"No. That's not the way this works. This contract merely requires that we allow the bond to happen, if it happens. Just because you magic is compatible, it does not mean you would bond. But if that bond occurred, we would allow you to marry Harry even if in doing so it meant he would be married to Luna as well. If the bond occurred, we would allow it to fully form naturally."

"Did it occur?" Harry asked.

"It did," Clara replied. "Probably twice now. The glow that Rose witnessed when you kissed Luna was their bond beginning to form. The glow when you kissed Hermione was that bond as well."

"And the Life Flashy thing?" Luna asked. "Hermione said it happened before when they first kissed a few days ago."

"Harry was not yet of Bonding age," George said. "Their magic clearly was recognizing their Bond Mate, but the bond itself could not form. Still, it's a powerful magic and apparently powerful enough to momentarily uncap the message your future self sent you from that timeline."

"Bonding age?" the three young people asked.

"A boy reaches bonding age upon his thirteenth summer solstice. A girl reaches hers upon that solstice as well provided she's at least six months beyond menarche."

"Menarche?" Harry asked.

"Her first period," Hermione explained.

"Oh," he said with a blush. He remembered the classes Madam Pomfrey had taught their first year about that sort of thing. It was, he remembered, embarrassing as hell although fortunately it was just the boys as the girls received their education about those things separately. Ron was either grossed out or giggling madly the whole time which made it difficult for Harry to concentrate. Fortunately, there were no exams or marks.

"S-so we're married now?" Hermione asked causing Harry to blush even further as Hermione did as well. Luna simply looked on curiously.

"Magically," George said.

"But how? Harry can't have more than one wife! We're too young! How?"

"Ordinarily, you are correct. Wizarding law generally does not allow young people to marry without parental consent before they are seventeen or sixteen with such consent unless the young woman is expecting a child or where they are subject to a magical bond or where the existence of such a bond is a contingency that can trigger a marriage agreement. As you are now magically bonding, you are free to marry your bondmate at any time. Wizarding law does not have any absolute bar on what is called a Plural Marriage, that is where one husband has more than one wife at the same time. But again, there must be justifying circumstances for such a marriage. In your case, the fact that Harry is magically compatible with both of you and that the bonding has begun allows for him to marry both of you."

Hermione looked at her mother.

"Your father and I were aware of this possibility, Hermione," she said. "We accepted it because if the bond began it would be harmful to you and to Harry and Luna for that matter to interfere with its completion. This meant that once the bond began, we had to accept that it meant you were married and that Harry could become married to Luna as well. We hoped to prepare you for this possibility but…"

"But?"

"The day after Harry's parents were killed neither he nor his mother nor Luna showed up as usual. You were distraught. You couldn't understand why your friends were not there. Your father and I had no idea what had happened and no idea what to tell you. We knew there was a war going on in the Wizarding World, but we weren't about to tell you that. You were too young to understand such things and besides we had no idea if that had anything to do with why your friends didn't come over as always. Harry's parents had a phone so we rung them up but got no answer and we had no idea how to contact Luna's parents. They had a similar Contract with Harry's parents.

"A few days later Dumbledore showed up. He told us Harry's parents were dead but that Harry was fine and living with his relatives. We told him about the contract and how his parents wanted Harry to live with us if they were unable to care for him. We told him about the bond the three of you might share one day. He looked disappointed and told us what he had to do was for the best, for the Greater Good and … we woke up sometime later thinking we had taken a nap with no memory of Harry or Luna or even magic."

"Memory Cap," George said. "He stunned you and capped all of your memories about magic, Harry and Luna. It's complex magic, much harder than obliviation which would have wiped your memories clean. Then again, obliviation would have wiped out all the memories, not just the ones about Harry, Luna and magic. No doubt you would have missed that. The cap doesn't erase the memories, merely buries them behind a magical barrier. It's very effective but the weakness is there can be a trigger that drops the barrier. Apparently, seeing that contract was the trigger."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" Hermione asked.

"You were probably too young. You were only a little over two years old at the time," her mother replied.

"Why would he do that?" Hermione asked rhetorically.

"Unfortunately, we don't know," George replied. "Harry eventually discovered these Certificates and Contracts, but that was long after Dumbledore had died. It was even after your parents died. We could only speculate as to why your parents never told you about this, Hermione. We now know why, but can only guess at the reason. It's possible that Dumbledore did not want these bonds to ever form. Knowingly interfering with such bonds is of questionable legality and morality. It's more likely he wanted to make sure Harry remained at Privet Drive with his relatives as the Contracts make clear he should have gone to live with you and your parents or Luna and hers."

"That's almost as bad and maybe even worse," Hermione grumbled.

"The wards," Harry said. "I had Dobby check them. They're very powerful but they are keyed into my Aunt and me. Something to do with my mother sacrificing her life for me that night. Apparently, the wards protect me from Voldemort and his followers…"

"Not at Hogwarts," Hermione grumbled.

"No," Harry agreed. "But no one's tried to off me anywhere else. The problem is I still have to live there at least one month a year or the wards will fail."

"That does pose a problem," George said, "as does the fact that you're in different Houses at Hogwarts and you're as young as you are."

"Oh?" the young people replied.

"While your bond is forming and you're considered married in the eyes of magic, you're not considered married in the eyes of the law. That bit can be remedied at Gringotts which would prevent others from trying to interfere with the bond at least legally. But until the bond is fully formed, Hogwarts is not required to see you as a married couple or in this case couples. That means you could be required to continue to room in your old dormitories and not in married student quarters. It's an old rule that was designed to prevent preferential treatment. Only of age students or students married by virtue of a completed bond may have such quarters."

"So what's the problem?" Harry asked.

"Keeping the three of you apart like that will delay the completion of the bond," George said. "You need to be together physically for the bond to strengthen as it should considering that you are too young to seal it the other way."

"What other way?"

"Consummation."

"What's that?"

"Sex Harry," Hermione said with a blush.

"And while we are young, we are old enough for that if necessary, right?" Luna added.

"Physically, yes you are," George said. "But we're talking about magical consummation which cannot take place until you're near magical maturity. Depending upon the person, that's fifteen to seventeen for girls and sixteen to eighteen for boys. Were you old enough to magically consummate, the bond would complete itself upon completion of the act. As you're not old enough, the act isn't any more significant than just having sex. And, considering the other way to complete the bond is physical contact over a long period of time, sex is no better than holding hands. If you fail to complete the bond, it could fail altogether and were you to marry, that marriage could be annulled due to your ages."

"And failing to complete the bond will weaken your magic permanently," Clara added. "It could even fail altogether."

"How do we prevent that?" Hermione asked.

"Ideally, physical contact for up to six hours a day will, over a period of four to six months, complete the bond. Naturally, your normal living arrangements and school rules would interfere with that to such a degree that what little contact you could make, while it would keep the bond from failing, it would not allow the bond to complete itself. In the past, young couples like you would be encouraged to sleep together during the Holidays if that could not be done at school. But with Harry having to stay with his relatives…"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Harry said. "I mean assuming I'm allowed and have to sleep with Hermione and Luna that is. I have a trunk."

"I hope you're not bragging about your equipment, Harry," Hermione growled. "If I don't have to do that yet…"

"I meant a trunk, trunk," Harry defended. "You know, one of those box things with hinges?"

"So what?"

"So, it's a magical trunk…"

"Don't brag," Hermione began.

"Mind out of the gutter," her mother chided. "What do you mean by that, Harry."

"Well, I live in it now…"

"You're relatives have you sleeping in a trunk?" Hermione practically shrieked. "I knew they were vile but…"

"No! It's not that at all! True, they did make me sleep in a cupboard until I was eleven, but…"

"What?"

"That's not the point! It's a magical trunk you can live in! Dobby bought it for me when I told him I had to stay at my relatives but didn't want to deal with them!"

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly. "Still, how could we all fit in there?"

"It's really quite big on the inside," Harry said. "Much bigger than the inside of my relatives house. Much nicer too."

"And how would we get there?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it came with several access trunks. I give each of you a trunk and key you into the wards and you can get to my trunk from just about anywhere. It'll probably even work through the wards at Hogwarts as it involves portals. I was thinking of letting you have one anyway and maybe one for your parents as well. That way when we're back at school you could see them or they could see you."

"Um…"

"That seems to solve that problem," George said.

"What about the other contracts?" Clara asked.

"What other contracts?" the others replied.

"As you were told, there was a contract between the Potters and the Grangers to encourage and support their bonding and, ultimately, their marriage," Clara began. "There was also a similar contract between the Lovegoods and the Potters which, since Luna's father signed over his magical guardianship to us - he couldn't deal with it after Selene died - that means it's between us and your parents to see that the same thing happens although we only learned about the contract due to the message from that other timeline. There are two additional contingent contracts that could have come into play. One was between the Potters and the Greengrass family for a contingent betrothal to their daughter Daphne…"

"She's a Slytherin!" Harry protested.

"She's not as nasty as the rest," Hermione said.

"True but…"

"You shouldn't dislike someone just because they're in Slytherin. That's like disliking someone just because they're a Muggle Born."

"You're right I suppose. But can I dislike Malfoy just because he's Malfoy?"

"He's earned that."

"So what's this contract about?"

"Well," Clara continued, "if certain conditions were met, it means you're expected to take Daphne as an additional wife."

"What conditions?"

"First of all, you had to begin bonding with Hermione and/or Luna and had to marry at least one of them. This triggers the Plural Marriage Laws. Second of all, your father had to die before he had any other children. This was a contract designed to help rebuild the Potter Line. There might be a quid pro quo of some kind, but it's not spelled out in the Contract so you'd have to talk to them about it.

"The other contract was also conditional on your bonding with Hermione and Luna. It was without regard to your father having another child, but was conditional on the then Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott not having a son before he died. He died a few months before your parents and had only one child living, his daughter Hannah. This Contract differs in that it's a Line Continuation Contract. As Hannah is not your only wife, she can retain her name and control over her House titles, property and, most importantly, the Abbott seat on the Wizengamot. Those assets would pass to her children and not to you, any of your other wives or any children by those wives. Were she to marry without those safeguards, her seat would lose its Noble votes and her line would pass to her husband's family."

"I have to marry these girls too?" Harry groaned.

"Have to?" George asked. "No. You don't have to…"

"Good!"

"But you should."

"Why?"

"A few reasons. First of all since these were contingent upon things that may or may not have come to pass … after all it was only by some miracle Luna survived the explosion that claimed her mother's life, and had she'd perished then these contracts could not be enforced. Likewise, it was only by a miracle you survived that night, Harry. Finally, you do know the Death Eaters were hunting and killing Muggle Borns and their families, don't you?"

Harry shook his head.

"It was possible they would have found Hermione and her family before the war ended. In any of those cases, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Likewise, these contracts required that you be the only Potter left which, while that was what happened, that was not the plan. Because of the war, House Potter was all but wiped out and whether you consider that important or not, to the rest of the Wizarding World it is. We talked about duty earlier. That's a situation where you do something because you're supposed to do it, not because you want to. You owe a duty to the generations of Potters before you to preserve and protect your line. It can also be said that since House Abbott has historically been allied with House Potter, you owe a duty to it as well to help them preserve that line. You should count your blessings as it were seeing as House Bones is another close Potter ally and is in the same straits as House Abbott but you're not contracted to their only surviving heiress.

"Second, while you can break these contracts, it would look bad to the old families and what they think does matter. You could not be trusted to keep your word or the word of House Potter if you turned your back on these contracts.

"Finally, contracts like these have penalty clauses. If the condition for enforcement is met and there was no bride price or dowry named - and there isn't - you stand to forfeit twenty percent of your family's estate by law as you were bound to this by the then Head of your family."

"Your parents wanted this, Harry," Clara said. "They probably hoped all the conditions would not come to pass. They probably hoped it would just be you three. But they planned for the future of House Potter and its allies and hoped you would do your duty by them if the time came."

"Fine," Harry moped.

"And that's the good news," George began.

"The good news?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"There's also this," he said sliding another contract towards Harry.

Harry didn't need to finish reading it to reach an opinion.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE HE DID THIS!"


	11. Chapter 11: Knickers

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: KNICKERS…**

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Harry," Luna said.

The last parchment had really made Harry mad, especially because this wasn't some kind of bond thing or a duty he owed to his family or any of that. The Flamels, Tennysons or whoever they were hadn't even told him how to fix it, rather they gave him some books on Wizarding British Magical Laws, Magical Bonds and Mind Arts although the last was not an immediate read they said. They were not here to tell Harry what to do if they could help it. They hadn't after all told Harry to begin the bond with Hermione or Luna nor had they told him he had no choice but to accept the other two contracts. They merely told him why he should and now they said nothing about this last one which appeared the worst by far. They just gave him books, said they'd arrange some meetings at Gringotts later in the week to deal with the Bond and the contracts and bid their goodbye.

They were standing in Luna's access trunk when she spoke. After the Flamels had left Harry had called Dobby and told him to bring three access trunks: one for Luna, one for Hermione and one for the Grangers as the Flamels refused one for themselves. Dobby helped key them in and then left to take Rose home so she could speak to her husband about all that happened. They hoped that he too would regain his memories upon reading the contract. It would go much easier if he did. Dobby also took the Granger family's two trunks with him allowing Harry, Hermione and Luna to use her trunk to get to Harry's main trunk. Harry was still furious.

"This really isn't that big a trunk," Luna observed. "How are we going to live here, much less sleep here seeing there isn't a bed."

"This isn't the Main Trunk," Harry growled, "it's just the access!"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Harry," Luna said. "How was I supposed to know?"

Harry just glared at her although he wasn't angry at her.

"Wrong expression, wasn't it?" Luna said. "You don't wear knickers, do you?"

"Um," Harry paused, "um … no. Boxers actually."

"Ah! Yes, a tent pole needs a proper tent, doesn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Tent pole! Or are you hiding something else in your pants?"

Harry blushed furiously even though he wasn't even anywhere near being a "tent pole" at the moment. "LUNA!"

"Knickers in a twist is a rather odd expression, don't you think?" she continued. "I mean after all if they were in a twist, how could you be wearing them. Not that you'd know, Harry. Boys don't wear knickers, do they?"

"Um … not that I know?"

"Well I wouldn't know either, would I?" Luna said. "Then again, I don't wear knickers either. Not boxers or anything else down there."

"You don't?" Harry and Hermione replied, although in very different tones.

"Except during my monthlies," Luna continued. "That could get messy. But otherwise, no knickers. Much easier to pee if you don't have to pull them down, don't you think?"

Harry blushed and Hermione seemed to pale.

"Of course it makes knickers getting in a twist meaningless - unless I'm wearing them for my monthlies," Luna continued. "And also the expression 'getting in my knickers.' Of course, if I'm having my monthlies you could but it would be messy. Otherwise, there's no knickers to get into, are there?"

"Luna?" Hermione all but hissed. Harry was too gob smacked to say anything.

"I mean, I do know what that expression means," Luna said. "I have no problem with you getting in my knickers, Harry, even if I don't wear any. But I think I should not let you until you've gotten into Hermione's knickers first."

"Luna!" Hermione squeaked, beet red with embarrassment.

"After all, she is about a year older and she was your first kiss, so it's only fair you get into her knickers first," Luna continued. "But once you do, you can inspect my knickers area next. Better?"

"Wh-wh-what?" Harry asked.

"See," Luna said. "You're now too busy thinking about my knickers - or lack of them - and Hermione's knickers to be all mad about what that man's trying to do. Now can we see if you trunk is huge and magical?"

"I'm not dropping my trousers!" Harry protested.

"Why should you?" Luna said. "You said that beyond the door is your huge magical trunk. Why would you say that if you had to drop your trousers to show us? That would be silly!"

"Um…," Harry began, "fine!" He opened the door and left them there.

"Luna? What was that?" Hermione asked.

She looked at Hermione and winked. "He's not angry now, is he?"

"No … but?"

"We can't think our way out of this if one of us in angry. I … um … distracted him from his problem."

Hermione nodded. Harry could be really moody and she had yet to figure a quick way to get him out of a funk, then again she never thought of that.

"You really don't wear knickers?" she whispered.

"He would be disappointed one day to find that I lied to him, don't you think?" she whispered and winked back and they followed him into the trunk.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione asked.

"I believe what Grammy and Grampy said," Luna replied. "We - you, Harry and I - were supposed to grow up together. We were supposed to be friends from the time we were in nappies. We were then, apparently, but things changed. Someone saw to it that this did not happen. I haven't had a friend of any kind since before my Mum died. I'm bonded now to Harry, as are you. I want to be, I hope to be his friend regardless. I am trying to be. I'm trying to help him with all of this. Isn't that what friends do?"

"You're right, Luna. Sorry if I thought otherwise," Hermione nodded. "I've … I've been Harry's friend, and yet … he doesn't really know me." She whimpered.

"Doesn't know me at all, does he?" Luna replied. "We're his bonded now, his wives even. Seems to me it's time he got to know us?"

"But how?" Hermione whimpered again.

"We have to work at it, don't you think?" Luna said. "Now let's go and see his trunk … before he gets suspicious."

Hermione nodded and followed Luna through the door. They walked out into the main entry, a huge space with a few tapestries on the wall.

"Don't see any place to sleep," Luna began.

"Not unless you count the chairs," Hermione finished. And there were not many of them either.

"This is just the entryway," Harry said. "Bedrooms are up the stairs."

"Who are all these people?" Hermione asked seeing the paintings and tapestries in the Entry Hall.

"My ancestors," Harry said, "or at least my Potter Ancestors. They're all over the trunk or house. They were apparently in storage in the Potter Vaults and while I can't access the main vaults for gold, Dobby was able to bring these here. He brought a bunch of them here when he got the trunk for me and picked up a few more last night. Thirty-two generations of Potters are now on these walls."

He led them to a large tapestry. On it was a man in a Saxon Battle Helmet with an ax, a woman with black hair three girls and a boy, who was clearly the youngest.

"This is the oldest tapestry I have. It show my thirty times Great Grandfather Edgar Potter, his wife Matilda of Mercia and his children, Helga, Anne, Edwina and my twenty-nine times Great Grandfather Albert, Edgar was born around 873 and Matilda twelve years later. It was before Hogwarts, that much I do know."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Their oldest daughter Helga married a Muggle man by the name of Hufflepuff."

"You mean as in _the _Helga Hufflepuff?"

"Actually, _the_ Helga Hufflepuff was her daughter."

"So your related to a founder?"

"Might even be descended from her," Harry said. "I seem to be distantly related to a lot of people. I know I am descended from Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor."

"Really?"

"They're around somewhere. If we call Edgar here the first Potter, which he's not by the way, then Harold the sixth Potter married Agnes Slytherin who was Salazar's Great Granddaughter I think. Henry the eighth Potter married Amelia Gryffindor who was the last to carry that name."

"Anyone else you're related to? I mean aside from Luna and me?"

"Probably. Certain names crop up from time to time. I have two so many times Great Grandmothers and five so many times Great Aunts named Bones. My Grandmother, two other so many times Great Grandmothers, and two so many times Great Aunts were Blacks. I have two so many times Great Grandmothers and a so many times Great Aunt named Weasley. There's a so many times Great Grandmother and so many times Great Aunt named Abbott and six so many times Great Grandmothers and nine so many times Great Aunts named Longbottom, the last was my actual Great Grandmother. I've only just started learning about it really. Fortunately, there some good references in my Library."

"You have a library?" Hermione gasped in excitement.

"Yes," Harry drawled, "and no, I have no idea how many books there are. But there're a lot."

"Where is it?"

"We'll see it," Harry said. "No worries there. No need to get your knickers in a twist. You are wearing knickers, aren't you."

"Of … of course," Hermione blushed.

There were now four doors on the wall. One, of course, was the one Harry had entered his first day. Until now, it had been the only one, although there were the eight frames for doors in the wall. Harry now noted that the one in the middle had a brass plaque on it with his name. The other three doors read: "Hermione", "Luna" and "The Grangers." The Grangers' door opened and Dobby stepped through carrying what looked like two shopping bags.

"Harry Potter, Sir," he said almost as an announcement, "the access trunks be delivered to the Grangys. Miss Mione's be in her bedroom and Missus Grangy be's sayings to put theirs in the foyer, Sir. Missus Grangy be's sayings that if Mister Grangy be's gettings his memories back, they's mights be wantings to be comings over for dinner tonight, if that be's alright with Harry Potter, Sir."

Harry glanced at Hermione who nodded.

"That's fine, Dobby. What's with the bags?"

"Oh. Well as Miss Mione and Miss Luny being Harry Potter's Bond Mates and needings to be with Harry Potter at nights and all, Dobby be gathering their things for their rooms. Dobby will be hangings what needs to be hanging in their closets and folding and storings what needs to be in their dressers, Sir."

"What about my books?" Hermione asked.

"Dobby be having all of Miss Mione's and Miss Luny's books and such. Dobby be's putting Miss Mione's books in her Study. Dobby be putting Miss Mione and Miss Luny's pictures and dollies and plushies and whatnot on or by the couch in their's bedroom so's they cans put them where they's wants. Dobby be leaving Miss Mione's wand on her nightstand. But Dobby be's wonderings about Miss Luny's books."

"Oh?" Harry and Hermione said.

"Miss Luny be's having lots and lots of books. Far too many for shelves in Miss's study."

"That's okay … Dobby, is it?" Luna said and Dobby nodded. "My school books and my collection of 'Harry Potter the Boy Who Lived' books can go in my study. The rest can go in the Library."

"Of course, Miss Luny," Dobby said and popped away.

"'Harry Potter Boy Who Lived' books?" Hermione exclaimed. "You know he's not like that!"

"Oh, I know they're fake. I've known that since I was four. I mean, after all my Mum did take me to Madam Caudry's Bookshop in Tinworth to by them and Madam Caudry only sells fiction. My Mum bought them so I would learn to read and later learn to enjoy reading. They may be silly books, but they remind me of my Mum and the times we were together. I still buy them because they remind me of Mum."

"How many do you have?"

"Oh, all of them actually. I'd have to count but I do have all of them. Well, at least all of them that were available as of the last time I went to Madam Caudry's at Christmas. You can borrow them if you like. After all, we are like sisters now, right?"

Hermione nodded.

"Right then, shall we continue the tour?" Harry asked.

Hermione and Luna nodded. He led them to the door marked "Harry" and they entered the cloak room beyond. He explained that the ladder led to his bedroom at his relatives but that he hoped there would be no need for anyone to head up there until it was time for him to leave Privet Drive for the rest of the summer. He then led them to the far door and they entered the Control Room.

"This room monitors and controls the magic that makes this trunk and the access trunks work. There's a surprising amount of magic involved and not just the wards that keep us safe. After all, we need a lot of air and water and stuff like that and this controls it. Water, of course, can be summoned. When you turn a tap or flush a toilet here in the trunk, clean water is summoned in and what goes down the drain is banished. For air, there is a field that extends several hundred meters around to bring air in and let air out. That field is what also lets out smoke."

"Smoke?" Hermione asked.

"From the fireplaces," Harry said, "and Dobby says that its with that field that Hedwig can come and go. She flies out a window here in the trunk and is transported to the edge of the field and when she returns to the field, she's transported to the window in the trunk. It only works for Hedwig, though. Dobby checks my room at my relatives for regular post owls."

"Where does the magic come from?" Hermione asked.

"The trunk absorbs ambient magic. There's a fair bit of it at Privet Drive due to the wards and, of course, you two and I and Dobby also add to the ambient magic. Now, if we were to try and magically power a place as large as this one, it would require a lot of magic. But that's the beauty of the trunk. We only need enough magic to ward and operate something the size of the trunk so it really doesn't require much at all."

"So we're really smaller then?"

"I don't think that's the way the magic works," Harry said. "I do have some books on it, but have only read bits of them. As I understand it, we're normal size but the only part of the trunk that is truly in the normal world is the box itself."

"So we're in another dimension?"

"I guess it's something like that," Harry said. "But we cross through easy enough through the access ports."

"What's this about Stasis Fields?" Hermione asked.

"Food and many potions ingredients are stored in magical stasis so they won't spoil. If I place a piece of fresh meat under such a field, I could leave it there for years and it will be just as fresh when I remove it as when it was put in. It's kind of like a magical ice box."

"What's this in front, Harry?" Luna asked.

"Ah. I call it the periscope. It lets me see what is happening outside of the trunk. Right now, it's showing you my room in Privet Drive. It's how I can tell if there's a post owl waiting, although there hasn't been one yet."

"Doesn't look like much of a room," Hermione noted.

"It's not. But I live here now, don't I? Now, I suppose a brief overview of my new home is necessary. It has four levels. I can't say if it can have more, but for now it's four. We're currently on the third level and what I call the Main or Living Level. Aside from this place and the Entry Way you saw, it has what Dobby calls the Great Hall, which are the doors across the way near the staircase. It's pretty big. Lots of places to sit and all. On the left side, there's the recreation room, which as Muggle games like darts and billiards and such and tables for other games and a bar."

"Don't tell me you have those kind of drinks here, Harry," Hermione began.

"It has a bar," Harry replied. "Didn't say it was stocked, did I?"

Hermione seemed to calm down.

"Next to that are some loos and then there's the Library. It's pretty big, has two levels even. But I don't know how many books it has. Now on the other side of the Great Hall are the Ladies' Parlor, Men's Parlor - or so Dobby calls them. Nice rooms for small gatherings really. Then there's the Formal Dining Room which right now seats up to twenty people, although Dobby says it could easily seat twice or even three times that, and the Informal Dining Room, which seats about four now. That one's quite nice. Then there's my kitchen."

"Your kitchen?" Luna asked.

Harry shrugged. "I like to cook. My Aunt's been having me do it since I was four or so. Don't like cooking for her 'though."

"That's just wrong," Hermione began.

Harry shrugged it off. "I hope it's water under the bridge now, you know. The fourth level, up the stairs, that's where the bedrooms are, although they're really a bunch of rooms. Each 'bedroom' has a bedroom of course. But it also has a separate bathroom - really nice ones too - walk-in closet, a separate Sitting Room and the Study. I asked Dobby for a nice place to stay at my relatives and would have been just fine with that - presuming I could eat without dealing with my relations of course.

"Second Level, well Dobby calls it the recreation level but I call it the training one."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"It's got Gyms and things. It's got a Muggle gym with a basketball court - not that I can play, mind you - and another room with exercise equipment. It has the Potions Lab as well. I'm thinking of trying that out. Might be easier doing Potions without Snape breathing down your neck, don't you think? And there's a magical gym, to do spells and such…"

"But Harry," Hermione protested, "we're not allowed to do spells outside of Hogwarts!"

"That's not entirely true," Luna said. "If you live in a Muggle area, it is. That law is all part and parcel with keeping Muggles from knowing about magic. But if you're magically raised and have wards to keep the Muggles from seeing, you can be doing magic."

"That's so not fair!" Hermione complained.

"It's all about keeping the Muggles ignorant of magic," Luna said. "It's not fair to Muggle Borns and Muggle raised and even some of us who are magically raised but who don't have the right wards to safeguard magic. But, can you honestly say that every young witch or wizard exposed to the Muggle World will keep it secret?"

"I would!" Hermione stated.

"Can you say that of all the others like you?"

"Umm…"

"You can't," Luna replied. "You may be responsible about such things, but you may also be the exception. The law is not designed to truly discriminate, but magical families can let their children do magic, if they like."

"Malfoy's probably been waiving a wand for ages," Harry chuckled, "for all the good it's done him. You're still top of our year, Hermione. But if you wish to practice, this trunk absorbs all magic that is expelled, as it were. It's what powers it. You can cast spells here to your heart's delight and not ever trip up with the Ministry. Trust me on this. I did test it and no Ministry owls have arrived."

"It's still not fair to Muggle Borns!" Hermione said.

"While I agree, let's not worry about that today, okay?"

Hermione nodded, although she was not truly convinced.

"Finally on that Level we have a pretty big swimming pool," Harry said. "That doesn't really matter all that much to me seeing as I can't swim."

"Do you want to learn?" Hermione asked. "I know how."

"So do I, Harry," Luna added. "We can teach you if you want, right Hermione?"

Hermione nodded. "So when do we see all this stuff?"

"What time are your parents coming over, assuming your Dad remembers?"

"Mum said around seven, why?"

Harry sat at the console and revealed what looked like a keyboard. He touched a key and the view of his room disappeared. The screen when blank at first. _Temporal Modification System On Line in Standby. Password?_ The screen flashed. Harry typed several keys but only "******" showed on the screed. _Access Granted. _The screen replied.

_System charged for up to 1100 hours of compression. Enter Sequence Start Time - Sequence End Time - and Compression duration: dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss - dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss - hhh:mm:ss_

Harry typed:

_21/06/1993 16:00:00 - 21/06/1993__17:00:00 - 168:00:00  
22/06/1993 06:00:00 - 22/06/1993 07:00:00 - 168:00:00  
23/06/1993 06:00:00 - 23/06/1993 07:00:00 - 168:00:00  
24/06/1993 06:00:00 - 24/06/1993 07:00:00 - 168:00:00  
25/06/1993 06:00:00 - 25/06/1993 07:00:00 - 168:00:00  
__25/06/1993 22:00:00 - 25/06/1993 23:00:00 - 168:00:00_

_First Sequence will begin in 02 hrs 23 min 14 sec._

_Upon completion, system will have 92:00:00 hours of charge remaining excluding recharge. _

As the screen returned to the view of Harry's room in Privet Drive, Hermione asked: "What was that all about?"

"This trunk has an added feature," Harry replied. "The one thing we don't seem to have enough of is time, right? We need to sort a lot of stuff out this week and you've seen the books the Flamels gave us. Even if all we need to know is in those books, it could take us days to find what we need to know. Add to it we need to spend time together as well and there just doesn't seem to be enough of it, is there? This feature changes the rate that time passes in the trunk. At four o'clock it will activate and while and hour will pass outside of this trunk, we will experience the equivalent of seven whole days. I have it set to repeat again each day between now and Saturday which gives us time to learn what we need to learn, time to get used to being together and time for the others to get settled in as well before we even have to worry about the rest of the hols."

"So, we could have years in here? Won't we get older too?" Hermione asked.

"No. While we experience more time, we don't age any faster than we would if we spent that time outside of the trunk. We'll only actually age an hour. As for years? The maximum number of time compressed hours this trunk can do is 1440 or sixty days. It then needs regular time to recharge. And no, I don't know how long a recharge will take."

"Still, it seems useful," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "So let's go and see the rest of the trunk, shall we?"

He led them to the lowest level first as it was probably the most boring, being nothing more than storerooms, the Elf kitchen and Elf quarters. He knew Hermione would want to see the Library first and perhaps he was teasing her a bit, but he also wanted them to know their way around the place and he was pretty certain that one Hermione saw the Library he might have to have her dragged away forcibly, which he did not want to do. The lowest level was a safe place to start and the next level was as well. She could see the bedrooms and such later, when she was tired.

They came down the narrow, spiral stair into the lowest level. Hermione and Luna were bade to go first and when Harry arrived he looked around.

"Okay," he began, "this wasn't here before."

"What Harry?" the girls asked.

"This door here," he said pointing to a door. "It wasn't here before I'm pretty sure. Um … think I should check it out?"

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione began.

"Did you just miss it? Not notice it?" Luna asked.

"No. Dobby showed me every room in the place, or so I thought," Harry replied.

"Maybe we shouldn't," Hermione began again.

Harry frowned. "It's my trunk! Unless the door is locked, I think we should," he finished as he opened the door. "My God!" he gasped. Hermione and Luna saw him walk through the door and followed him even if a bit reluctantly.

They walked through and were in a flower garden, a huge flower garden that seemed to stretch on for hundreds of yards in every direction.

"Th-this wasn't here before," Harry noted after what was probably a few minutes. "Pretty sure I'd remember this."

"It's beautiful," Luna said. It was indeed.

"Dobby?" Harry called.

A second or so there was a "pop" and Dobby appeared. "You's be callings Dobby, Sir?"

"What it this place?"

"Oh Sir, this beings the gardens. Dobby be takings Harry Potters requests fors a nice place to spends summer and Dobby be's buyings a 'Deluxe Manor Trunk.' It beings a Manor, but Manors be needings gardens so Harry Potter and Ladies cans be walking about thems, yes?"

"How much did this cost?" Hermione began.

"Why didn't I see it before now?" Harry continued.

"Oh Sir, the gardens being parts of the original price, Sir. Dobby just be needings to buy the seeds for the plants and such as extra and it being only a couple hundred galleons mores, Sir. But the seeds be needings to grow intos plants, Sir. So gardens being is time magics to let plants be growing. Some be takings years and others be takings months, Sir. Until they's all be's ready, cants be entering. But they's all ready now, Sir.

"This being the flowers garden, Sir. It be havings lots and lost of different kinds of flowers and evens if theys being the sames kinds, many varieties as wells. It be's for walkings and enjoyings, as be alls the gardens, but we's be cuttings flowers to puts throughouts the house, Sir.

"To your rights be's the fruits gardens. Be havings many, many groves of tress such as apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, oranges, lemons, mangos, guavas, bananas as papayas and then there being the berries as wells Sir. There's being strawberries and blueberries, cranberries, blackberries and raspberries and grapeses of course. And melons and pineapples too.

"To your lefts being the herb and spice gardens. Nearest one being magical plants and Dobby be askings you nots go there withouts an elf 'cause somes plants be dangerous and yous hasn't learneds abouts them yet in Herb studies. The further ones be non magical herbs and spices. All kinds of thems there including peppers and such and garlics and others and coffee and tea.

"At far end of flowers be the vegetable gardens. We be growings all kinds theres, Sir. We be havings lettuces and cabbages and carrots, beets, radishes and several kinds of peas and beans and spinach and cucumbers, zuccinni, eggplant, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, several tomatoes types, several potatoes types and maizes as well as others, Sir."

"How … how large is this?" Harry asked.

"24,787 acres, Sir," Dobby said. Harry's jaw dropped, Hermione nearly fainted away and even Luna looked gob smacked.

"That's like forty square miles!" Hermione gasped after a moment.

"It not beings square, Miss," Dobby replied. "But there's be's miles and miles of paths throughs it all with places to be sitting or watching things or picnics or… Well, Harry Potter be's askings Dobby fors a nice place to lives whiles stills being at nasty Muggleses and Dobby be thinkings this be nice."

"It seems such a waste," Harry began.

"Sir?"

"All these flowers and fruits and spices and such. I can't possibly use them all!"

"Not be worrying, Master Harry Potter Sir. Flowers be cuts for vases in rooms but those what nots be cut remain. What Harry Potter nots be needing from herbs or spices or fruits or such, we's be sellings. We's could be payings back the cost of this trunk in six or seven years and maybes less. You will sees buildings on the garden and theys for canning or preserving or whatnots so we's can stores them for Harry Potter or sells them."

"But there're only four of us living here," Hermione protested. "How can we maintain this?"

"Not's to be worrings, Miss 'Mione," Dobby replied. "Dobby be's thinkings ahead. Dobby be's puttings words out amoung House Elves that Harry Potter be needing staff and staff cames. They alls be young, youngers than Dobby and many's just beings olds enough to find works of their owns. They be manys brothers and sisters, families what nots be wantings to be separated from each others. Dobby - sorry, Harry Potter, Sir - Dobby was presumptuous. Dobby be promisings thems they cans come and works here. Dobby be telling them they must accepts wages, they must dress appropriately, theys be alloweds days off and must take sick days if they be beings sick. They's be accepting, Sir, if you's be having thems."

"Um … I suppose," Harry said slowly.

Dobby smiled and suddenly a lot of House Elves appeared. They were all dressed in clothes of some form or another. Some seemed to be in nice dresses and suits - depending upon their gender - and most others in gender appropriate gardening attire. All had a crest on their clothes. It was the House Potter crest.

"Are these my Elves?" Harry asked.

"Theys not be bondeds to you yets, Sir," Dobby said. "They wants to be."

"What are their names?"

"They be onlys havings Elf names which be though and not spokens, Sir. They never be bondeds before so you's must be givings them their spoken names, Sir. Six Elf maids and two Elfs be to be assigneds to the House to cooks and cleans and suches, especially as Harry Potter beings bondeds and his ladies be needing Elves to do ladies things. The others being assigned to the gardens, Sir. If you will lets them, of course."

They all looked so hopeful, so how was Harry to say no? Fortunately, Hermione had nothing to say either. After all, this place was an awful lot for just one elf. Harry nodded and the bonding process began. He asked each Elf or Elf Maiden if they wished to be bonded to his family and when they say they agreed, he gave them their name and welcomed each of them to the House of Potter. The House Staff now consisted of Petal, Flower, Sunshine, Summer, Marigold, and Blossom and Higgins and Burt as well. The garden staff had their own names as well. When the bondings were done, Dobby - who apparently was in charge of them all - sent them back to their duties and they all disappeared with a pop as did Dobby as well.

"This is … well," Hermione began. "It's pretty amazing. I hope you weren't trying to impress us."

"Oh don't be silly," Luna said. "I hope you were being silly. I think it's clear Harry's as surprised by this as we are, aren't you Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"Still, it's a nice surprise." And with that comment Luna pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the ground. She really wasn't wearing any knickers, or anything else under her dress for that matter.

"Luna!" Hermione gasped. Harry could only stare and blush as Luna turned around in her full glory.

"I'm not all that impressive, Hermione," Luna said. "You obviously have bigger boobies than me and I've only just begun developing any of my own in the last year or so."

"That's not … you're naked!"

"I would think that's rather obvious. I don't mind really."

"But Harry's here!"

"And why should that matter? You heard we are bonding to him, right? That means I'm his wife and you're his wife. Unless you're saying husbands never see their wives naked."

"That's not the point!"

"It isn't? Then what is? I don't mind being this way when it's warm out and I'm in a place I can trust. When I was younger - when my Mum was still alive - we used to spend summer days in our garden and in the woods nearby like this. 'Course Daddy was off for one reason or another. But Harry is my husband, so I don't see this as at all creepy or anything. 'Course we may need rules."

"It's not proper!" Hermione argued. "It's not decent! You'll get a sunburn."

"Oh, I don't think that will happen," Luna replied. "That's not the real sun in the sky 'cause it's also not a real sky. It's a magical one, I'm pretty sure. And who's to say what it proper and decent? I admit that being like this in Hogwarts or Diagon Alley might cause problems. Even I wear knickers there. But we're not at Hogwarts or Diagon Alley. We're in Harry's trunk and right now the only other people who could come here aren't due here for days and days our time. So if I want to dance around naked, why can't I? You don't mind, do you Harry?"

Harry could only shake his head.

"You broke Harry!"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's fine," Luna said. "Do you like seeing me like this Harry?"

Harry nodded. "You're - you're very pretty, Luna."

Luna walked over to Harry and kissed him. She then took hold of his right arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "See?" she said to Hermione. "He thinks I'm pretty. I guess it must be true then seeing as this way he can't be confused about my clothes. I'm pretty sure he'll think you're pretty too."

"Are you suggesting…," Hermione began.

"Grammy did say that for our bond with Harry to grow and be healthy we need lots of intimate contact. We don't have to do _It, _but we need to do something. Since we're alone here, why not?"

"She didn't mean that!"

"She didn't say this can't or shouldn't be done. Now I trust Harry to be a gentleman and not try and do something we don't want, but he can look at me whenever he wants to and he seems to like me here holding his hand. It feels right, doesn't it Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded even though he was not looking at Luna. Hermione looked at them in shock at first, but then began thinking, chewing upon her bottom lip as she did so. As odd as it seemed, what Luna said did make some sense. The bond was important after all and it's not like people could just pop by and interrupt their privacy. As she thought more about it, her fingers began unbuttoning her blouse. She was blushing a little, but Harry was watching her with interest now. The blouse came off, followed by her skirt and then the rest of her clothes. She enjoyed having Harry watch and decided to reward him further. She walked up to him and kissed him deeply before taking his left hand in hers as the three of them walked further into the gardens leaving the girls' clothes behind.

**A/N: Short Chapter, I know. There wasn't a really good way to combine this with the next one and I didn't want to. And yes, the next Chapter is written as well as about nine more - as in finished aside from a final look through and such. Story's not done yet. The fun begins around Chapter 22 or 23 after the build up is built... (There'll be fun before then, but the Stage needs setting.) I know I've used time compression in other stories. Here, I'm exploring a more limited version. The only boon these character get is for the girls. Time Compression will not mean they have to suffer their monthlies any longer from their prosepctive than they would without it. But the rules apply to everything else - if the same girl is very pregnant, she remains so no matter how much time passes in the trunk.**

**And for those of you annoyed at the "cliffie" at the end of the last chapter...**

**Well where's the fun in resolving it immediately? As long as it is resolved (and in my written chapters is has been), no harm, no foul. Like most such fan fictions, this is a serialized work (not unlike the "novels" of Charles Dickens when originally publised, not that I can stand to read them in book form...) and as such the occasional cliffie is needed if only to see the thousands begging to know "What happeded to Nell?" (That is assuming there are such thousands ... scores or less more like...)**


	12. Chapter 12: Contracts

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I have no good excuses... Chapter 21 is giving me fits, but that's no reason for the delay for this one...

**CHAPTER 12: CONTRACTS**

Harry awoke the next morning feeling warm and snug in his bed. It took a few moments for his mind to clear and for him to remember where he was. He opened his eyes and it started coming back to him. To his left he could see the brown, curly hair of his best friend. He could feel her breath against his neck and feel her skin beneath his left had as he held her close. To his right, there was a head of blonde hair resting upon his chest. He could feel her breath as well and - was that drool? She too was wrapped in his right arm and Harry really began to wake up when he remembered that they were both naked. They had never put their clothes back on after they took them off in the garden and had come to his bed that way as well. Aside from snuggling and kisses - and the fact that his two girls were naked - nothing truly inappropriate had occurred.

Hermione woke first. There was almost a gasp from her and an "eep." She had apparently remembered where she was and in what condition, but she soon relaxed again. As Luna started to wake up, Hermione kissed Harry on the lips and told his she was going to get showered and dressed. Luna, when she was fully awake, only mentioned a shower. Once his girls had left for their own rooms to prepare for the day, Harry got out of his warm bed and did the same.

Harry was fully dressed, just as he had been the entire time the day before, when he entered the Informal Dining Room for breakfast. Luna was already seated buttering some toast. It was obvious how she had arrived first considering that while she clearly had showered and washed up, she had not bothered with clothes again. Harry kissed her and took his seat and the small round table.

"You look pretty this morning," he said as he poured himself a glass of juice.

"Thank you, Harry."

"Not going to wear clothes?"

"We are under Time Compression, right? Why should I? I'll only just take them off anyway."

"Oh, I had forgotten," Hermione said having just entered. She was dressed in slacks and a blouse, but that lasted all of another couple of minutes as she took off her clothes as well, kissed Harry and sat down.

"How did you sleep?" she asked Harry.

"Quite well," he said. "Didn't have any nightmares and I can't remember the last time that happened."

"I guess that's another good reason to have a Harry pillow at night," Luna said. "Keeps away bad dreams."

After breakfast they began what became their daily routine. They spent the morning strolling in the gardens and usually had a picnic lunch. About an hour after lunch, Harry changed into swim trunks and the girls began teaching him to swim. They only spent an hour at that. Once they were all dry again, and Harry had dressed, they went to the library to study the books that the Flamels had given them and to try and figure a way out of their current predicament - not the bond, not even the four marriage contracts, but the last contract they had been shown. At night, the girls would snuggle up to him in his bed and they would go to sleep. Harry was soon convinced he could get used to this new life even if no one else would find it normal.

The girls loved the gardens. As Luna said, it was as if they had an entire world just to themselves. Harry had asked Dobby about whether one could fly brooms here, and apparently you could. The problem was that "the World" was finite. You had to pay attention to the fact there was a ceiling of some sort about three hundred feet up and that there were walls at the edge of the gardens. Still, given how vast the gardens were it seemed like an ideal way to get about and see it all. The problem was Hermione. Luna was a fair flyer and had two brooms of her own. Hermione had never taken to flying so Harry had decided to make that a summer project. Hermione need not take to it like a Quidditch player, but he hoped that she would be comfortable enough with it to go for a leisurely flight through the gardens when the summer was over. Naturally, she insisted that this was entirely unnecessary. She liked walking, thank you very much. Harry had not expected it to be easy, which was why it was a long term project to begin with.

Every day, he woke up in his bed with his two girls snuggled into him, which was how his days ended as well. Every morning, Hermione showed up at breakfast fully dressed, and then took everything off before she sat down. Luna never seemed to bother with dressing. They kissed, they snuggled, they walked though the gardens hand in hand. Yet, despite the lack of attire on his girls, they never did anything that they would regret or be ashamed of although Harry was not about to admit to anyone outside of his girls choice of attire, or lack thereof.

Of course, Time Compression was not for an eternity and it came to an end seven days to the second after it began. Luna, somewhat reluctantly and Hermione a little less so headed to their rooms to actually put on clothes or, in Hermione's case, put them on with the intention of leaving them on at least until her parents left. Harry headed to the kitchen. He had yet to cook a meal and wanted to but his girls had kept him busy what with sleeping, swimming, studying and just hanging out together in the gardens.

Robert Granger finished reading the Contract. He had kept his calm until the end hoping this was just some kind of prank or something. Once he saw his signature, it seemed his memories all started coming back. He blinked a few times.

"I almost cried myself," Rose commented after a moment. "To think Hermione could have grown up with friends."

Robert nodded. "I know I've met Harry. I remember him from the other day. But … but it seems the last time I saw him he was just trying to walk. And Luna was just a baby as well. You saw them? Luna?"

Rose nodded. "She's grown into quite the young woman."

"Are they bonding?"

Rose nodded. "It began for real today, it being Harry's thirteenth Summer Solstice and Luna's as well. Harry and Hermione first kissed about a week ago, but today… Robert, it was so beautiful!"

"You saw it? You saw the glow?"

Rose nodded. "It was wonderful."

"So it's done then," Robert sighed. "Our little girl … bloody hell! She's not even fourteen yet! … our little girl is married."

"In the eyes of magic, yes Bob. In the eyes of magical law, that requires a trip to Gringotts which could be as early as tomorrow for all three of them. In the eyes of magical society, from what I learned, they still need proper weddings one day with announcements and all of that."

"Where are they?"

"Harry's place."

"With those good for nothing relations of his?" Robert exclaimed.

"Harry's got some kind of magical trunk. While it is at Harry's relative's, they can't get into it."

"What's a trunk got to do with this?"

"Harry lives in it."

"He … he lives in a trunk? On purpose?"

"He says it's a good sized home. I haven't been there yet, but we're invited over for dinner…"

"And just how are we supposed to get there? We don't even know where his blasted relatives live!"

"We don't have to, Robert. Harry gave us what he calls an access trunk. It has a ladder that you climb down into a cloakroom and a door from there leads to his trunk. They're connected by something called a magical portal. Harry's trunk could be just about anywhere. We don't even have to know where it is and we can still go there … even if they're at that school of theirs."

"I'm still not sure I like this," Robert said. "From what I remember, once the bond forms they either have to have sex…"

"They're too young for that."

"Not sure when a daughter is supposed to be old enough for it, truth be told."

"Magical consummation is more than just copulation. It has to occur when they are nearing magical maturity, and they won't be for three years at least."

"Thank God for small blessing, I suppose," Robert snorted. "But there was that other bit, sort of sex, something about prolonged, intimate physical contact?"

Rose nodded. "Holding hands counts, Bob. Kissing, hugs and snuggles count. Sex would as well, but six hours of that a day or more? They'd have to be abnormally virile, don't you think? That and they'd probably get bored with it. They can get all they need simply by snuggling together through the night. You may not be comfortable with that and I won't say I am, but that's safe. I'd rather have our daughter grow up healthy in all respects."

"Still, I definitely will have questions for the boy."

"I'm sure you will. Now shall we pop over for dinner?"

After picking the wrong door at one end of the cloak room which happened to be a loo, the Grangers found themselves at the other end. There was a door, but no knob as far as they could tell, or any other way to open it. But there was a pull cord of some kind so, before Robert tried to bash down the door with his shoulder, Rose pulled it. The door opened and just beyond was a very small figure, not much larger than a small child. It was barefooted, with black trousers that were a few inches too high, a grey waist coat, white shirt, white tie and what looked like a black dinner jacket with some kind of crest just over the left side of the chest. Rose, who had seen a House Elf before, knew what it was. She also knew it wasn't Dobby. Robert had never seen one before and had no idea what it was.

"Welcome to Master Harry Potter's," the Elf said. The Granger's correctly understood that in this case the term "Master" was the honorific for an underage gentleman and not that of an overseer of some sort. "I am called Higgins. Miss Hermione and Miss Luna are upstairs freshening up and Master Harry is in the kitchen preparing dinner. If you will please follow me?"

"That other Elf doesn't talk like you," Rose observed.

"Dobby is Head Elf here and in charge of both the House and Grounds Staff. But House Potter is his second House. He talks the way his first House desired. That, unfortunately, cannot change. The rest of the staff, for us this is our first Wizarding Household and hopefully the only one. Master Harry, as Head of House, expects proper English. This way please?"

"House and Grounds Staff?" Robert asked Rose as they followed the Elf towards a large set of double doors and while trying to guess what the paintings and tapestries they could see were about. She could only shrug.

The Elf led them into a huge room that, while not opulent as a Royal residence would be, impressive both in its size and appointments. It did have a more informal look to it than one would expect, as if it was meant to be lived in and not looked at. The Elf then took them to a side room. It was small as compared to the other room but was probably larger than any room in their own home.

"This is the Ladies' Parlor," the Elf said. "Your daughter should be joining you in a few minutes. Would you like something while you wait? Coffee or tea, perhaps?"

"Have anything stronger?" Robert asked.

"We have a stock of more adult beverages, beers, wines and distilled spirits. Master Harry and his Ladies are too young to partake, but they are available for adult guests of the House. I will send Blossom by to attend to you." With that the Elf popped away and barely a moment later another Elf appeared. This one had long hair and was wearing a dress. She introduced herself as Blossom and asked what they would like to drink. Rose requested a glass of wine and Robert a single malt scotch. Practically as soon as the requests were made, their drinks appeared on a tray she was carrying.

"Now that's service," Robert chuckled. The Elf Maiden curtsied in reply.

"Dinner will be in twenty minutes," the elf said. "Will there be anything else?"

"These paintings," Rose began.

"As of right now and aside from their personal rooms, all the public spaces have portraits of Master Harry's Potter ancestors and their families, Ma'am. In this room, we have our oldest painting for before then it's all tapestries. This is Robert Potter, the youngest Lord Potter in history prior to Master Harry. He became Lord Potter when he was two years old when his parents, William and Daphne died in the Black Death in 1346. He's shown much later in life with his wife Elena. Their children are here as well. We also have Master Harry's Great-great Grandparents, Alistor and Desdemona. They died in 1958 and 1962 respectively. Then there's Gregory Potter born in 1489 and his three wives - one after the other - one died in childbirth and another of Dragon Pox. Their children are also here…"

"How many portraits and such are there," Rose asked amazed.

"There are sixteen tapestries representing eleven generations of Potters and forty-six portraits of the subsequent twenty-one generations ending with Master Harry's parents."

"And the oldest one?"

"It's in the Entry Hall. It's of Lord Edgar, Seventh Earl of Hwicca, his wife Matilda and their children. It was Elf made in 925."

"Bloody hell," Robert began.

"It is a bit much," a voice said. The Grangers turned and saw their daughter wearing a dress Rose was certain they had bought last summer and another girl. Rose knew and Robert guessed it was Luna.

"You look lovely," Robert began.

"I'm surprised that dress still fits you," Rose said.

"Petal made some adjustments," Hermione replied. "And thank you, Daddy."

"You must be Luna," Robert began.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Granger."

Robert chuckled. "Last I recall seeing you, you were just figuring out how to stand up without help. You've grown into quite the young woman, it seems."

Luna smiled.

"So you remember?" Hermione asked.

Robert nodded. "Didn't. Not until I saw that contract again. Then it all seemed to come back to me. You're Mum found some old photos in the attic from that time, the time before he erased that part of our lives."

"Really?"

"We're going to have copies made of them and the others. Consider it a … urm … wedding present of sorts."

"Thank you Daddy. That would be lovely."

"I'm still getting used to this…"

"I thought you said you remembered," Hermione said with disappointment in her voice.

"I remember the Potters, the Lovegoods and the contracts and why we made them. I remembered about the Soul Bonds and the other two contracts and why they were necessary. I also remember it could happen this early but hoping it would wait until the lot of you were older. But those memories were taken away from us, weren't they? This morning I woke up and you were my daughter and Harry was just a boyfriend and my concern was that the two of you would behave yourselves. That you would not … experiment, not for a few more years at least. Now, without so much as a by your leave, I remember that contract from years ago and am told your bonding has begun. I still see you as my little girl, but it seems magic had another plan for you and now, in the eyes of magic as it were, you're married to him and Luna is as well triggering these contracts. While I remember it, it does not mean I understand it."

"It was a bit of a surprise to us as well, Mr. Granger," Luna said. "I'd like to think it was a pleasant one."

"I would still like all of this explained," Mr. Granger said. "I mean look at this place, for one. How can he afford it?"

"We can go over this at dinner, Daddy. We can begin with Harry's new home and work from there, okay?"

Robert Granger nodded. Hermione led them from the parlor to the informal dining room where a round table was set for five. Robert and Rose sat next to each other. Hermione sat next to her father while Luna sat next to Hermione's mother. The empty seat for Harry was between Hermione and Luna and across the table from Hermione's parents. Harry entered not long after the others were seated, greeted the Grangers and took his seat. As he did, salads appeared at all the places.

"This is very good, Harry," Mrs. Granger said. "What's in it?"

"Aside from the bacon bits, cheese and the olive oil and vinegar, of course, it all came from our gardens. Dawkins, he's the head gardener, says in a few months or so we'll have our own olive oil and vinegar as well but we're not there just yet. Okay. You have two different kinds of lettuce, spinach greens, some herbs, cucumber slices, some red onion and scallions and cherry tomatoes. The dressing is and oil and vinegar I made with more herbs, some mild spices and dried cranberries. After this, we have an onion soup. The onions were from our garden as well. After that is the main course: filet of sea bass in a white sauce, asparagus in a mild cheese sauce and roasted red potatoes with herbs. Naturally, the sea bass and cheese had to be bought."

"And how did you come to learn to cook? Not that I'm complaining," Rose Granger said.

"My Aunt. She had me in the kitchen since I was four or so. Hated it at first. Then I got good at it and … well, it was soon one chore I didn't mind doing since they left me alone to do it. Maybe it was the knives or hot pots or whatnot. But it was one time when they wouldn't do things to me and the one time my cousin ever got punished for doing things to me. Came to like it, I guess. That and I always ate better when I was cooking. Dudley's bread crusts were not one might consider particularly satisfying…"

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "that sounds horrible!"

Harry just shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about the bad stuff."

"Well, that's one way to steal my thunder," Mr. Granger quipped.

"Steal your thunder, Sir?" Harry asked.

"This is the point where I, as father of my lovely daughter here, am expected and required to try and scare off her potential suitor. This is where I am expected to ask what your intentions are towards here and, after you hem and haw and stutter, tell you that she's my precious little girl and that if you ever hurt her, you'll regret the day you were born and, that if your penis comes within six inches of her, you wish you were never born with one. There. I've said it for all the good it will do considering I now find you've begun bonding and I long ago agreed that when that happened we were to see the two of you married as soon as possible with a proper wedding to follow when you're older. While I remember all that, I don't remember how this can be done. After all Hermione's thirteen and you're not even that, right?"

Harry nodded. "We were wondering the same thing, Sir."

"It's somewhat complicated," Hermione said. "But we've been researching this and we think we understand. Certainly not all the intricacies, but we know how it can be this way for us."

"How did you find this out so quickly?" Mrs. Granger asked.

Hermione then told them about Time Compression before getting back to her point.

"Now in most cases there's little difference between marriage in the Muggle world and in the Wizarding world," she continued. "Unless you take into account that socially the Wizarding World is a few centuries behind the Muggle one. Arranged marriages are still common place as are bride prices and other such things. What a wife owns belongs to her husband normally and so on. Divorce in the Wizarding World is rare but not unheard of. That being said, as you two know we come of age at age seventeen. Once we're seventeen we can marry without parental consent and should that happen, it would void any unexecuted betrothal contracts. Then again, there is this treaty with the Muggle government that, should we decide to live in the Muggle world, requires the Muggles to recognize magical marriages and vice versa. Since the legal age for a couple to marry without parental consent in Scotland is sixteen and since those of us who attend Hogwarts can meet the residency requirements, as a practical matter we can marry at sixteen without parental consent. Absent special circumstances, a couple can marry at age fifteen with parental consent."

"Special circumstances?" Mr. Granger asked.

"If the girl is pregnant, for example. If paternity is proved, then the parents of the unborn child can marry regardless of their ages. But this doesn't happen much anymore."

"Why not?"

"Birth Control potions have been around for over two hundred years. As a student at Hogwarts, we girls are required to take them every month from the day we start school and as the potion lasts for up to three months, so long as we have taken a dose before the last dose wears off, we can't get pregnant. Once we're sixteen and have completed our O.W.L.s we can elect to stop taking the potion, but not before then."

"Why at sixteen?"

"Because once we've taken our O.W.L.s we're no longer required to attend school. We can go out into the workforce or start a family. Admittedly, without N.E.W.T.s your job prospects aren't all that great but … well being a Muggle Born they aren't that great either, not unless I married a man of higher social status."

"I recall that bit," Mr. Granger said. "It was one of the prime reasons we agreed to that contract as Harry is about as high on their social order as you can get."

Hermione nodded. "Now the other exception to the normal rule is where there's a magical bond between the young witch and her young wizard. Once that bond begins to form, they can get married provided they are both of bonding age, otherwise they're still too young and are merely betrothed. There are two kinds of bonds that can do this. One is the one Luna and I share with Harry based upon compatible or complimentary magic called the Soul Bond. This bond can only begin to form once we attain bonding age which is following our thirteenth Summer Solstice and, in the case of us witches, when we have had at least six menstrual cycles. Coincidentally, today is the Summer Solstice and Luna and I have had at least six menstrual cycles…"

"My sixth was in April," Luna said.

"Anyway, once our bonds began we are considered married in the eyes of magic and can legally marry at anytime after that and because of a long standing treaty, that marriage would be considered legal in the Muggle World as well."

"But please explain how is it that Harry here can legally have more than one wife?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Plural marriage, while very rare, is recognized as valid in the Wizarding World if it has proper justification," Hermione replied. "You can't just have more than one wife just because you want to. There must be a basis for it. One basis, which applies to us, is where the wizard is magically bonded to more than one witch."

"That explains the two of you, but there're two others if I'm not mistaken."

"Harry has a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot. He also has no true Potter relations left. His magical cousins that we know of are all from his grandmother's side of the family. When a hereditary seat has but one potential male heir - that being a male descendant of the last Head of House's Great-great grandfather, the line is considered at risk and they can choose to enter into a plural marriage to … um … repopulate the line. The Potters didn't really do that to Harry. All of these contracts had conditions on them. For Luna and I, that condition was the formation of our Soul Bond which was by no means guaranteed to ever happen. We could've despised Harry and he could've not liked us one bit and it that were the case, our bonds could never form. The Greengrass contract was conditioned upon both soul bonds forming. Without both Luna and I married to Harry, that contract means nothing."

"It keeps the Greengrass family from having to marry their daughter off to another family," Luna said. "Such contracts are not unusual. It's a way to keep the daughter off the betrothal market without truly committing to a match. Had we not fulfilled the pre-conditions, in time the Greengrass girl would be able to marry as she chose rather than be forced into an arranged marriage."

"But you fulfilled those conditions," Mr. Granger said.

"Which means Harry has to marry her as well," Hermione said. "The contract was one in which the conditions to enforce it were remote but not impossible. Harry had to bond with both of us before she married another or before he turned twenty-one, whichever happened later. But if he did? The deal is done. She has to marry Harry soon."

"Rather barbaric, if you ask me."

"Daddy, you must understand we're a few hundred years behind the Muggle world socially. Arranged marriages were common back then. A girl and boy could be married as young as twelve back then and only lack of consummation could truly invalidate the marriage. Well, that and consanguinity, but that's not an issue here. True Luna, this Daphne Greengrass and Harry are cousins on his grandmother's side, but third cousins once removed."

"The contract with the Greengrass family was designed to take her off the betrothal market," Luna said. "The risk was that the conditions could come to pass. There had to be such conditions that made the contract fully enforceable otherwise she could be married off against her will anyway and to a family her parents would have not preferred. With a contract that could maybe be enforced, they could keep any other family from even trying to bargain for her. It's old fashioned, but it is the practice amongst older magical families and until that changes…"

"I still don't see why it's all that important," Mr. Granger said. "I guess I can see why it's important that the two of you marry Harry what with that bond and all, but that doesn't mean he has to marry this third girl or any other for that matter."

"It is the will of House Potter," Harry said. "While my parents signed it, it was also signed by my father in his capacity as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The only way I could ignore this contract would be upon attaining the age of twenty-one when I become Head of my House in my own right and can then legally and without penalty abrogate any pre-existing and unexecuted contracts. Unfortunately, by bonding with Luna and Hermione, this contract becomes fully enforceable and there are severe penalties for trying to avoid it. In fact, as it is entirely probable that Daphne is of bonding age or older - she's in Hermione and my year - it becomes enforceable upon my bonding and marrying Hermione and Luna. We could only delay enforcement and then only if she's not yet attained bonding age. As we understand it, upon verification of our bond by any magical authority…"

"That would include Hogwarts," Hermione interjected. "Our books made clear that qualified healers can detect such bonds and Luna and I can expect and examination sometime in September."

"As I was saying, once the bond is verified, any parties to contracts dependent upon the bond are notified and allowed to seek enforcement."

"We figured it's just easier to get it all out of the way now," Luna said. "That'll give us the better part of the summer to get to know each other."

"So that's three wives. What about the fourth?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Hannah Abbot's her name," Hermione replied. "She's in Harry and my year as well, although in Hufflepuff not Gryffindor. Her contract is triggered once Harry begins bonding with either Luna or me. Hers is what's called a Line Continuation Contract, which is a different form of marriage."

"Different?"

"She's Heir Apparent as Baroness of Godricston and as Regent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. She can't serve as true Head of House in her own right if she marries under normal rules because once that happens, her husband gains control over her family's estates. She would remain as Baroness, but the title cannot pass to her children thus, upon her death, the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott ceases to exist as she has no relations in that house left, other than by marriage which doesn't count. With a Line Continuation Contract, Harry's family agreed that he would act as her Consort. As such, Harry has no legal interest in the property or titles of House Abbott. Hannah retains them and can pass them on to their children who will be born Abbotts and not Potters. Given as Harry is also Head of and Ancient and Noble House and has many titles of his own to maintain, he needs at least a primary Potter wife before he can also become Hannah's Consort."

"Other titles?" Mrs. Granger asked.

Harry shrugged while Hermione nodded. "Harry is or will be the Earl of Hwicca, which was bestowed upon an ancestor of his by the then King of Mercia. He's also Baron of Loch Sheen, bestowed by a Scottish King and Earl of Abengale bestowed by Edward the Confessor. True, these titles are not recognized by the current Crown but they are by the Wizengamot. He's also Earl Hereford, bestowed upon an ancestor by Henry VII and Earl Finchley bestowed upon an ancestor by Queen Victoria and those titles are recognized as part of the Peerage."

"So he's in the House of Lords too?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"My grandfather was, when he could spare the time," Harry said. "We know he never missed the Queen's Opening of Parliament. But he spent far more time on the Wizengamot."

"And with the reforms recently, Harry's just a Peer unless he wants to devote all kinds of time to Lords," Hermione said. "That and he's too young to take his seat, assuming he meets the appointment requirements. He still can attend the Opening of Parliament if he wants to but…"

"Only when I'm older, if even then," Harry said.

"I'm forced to ask this, but can you afford all this?" Mr. Granger asked. "Titles aside, I'm sure this place costs something and you now have two and soon four young women under your care."

"I assumed you'd ask that, Sir. As of June 1st, I had 130,000 Galleons in the principal in my Trust, which gets an addition 10,000 a year on my birthday until I'm twenty-one. That just sits there earning interest at nine percent a year. I can't touch the principal 'til I'm seventeen and then only if I've already spent all the interest which has accrued. On June 1st, that was almost 119,000 Galleons, also earning nine percent. In Muggle terms given the current exchange rate from Pounds to Galleons, I have £877,500 doing nothing but earning about £79,000 a year and about £803,000 to spend which can - if I don't spend it - earn another £72,000 or so. This trunk, everything in it and my new clothes cost about £238,000 leaving me with a spending account of around £564,000. The trunk is paid for, so no debts and no utility payments or any of that. Add to it that I expect to make between £54,000 and £74,000 quid from our farms after taxes and I think I'm doing quite well. Then there are the girls here. I get £65,750 just by marrying them, half into principal and the other half into my spending account and on my birthday my additions to principal will increase from £65,650 to £33,750 per head - £168,750 altogether."

"You're a bloody millionaire!" Mr. Granger exclaimed.

Harry shrugged. "That's just my trust fund. I'm told my main account which I can access when I turn twenty-one is like at least a hundred times larger. I think I can afford to keep my ladies - er - comfortable."

"I should say. You can bloody sit in this box of yours - as impressive as it is - and maybe never work an honest day in your life!"

"'Cept House Potter's never been about resting on the laurels of its ancestors and neither is Harry," Luna protested. "They all had jobs - at least until they became Head of House and took their seats in government which, while that doesn't pay, is a job as well. Even then, many of them still worked a job. We know that from the journals we've read. House Potter is not about a life of leisure but being productive. They got rich over time, each generation adding to what the generation before did."

"We know they enjoyed the benefits of wealth," Harry added. "But they neither threw it around nor threw it away and neither will we. This is - as Hermione explained - a legacy I got from them and one I need to pass one to later generations of Potters and I intend to see that done Sir."

"So you have the means to support these young women," Mr. Granger said. "There's more to a marriage than just that. Do you even know if these other two women are even interested?"

"No sir, nor do we even know if they know about the contracts and their possibilities. We've – Hermione, Luna and I have talked about this. The three of us are soul bonded which in addition to being recognized as a binding marriage when it forms will also bring us closer together in time than might otherwise be the case. We can't say the same's true for the others, but the contracts are now enforceable so we need to go forward with them in any event. However, it's not like they have to truly marry me."

"But you said that's just what the contracts require!"

"They require that we marry. They do not absolutely require that we stay that way."

"Divorce?"

"Annulment," Hermione said. "The marriage is not – um – permanent unless the couple consummate the marriage. No sex and after two years or upon Harry turning twenty-one, whichever is later, the marriage can be annulled and Harry can invalidate the contracts as he would then be Head of House Potter."

"So you're taking them away from their families and into a loveless marriage none of you want?"

"I regret that is a possibility. But I can't force them to love me, can I? Unless they do, unless they want to remain my wives, I won't keep them any longer than necessary, which is still a long time I admit. I … well, I hope it does work out for the best for all of us but I can't say that it will because I don't know. All I can say is I will work at it. In the end, this is and will always be their decision, not mine. We've - the three of us – have already worked out the rules."

"Rules?"

"About boyfriend privileges," Hermione said blushing.

"Come again?"

"Are you sure I want to know about this?" Mr. Granger asked. "While I understand that as married people certain things can happen, but that doesn't mean I want to know about them."

"Then we just won't tell you any details," Hermione said. "What we can say is that nothing is happening right now that you wouldn't approve of. For the time being, unless I would be comfortable with a level of display of affection in front of my parents, it's not happening nor will any more than that happen between Harry and Luna or Harry and the others and even then only when they are ready to do so. As for more intimate displays of affection, I think it will take some time for any of that to happen. After all, I'm not yet fourteen and Harry and Luna are not yet thirteen. That seems far too young, don't you think?"

"You're asking for the wrong person's opinion," Mr. Granger said. "I would think thirty is too young for my daughter…"

"The point is, Mr. Granger," Harry said, "Hermione sets the pace for all of us and within that each girl decides what they will and will not allow and I will respect that."

"You say that now," Mr. Granger said. "In a year or two you'll be chomping at the bit as it were."

"Whether he is or he is not is not important," Hermione said. "Our bond will keep us in line with each other and that will keep Harry in line with the others. If anything, although I have no reason to suspect them, I am more concerned about the other two wanting to move too fast and too early."

"He is The-Boy-Who-Lived to most of the girls at school," Luna agreed. "In a year or two they'll be throwing their knickers at him."

"Great," Harry moaned.

"Although Harry knows I won't be one of those girls," Luna continued. "Then again, it's rather hard to throw knickers at a boy if you usually don't wear any."

"You do at school," Harry said.

"But not at home, as you well know."

"How would he know that," the Grangers asked in unison.

"I told him," Luna said as if it was a normal thing to say.

Hermione felt relieved that Luna didn't say anymore. Although she was not embarrassed about it, she didn't think her parents needed to know that when they were alone in the trunk Luna didn't wear anything at all and Hermione was dressed only long enough each day to make it from her bedroom after her shower to the breakfast table. Luna thought that was just silly but Hermione actually found she enjoyed undressing in front of Harry. She decided to change the topic anyway just to be safe.

"And that leaves us with the last contract," she began.

"What's this?" Robert asked. "Another contract."

"We were shown it this morning," Rose commented. "It's rather … infuriating."

"Annoying is probably a better word," Harry said, "especially after we researched it and found that most of the infuriating parts were fairly common practice. As you know, Mr. Granger, the four contracts we have been discussing were made by my parents with the parents of the young ladies in question…"

"Babies in question I should think," Mr. Granger grumbled.

"True. But such betrothals are not unheard of in this world," Hermione said. "The other thing which is important to keep in mind is that at the time Harry's father was Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. As such only the Head of House can agree to cancel the contract which is why Harry has to go through with this for now because he will not become Head of his House until he's twenty-one. Also recall that all of these contracts were signed and filed as required by April of 1981.

"This fifth Betrothal Contract was signed by Albus Dumbledore on November 11th, 1981 just a few days or so after he was confirmed as Harry's Magical Guardian. While as Magical Guardian he had the authority to enter into a betrothal contract on behalf of his Ward, he does not have the authority to abrogate or otherwise interfere with contracts made by the Head of an Ancient and Noble House. We think that his assumption of guardianship had less to do with our contracts than it does with his desire to place Harry with his so called relatives. There is a clause that suggests there may be more to it, but we've yet to figure it out from the books we've looked through."

"So you don't think he did that to hide these contracts?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"We're giving him the benefit of the doubt for now," Hermione said. "That's not to say we trust him when it comes to us or to Harry. Anyway, while the contract says that the parties – that's Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley – that the parties can abrogate any other betrothals or annul any other marriages that Harry and his betrothed may enter into, it does not mention these other Contracts and even if it did the law says they can't have the authority to interfere with them."

"But did you go through with all of this in that other timeline?" Mr. Granger asked explaining that Mrs. Granger had explained about the meeting with the Tennysons (Flamels) earlier.

"We don't think so," Luna replied. "We also don't think anyone really tried to interfere with them – aside from Harry being left with his relatives of course. We think that for whatever reason we only saw each other as friends in that time so we never became close enough for the bonds to form."

"We do know I married Ginny Weasley," Harry added. "She's the girl this contract says I'm to marry and unlike the other contracts there is no precondition such as the forming of a Soul Bond to set things in motion. In fact, this contract allows Dumbledore or the Weasleys to use magic including potions to get the two of us together if we don't do so ourselves by the time she's fifteen, which would be just before my Sixth Year a little over three years from now. That was rather annoying."

"But not illegal or unusual in these kinds of contracts," Hermione said with a hint of disgust. "But it was the vassalage clause that is unusual."

"Vassalage? You mean like serfs or something?" Mr. Granger asked.

"In the middle ages it would've included serfs. Arguably, it included slaves as well. But it also included nobility. Lesser nobles were often vassals of higher nobles and were all supposed to be vassals to the king. But the notion is similar. The Vassal serves their overlord's interests, or is supposed to at least. The Contract requires Harry to become the Vassal of the Head of the Family of the Bride – those are the exact words pretty much."

"Which is odd," Luna added. "First of all, Ancient and Noble Houses are not vassals to anyone in our world. But what was also odd was the language. It doesn't mention the Weasleys or any other family by name."

"We think a Goblin solicitor wrote it," Harry continued. "It seems innocuous, at least to someone who thinks it says what it means. We think this vassalage clause was because I was being Muggle Raised and Dumbledore or the Weasleys or both were concerned I'd pick up all kinds of crazy Muggle ideas, ideas which would influence how I used my seat on the Wizengamot. We don't know that that's the case, but it seems plausible."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"The easiest thing to do is nothing except avoid the Weasleys starting the summer after my Fifth Year," Harry said. "The problem is it's harder to avoid Hogwarts and goodness knows when or where those potions could be introduced. So long as I manage to avoid consummating a relationship with Ginny long enough, once I'm twenty-one and Head of House Potter in my own right, I could simply abrogate the contract."

"The problem is we don't know why this Contract was made," Hermione said. "It requires enforcement by the time Harry is nineteen and appears that it was designed so there was no easy way out of it. The way out of the other contracts was not to bond with Harry."

"Is there a way out of it?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"There is indeed, although it's more a way around the problem than out of the problem." And she then went on to tell her parents their plan. None of them liked it, but short of committing murder or something equally vile, no one came up with a better idea.


	13. Chapter 13: A Business Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N:

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: "A BUSINESS MEETING…"**

The rest of the visit was spent discussing less disturbing topics, namely the plans for the remainder of the summer. The Grangers had been planning a trip to France beginning on Sunday and ending the last Sunday in July, a little over a month. While Hermione had been there before, that was before Hogwarts when she was little. They decided to go again and hoped to take in some of the magical sites as well which Hermione had planned to use to possibly augment her History of Magic paper. With this change in her life, the Grangers wondered if they should cancel, but Harry reminded them how these trunks worked and that they would still work fine even from France. Australia might be a problem, but France was fine. The Grangers could take one of their access trunks with them and that way Hermione could spend her days with her parents while returning to the trunk in the evenings. Since it was that easy, Mrs. Granger then decided to ask both Harry and Luna to join them as well. They both did. Harry had never really been much of anywhere before and for Luna it was a chance to spend her summer with friends.

After dinner, Dobby delivered some letters that had arrived at Privet Drive while they had been eating. They were from Gringotts. Harry received five such letters while Hermione, Luna and the Grangers received one letter each.

Harry read his.

_Mr. Harry James Potter:_

_WRIT OF SUMMONS_

_Sir, pursuant to request you are requested and required to appear at Gringotts, London at 5:30 P.M., Tuesday, 22 June 1993 to discuss the nature of a Contract between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and House Granger. Your meeting will be held in Conference Room 7. Ask for Accounts Manager Grisha._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Harphorn._

_Director Customer Services._

The letters the others received were practically identical. Harry's other letters had him scheduled for meetings each of the following days regarding the other contracts. They all concluded that this meant that Luna and Hermione would be marrying Harry tomorrow evening and Harry would be dealing with the others by the end of the week. Mrs. Granger noted that the letter was cryptic and, given the circumstances, not very romantic. Luna said that romance and Goblins were probably mutually incompatible terms.

Mrs. Granger insisted on taking them all shopping the next day. Hermione needed a completely new wardrobe as she had outgrown all her clothes over the last year. Luna said she had as well and in the normal course of events sooner or later her Daddy would notice and take her shopping. But Mrs. Granger was insistent on taking Luna along as well. After all both of the girls needed a special dress for that evening and Harry needed a suit and maybe more than one. The Grangers would take the lot of them to dinner following their meeting and the place they were thinking of required a coat and tie. With the plans laid and it getting late, the Grangers took their leave and the three of them soon went to bed.

They awoke the next morning and the Trunk was already running its second seven day Time Compression. Once again, Luna showed up at breakfast with nothing on and Hermione undressed before joining the others at the table. She had gotten used to this choice of attire when they were alone like this, although she always acted like she forgot. The truth was she enjoyed undressing in front of Harry. The days were spent as they had been before with the three of them continuing to explore the gardens, a picnic lunch, swimming lessons for Harry and time in the Library in the later after noon and evenings. They were still hoping to come up with a better plan regarding the final contract although they were all sure there was not a better one to be found. By the end of the week, they decided to instead focus on finishing or revising their summer homework assignments.

On the eighth morning Time Compression ended before the three of them came down for breakfast. Hermione wore a nice summer dress, although it was too tight in places especially up top and saw that Luna was dressed as well.

"How did you remember?" Harry asked when Luna entered.

"Oh," Luna said, "I kind of knew I'd lose track of the days. I've had my elf place a card on the inside of my bedroom door in the mornings while I'm in my shower. A green card tells me we have no place to go today other than our gardens and no visitors will be coming over so I can wear what I want to."

"Which is nothing," Hermione noted.

"True, but it might get chilly in which case nothing would be too little. This morning there was a red card which reminded me we will be going out soon so I got dressed."

"Wearing any knickers?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately. We're going out in the Muggle World shopping, right? My Mum always insisted I wear knickers when we went shopping. She did teach me a notice me not charm when I was seven that keeps people from seeing up my skirts or, should I say, people who I don't want to see what's up there. But I don't use that at Hogwarts where someone might know Finite Incantatum or when we're shopping or when it's chilly outside. Of course, here I don't have to worry about knickers at all which is nice."

The shopping trip seemed to last all day. Mrs. Granger took them into London and they went through several stores, mostly for the girls clothes. Harry had no idea how much they bought. He had a couple of new suits, nothing too fancy seeing as he would probably grow out of them in the next year or so. The girls got practically a whole new wardrobe, dresses, skirts, blouses, shorts, shoes and sandals, slacks and even underwear. They each now had one really nice dress to wear for special occasions, such as this evening. They also had bathing suits. Each girl got a one piece, which Mrs. Granger said was for actual swimming and because each could now wear one they got a two piece suit as well which Mrs. Granger said was for lying in the sun, wading and allowing Harry to ogle them. The suits were for their holiday to France. School uniforms and robes would wait until the end of the Summer.

Wearing their new clothes and, thanks to Dobby, freed from goodness knows how many shopping bags, the four of them entered Diagon Alley and made their way to Gringotts in time for their appointment. They were met in the Lobby by Mr. Granger, Mr. Lovegood and the Tennysons (Flamels). Harry approached a Teller.

"Yes?" the Teller asked looking up from a stack of forms. The Goblins were a curt lot. Customer Service was based upon Account Performance, not pleasantries.

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said. "We have an appointment here with Accounts Manager Grisha."

"Is this the rest of your party or are others expected?"

"As far as I know, we're it."

After a moment where it seemed the Goblin zoned out, he continued. "You are expected. Follow me."

They followed him from the Lobby through a large door. All Harry knew is that it was not the same door he had entered when he was taken to his vault. They were in an ornate corridor and followed the Goblin to another door which the Goblin opened. "Have a seat," the Goblin said. "Accounts Manager Grisha will be with you shortly." The room had a long table with several chairs on either side and one at each end. "Mr. Potter, you will sit at one end of the table. The Grangers shall sit on one side and the Lovegoods at the other."

They took their seats as their escort left. Moments later, two Goblins entered. An older looking one took his seat at the far end of the table and placed a leather bound folder on the table before him. The other Goblin was carrying three similar folders. Once was placed before Harry and the other two before Mr. Granger and Mr. Lovegood. Harry opened it and saw a copy of the two betrothal contracts and some other documents as well.

"By request of House Potter," Grisha began, "you have been summoned here in regards to the betrothal contracts executed between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and House Lovegood and the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and Family Granger said contracts being duly executed, witnessed and filed here at Gringotts on October 15th, 1980 and March 3rd, 1981 respectively. Mr. Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. Lovegood: you are aware of the contracts, their contents and conditions?"

"I am," they all said.

"Mr. Potter asserts that the terms for execution as spelled out in the Contracts have in fact been met. You are all aware of the terms for execution?"

"I am."

"Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood: have you been advised of these contracts?"

"I have," they both said.

"And you two are also aware of the terms of execution?"

"I am."

"Mr. Potter asserts that yesterday, being his Bonding Day the thirteenth Summer Solstice of his life, a Soul Bond has begun to form between himself and Miss Granger. Miss Granger, is that your understanding as well?"

"It is," Hermione anwered.

"Miss Granger, you do know about the concept of Bonding Age?"

"I do."

"You're thirteenth Summer Solstice was June 21st, 1992. Have you had six cycles since menarche?"

Hermione nodded. "My sixth was about a month before that date."

"Miss Lovegood, it is your understanding that a Soul Bond has begun to form between you and Mr. Potter as well?"

"It is," Luna replied.

"Your thirteenth Summer Solstice was yesterday as well. Have you had six cycles since menarche?"

"This past April," Luna replied.

"My assistant will now verify the veracity of your claims. Each of you present shall place a drop of your blood upon the parchment provided." The assistant had a small lancet which he used to prick everyone's left forefinger. Once a drop had fallen upon the parchment, he did something that healed the small cut. He brought the parchment to Grisha who seemed to read it over. "Your identities have been verified. Mr. Potter's assertions as to the fulfillment of the preconditions of the contract have also been verified. You are all aware that pursuant to the terms of the contracts, Mr. Potter is to take Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood as his wives at Law as well as in magic?"

"I am," they all answered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger? As you are Muggles I must ask if you have any reason to believe you were under any form of spell or magical compulsion when you executed this contract?"

"Um," Mr. Granger began.

"Yes?"

"Well, not at that time. Sometime later a wizard took away our memories of that contract and of Harry and Luna and their families."

"It that wizard present in this room?"

"No Sir."

"Is that wizard a signatory or witness to the Contract between your family and the Ancient and Noble House of Potter?"

"No Sir, he's not."

"At this time, do you have any reason to claim House Potter has defrauded you or misrepresented any facts or law to induce you to agree to this Contract or that you were under any other form of threat or compulsion to enter into this Contract?"

"No Sir."

"So you have no legal basis to withdraw your consent to this marriage?"

"Um…"

"Naturally we have reservations," Mrs. Granger said. "But we have no reason to believe we have a legal basis to withdraw consent under Wizard Law."

"Mr. Lovegood? At this time, do you have any reason to claim House Potter has defrauded you or misrepresented any facts or law to induce you to agree to this Contract or that you were any form of threat or compulsion to enter into this Contract?"

"No."

"So your consent to this marriage remains valid?"

"It does."

"As I name the Bride, will the consenting parties please rise? Mr. Potter, as your parents are no longer with us and as you have requested this you may rise in their stead. Hermione Jane Granger?" Harry, Hermione's parents and Hermione rose. "Miss Granger, it is not necessary for you to rise."

"I choose to," she replied.

"So be it. House Potter, do you agree that Harry James Potter shall be lawfully bound to Hermione Jane Granger as Husband to Wife from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"I do."

"Family Granger, do you agree that Hermione Jane Granger shall be lawfully bound to Harry James Potter, Heir Apparent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter as Wife to Husband from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"We do," the parents said. "I do," Hermione added.

"Family Granger, you may be seated. Luna Celeste Lovegood?"

Luna and her father rose.

"House Potter, do you agree that Harry James Potter shall be lawfully bound to Luna Celeste Lovegood as Husband to Wife from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"I do," Harry said.

"House Lovegood, do you agree that Luna Celeste Lovegood shall be lawfully bound to Harry James Potter, Heir Apparent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter as Wife to Husband from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"I do," Luna and Mr. Lovegood said in unison.

"Be seated. Hardaxe?" The assistant produced a black quill and two parchments and placed it before Harry. "Mr. Potter, this is a Certificate of Marriage for you and each of your brides. Please sign at the place designated."

"There's no ink," Harry observed.

"It's a blood quill. It might sting a little but it will use your blood as ink. It is used in all Gringotts magically binding Contracts and documents."

"Bloody hate those things," Mr. Granger grumbled remembering the contract he had signed a little over twelve years earlier.

It did sting, but the documents were signed. The assistant then brought one document to the Grangers and the other to Mr. Lovegood. As they signed, Grisha spoke. "Although it is not required, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood are free to sign as well if they so desire." The two girls did and once they finished signing, the documents were returned to Grisha who looked them over. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, please rise." They did. "As all of the conditions of the Contract have been met and you are of Bonding Age and as magical oaths and contracts between the families have been exchanged, by Wizarding Law I now Proclaim you Husband and Wife. Mr. Potter, as you have titles, do you wish to bestow one upon Mrs. Potter?"

"Countess of Finchley," Harry said. "She's a Muggle Born and it is recognized in the Muggle World."

Grisha wrote something upon the parchment. "Mrs. Potter, upon your Seventeenth Birthday you shall have the title of Countess Finchley with all rights thereto appertaining. Although it is not required, at this time you may kiss the Bride, Lord Apparent Potter."

Harry did.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood please rise." The Goblin then declared them as lawfully Husband and Wife and Harry named her as Countess of Hwicca, which she could assume on her seventeenth birthday. After they kissed they were asked to be seated again.

"That concludes the marriage rite," Grisha said. "Now to business. First off, do you want an announcement made to the general public?"

"Is it necessary, Sir?" Hermione asked.

"Until all parties are seventeen, no it is not. If you choose to make no announcement at this time, you may retain your maiden name until your seventeenth birthday, Mrs. Potter. Gringotts will, however, be required to advise Headmaster Dumbledore as to your change in status."

"When?"

"Not later than the morning of September 1st."

"I think that would be a good idea for all of us," Harry noted.

"As for other documentation, do you require passports?"

"Magical or Muggle?" Hermione asked.

"We can provide both and yes the Muggle ones are perfectly valid."

"I have a Muggle one," Hermione said. "But not a magical one."

"If you associate in both worlds it is prudent to have both."

"A magical passport, please."

"A Muggle one then," Luna added. "I have my magical one. It's still valid, isn't it?"

"It is indeed," Grisha replied.

"I guess I need both," Harry added.

"You passports, your copies of your Marriage Certificated and your bank cards, valid in both magical and muggle shops and places of business, shall be delivered to Mr. Potter's residence by owl tomorrow. The Ladies cards have a 5,000 galleon limit per year to be drawn against Mr. Potter's active account; that's £33,750 which I hope is more than adequate. Mr. Potter? Pursuant to the terms of the Potter Trust, 10,000 Galleons shall be added to your Principal and 10,000 to your spending account by close of business tomorrow and you're advised that your annual contribution to Principal due this July 31st shall be increased to 15,000 Galleons. That concludes our scheduled business. Unless you wish to make a withdrawal or engage in another transaction, my assistant shall escort you out."

"Well, that was romantic," Mrs. Granger said sarcastically once they were outside.

"Felt like a business meeting with solicitors," Mr. Granger added.

"They're Goblins," Clara (Perenelle) said. "They're idea of romance usually includes a beheading or dismemberment. They consider business as art. It counts, 'though."

"I don't know what I was expecting really," Hermione said somewhat disappointed. "Honestly, I hadn't really thought about that yet, even after learning about this. But it was pretty – well, I guess I expected some kind of … vows, maybe? A nice wedding dress? A ring? Something fancier."

"I didn't even get to get naked," Luna said.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Granger said.

"My parents married under an ancient magical rite. It's not done very often at all but … It's always done on the Summer Solstice in a secluded place of powerful, natural magic. The Bride wears nothing and to conclude the rite the couple does it."

"Um…" Harry began.

"I think I'll pass on that one," Hermione seemed to finish. "I think that can wait until after when the couple is alone."

"Oh, but they are," Luna said. "The guests are asked to step beyond the wards for the naked bits. Basically, the couple only sees them at the nuptial feast. Only the binder is present. But I see your point. I'd want my friends to be there to see the whole thing, now that I have one and the more I think about the more that time should be private, yes I see your point. It probably would make others uncomfortable too. The dress and flowers and stuff sounds nice too."

"Were you thinking of having it that way?" Harry asked.

"No. Not really. I'd like Daddy and Grammy and Grampy to be there. They were here, after all and under that rite they couldn't be there."

"We're pleased we could be here for this, Little One," George (Nicholas) said. "In the other time, we passed on to our next incarnation long before you married. As it is, our time is limited. Our Great Granddaughter is married. In all of our incarnations, you are the first Great Granddaughter who married with us there and we thank you for that. But, lest Dumbledore become suspicious, George and Clara Tennyson will not see the New Year. This time next year, we will be two young people – younger than you are today – under new lives and new names."

"I … I don't want you to go," Luna whimpered.

"You know who we are now, Little One. We are leaving and yet we are not leaving, are we? Maybe one day in the future we will let you know who we are again. We did it in that other time and who knows, we may just do it in this time. But you will know that we are out there and this time we will be watching you."

"From a discreet position," Clara (Perenelle) said.

"Don't worry, Little One," George continued. "We're not leaving today. You will see us again before the summer is over."

"It'll be a sad day for me," Luna said softly.

"Yes," Clara agreed. "You're a very special child and it will be sad for us as well. But we've decided that you deserve a chance to say goodbye rather than read about our passing on in the paper as has often been the case in our pasts."

"Little One," George continued, "we know you will miss us as George and Clara. We don't want you to be sad for we really haven't gone away forever, have we? On September 1st of next year – your Third Year – a boy and girl will be among the First Years awaiting to be sorted into their houses. You won't recognize our names or even our faces. We can't tell you what House we'll be in 'cause we don't even know that. Over the centuries we've attended Hogwarts six times and have been in each House at least once. I'd like to say you can rule out Ravenclaw as we were in that House our last two times through. Slytherin – our First House – has lost its way long ago and, while there are some who exemplify its virtues of ambition and cunning, most are legacy students who lack either trait. But we can't say which House we'll be in just that the two of us are always in the same House."

"You shouldn't have told them that," Clara said. "You know that Hogwarts students tend to bet on things like that."

"True, but unless we tell them who we are – or Dumbledore outs us again – how could they collect on the bet? Now Little One, can you do us a favor?"

Luna could only nod afraid of her voice.

"Do not be sad. After all, a Bride should not be sad on her wedding day. As I said, you shall see us again before we move on."

"I'll t-try," Luna choked.

Luna had cheered up by the time their dinner at the nice restaurant was over. It was a first for Luna. She had never eaten in a restaurant before either magical or not. She said that other people's cooking always upset her Daddy's tummy so they never went although she opined it was the weirdness of it all. Luna, however, enjoyed her meal very much and seemed less upset about Grammy and Grampy leaving her.

"It's more like they're moving away. People do do that, don't they? And at least we can say goodbye properly. Besides, it'll be fun trying to figure out who they are this next time."

"Do you think you can?" Harry asked.

"Given time. They may hide themselves very well, but they probably will still have very subtle clues, things about them that someone who knows them very well and notices such things will figure out given time."

"Dumbledore?"

"He got lucky last time," George said. "That and we made a small mistake with the records. Truth is, if the records survive scrutiny – and they will – he's not very observant when it comes to people. He thinks in terms of grand designs and great trends, not in terms of the minutia of the individual, or at least that's our observation."

The morning after the "wedding" found the three "newlyweds" once again under Time Compression and it proceeded much in the same way the last two had, including dressing habits. Although occasionally Luna seemed to be more introspective than she seemed before, for the most part she was as carefree and full of laughter as the other two remembered which they both hoped was a good thing. When the real Wednesday finally rolled around, Harry found Luna in her "at home suit" at the breakfast table.

"Did I miss a day?" Hermione asked when she arrived.

"No," Luna said. "We're not in Time Compression and there was a Red Card on my bedroom door to remind me of that but Flower told me there will be no guests until Harry gets back from Gringotts late this afternoon and then it might only be that new girl. Gives me hours to enjoy the day before I need to wear anything."

"Good point," Hermione said and soon joined them in her own "at home suit." "We'll dress after you leave for Gringotts," Hermione told Harry. "It's just you that's going, right?"

"That's my understanding," Harry said as he buttered his toast.

At 5:30 that afternoon, Harry was once again sitting at the conference room table at Gringotts. This time he was alone. For the first time, he had activated the Floo system in his trunk and traveled directly from the Trunk to Gringotts. He had one of his elves bring another one of his access trunks for the Greengrasses because this was the easiest way to key them into his wards. Besides, it was also the easiest way to explain things to them as he was sure they would ask about his living arrangements in some form.

"Mr. Potter?" Grisha asked as he personally placed another leather bound folder in front of Harry. "Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass have asked for a private audience for you before they bring in their daughter. Is that acceptable to you?"

"If it's not otherwise improper, whatever makes them more comfortable."

Grisha nodded. A few minutes later a couple who looked to be a little younger than the Grangers entered, but it was always hard to tell and adult witch or wizard's real age. They took their seats at the table and folders were placed before them. Mr. Greengrass looked through the papers while it seemed Mrs. Greengrass was sizing Harry up. Harry was, of course, wearing an inexpensive but nice looking Muggle suit while the Greengrasses were dressed in formal Wizarding Robes.

"An interesting choice of attire," Mrs. Greengrass said formally.

"Vivian," Mr. Greengrass said, "it's impolite seeing how we have not properly exchanged introductions. I am David Greengrass and this is my wife Vivian."

"Harry Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass – or would you prefer or do you have another title?"

"See?" he said turning to his wife. "He may dress Muggle, but he has better manners than many boys his age, does he not? Apropos nothing of importance, your attire is of interest."

"It is proper business attire in the Muggle World," Harry said. "By no means top drawer although it did cost about 250 Quid which is a lot for a suit I probably won't be able to wear more than a few months."

"We were under the impression you were raised in our world," Mrs. Greengrass said.

"Oh? Pardon me Ma'am, but how so?"

"Our daughter told us that is what Professor Snape has told his House – that you were raised in your Ancestral Manor…"

"What an idiot!" Harry laughed. "Not you're daughter, Ma'am," he quickly added. "I'm talking about Snape. If I have and Ancestral Manor, I have no memory of it. I was raised in the Muggle World. Professor Dumbledore left me with my closest Muggle relatives after my parents died. Didn't even know I was a wizard or that magic was real 'til my eleventh birthday."

"That doesn't sound right…" Mrs. Greengrass said.

"Probably wasn't, Ma'am. What little I have learned since school ended suggests there were several others I should have gone to. The only Muggles would have been the Grangers. Apparently, my parents hoped I'd go there because they felt that an … er … appreciation of our Muggle heritage would be important somehow. Instead, I get sent to what I've heard described as the worst sort, not that I disagree with that - their being the worst sort that is."

"And you expect our daughter to live there?"

Harry smiled. "This is probably a silly question but have you ever heard of a Travel Trunk, specifically a Deluxe Model Manor Travel Trunk?"

"Travel Trunks? I assume it's a live-in trunk?" Mr. Greengrass asked.

Harry nodded. "I got it just after leaving school for this summer. It's in a heavily Muggle proofed room at those relatives house, I live in it now. It's much nicer and more relaxing and neither I nor anyone else has cause or reason to ever deal with my relations. If they ever try anything, well my Head Elf will deal with them and they won't like it at all."

"If it's the Trunk or kind of Trunk I'm thinking of," Mr. Greengrass said, "it's nice to know our daughter will not be living in a hovel."

"It's pretty nice. The gardens are quite expansive and there are rooms in the House itself that are larger than my relatives' home. Much nicer than my previous accommodations. My bedroom at that place is only eight by twelve, but it's larger than where I slept before I got my Hogwarts letter. That was only about four by six, I think. Then again, that was meant to be a cupboard…"

"Muggles put their children in cupboards?" Mrs. Greengrass exclaimed.

"No. _Those _Muggle put me in a cupboard for nearly ten years. They are not normal. And I really don't want to talk about them as your daughter will never have to deal with them or their attitudes. I only mention this so that you don't get the impression I've been spoiled my whole life."

"Do you even have to be there now that you're in our world? We do have plenty of room at our home, even with five children."

"Really? Sorry Mrs. Greengrass but I really do not know much about your daughter other than she's in Slytherin and Slytherins and Gryffindors get on so famously," he added with a hint of sarcasm. "On the plus side of the book, as far as I know she doesn't associate with Malfoy and that lot. She seems to prefer to ignore Gryffindors rather than try and rile them."

"I'd probably disown her if she did associate with that upstart," Mr. Greengrass mumbled.

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Mrs. Greengrass said. "We have five daughter and Daphne is the oldest. Astoria is set to start Hogwarts in the fall. Jenna just turned nine. Cynthia is six and Michelle will be five in September. And yes, we were trying for a son. It just didn't work out that way."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be," Mr. Greengrass said. "We do love our children very much. It was for that reason we entered this contract with your family. The eldest daughter in a family such as ours is a … commodity on the betrothal market. Naturally, the conditions bringing this contract into play were hardly certain to occur, but the contract was with a family we can respect and not one that was likely to press us into an unhealthy situation."

"I'd like to say I understand, but until Monday I knew nothing about any of this, Sir. I am learning 'though and think I can see your point. Does she know about this?"

"She knows she is betrothed," Mrs. Greengrass said. "She's known since she was old enough to understand such things. She also knows the agreement has certain preconditions which might never come to pass and that if they did not she was safe from another family's attempt to negotiate for her hand but if they did that we approved of the match in principal."

"Excuse me, Ma'am. In principal?"

"It is one of the reasons we asked to see you first, Mr. Potter," Mr. Greengrass said. "While we know we can't abrogate this agreement, we wanted to have a feel for how involved we would need to be in her life going forward. There are a lot of wizards who might … er … take advantage of such a situation if you take my meaning."

"Excuse me, Sir?"

"Treat her poorly, as little more than a plaything for one. Have her bear and heir and then ignore her from then on is another. Generally not let her become the witch she can become. It happens often enough and we never wished that for our daughter. We knew your parents and knew they would never raise you to be that kind of man, but your life since they died is a mystery to everyone it seems."

"As for your first thing, I'm not even thirteen, Sir…"

"That doesn't mean you're too young to take advantage…"

"I will not take advantage of any of my ladies, Sir. Maybe other wizards think it's okay, but I think it's wrong. If and when we … er … become … er … intimate, it will because it is what both she and I want and we're both ready for it. Even then, the rules in my House are that Hermione will be first in that regard and while she hasn't been specific, she wants to wait for now and I respect that. I hadn't even thought about marriage before this week when this all came up, much less children. I want that, but I thought I had years before I had to worry about that and, as far as that's concerned I still do. I won't allow that to interfere with my ladies' educational desires and I understand that once they get that way, they're out of Hogwarts. As to how many children, I think that should be up to my entire family. I understand these contracts were in place in case of these bonds but should that come to pass … and it did … it was also to expand the Potter line so that it's no longer at risk. Seems to me that's more than one child per witch, right? But again, it's up to her and I will abide by her decisions in such things, Sir. It might not be the easy thing to do and all, but it is the right thing to do. For now, I just hope we can be friendly and maybe become friends…"

The couple looked at each other and Mrs. Greengrass nodded.

"Okay, we will take you at your word on this," Mr. Greengrass said.

"Is there a reason why your trunk is at those Muggles' place?" Mrs. Greengrass asked.

Harry nodded. "I don't have to interact with them at all and nor do I expect your daughter to. There're very powerful wards in place that were set up when I was left there. They protect me from dark magic, I'm told. So long as they remain active, magic can't kill me directly. It can hurt me and if it were to cause a non-magical injury that could be a problem but…"

"That's how you survived that night?"

"We don't know. We think it's related somehow. Anyway, the wards need me to be present there for at least thirty days a year to recharge. I'd rather be anywhere else and fortunately so long as my trunk is there and I'm living in the trunk I'm there for the wards but really I'm somewhere else actually."

"So you're stuck in the trunk all the time?"

"No Ma'am. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I only need to be present within the wards for eight to ten hours a day. Basically, I only need to sleep there. I have three access trunks connected. One is in Luna's room at her home in Devon and two are in the Granger home near Slough or Windsor or some such place. Although we haven't truly taken advantage yet – it's only been a couple of days and we're still getting used to all of this – we intend to. I have an access trunk here for you and your daughter or daughters. Daphne will get a second trunk when she heads back to school if she wants. If you think it prudent to allow your daughters to come and visit from time to time I'll need to know their full names to add them to the potential guest list and once that's done you can key them in. I already have your names and Daphne's full name from the Contract. The truth is, if this went well today I was going to invite you over for a visit this Saturday. Likewise, it's my plan to join the Grangers on their trip to France starting Sunday. They'll be there for a month or so, but my ladies and I will spend our nights in the trunk and our days in France."

"You were going to invite us?" Mrs. Greengrass asked.

"Actually, I am. Wrong tense, Ma'am. I'm a little nervous."

"I think we'd like that."

"Yes Ma'am."

"You say you only need to be there until the wards are ready?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Yes Sir."

"And when they are?"

"As soon as my Head Elf tells me they're fully charged, my trunk and I are out of there."

"And where will you go?"

"The Grangers have invited us to their place. Apparently, Mr. Granger wants to teach me to play golf although Hermione says he just wants to torment me."

Mr. Greengrass chuckled suspiciously while Mrs. Greengrass shook her head.

"We don't have much contact with the Muggle World," she said. "But my Husband does have his dirty little secret and that's the fact that he plays that silly game as often as he can."

"No magic," he said, "unless my partner's a total jerk. It's no fun with magic otherwise. I may be tempted to torment you on the links myself. Right then, on to other matters. I've reviewed your financial statement provided by the bank. This is your Trust Account?"

"It is Sir. I'm not yet old enough to get an outline of the main Potter accounts and properties, apparently."

"Our daughter will have access to this?"

"Up to 5,000 a year until I turn twenty-one and can access the full account."

"Maybe we should not tell her that bit," Mr. Greengrass said. "Just keep her on her old allowance and leave it at that."

"Why?" Harry and Mrs. Greengrass asked.

"She's a girl. Give her 5,000 in credit and access to a clothing store and poof, it's gone!"

"David," Mrs. Greengrass growled, "she's proven to be responsible with her money."

"And I cringe whenever you and the girls say you're going to do 'some' shopping."

"David, not once have we spent anywhere near a tenth of that much…"

"I was just joking. Still, I think I made the point that it's a lot of money."

"You could have been more tactful. You'll give the boy the impression that our daughter is a spendthrift when she is in fact quite frugal."

"Sorry. Well, I think I am satisfied. You?"

Mrs. Greengrass nodded.

"Account Manager Grisha, has our daughter arrived?"

"She's just outside."

"Unless you have anything else, Mr. Potter, I believe we can begin."

Harry could only nod.

"Because this is not a marriage based upon a Soul Bond," Grisha said, "the procedure will be different than yesterday, Mr. Potter. Do not expect the Bride to speak."

Harry nodded again.

Daphne Greengrass was escorted into the room. She too was wearing formal robes which had a way of hiding any woman's figure. Harry had not really paid much attention to her in the past and he was surprised at how pretty the blonde witch was. She was told to sit between her parents and across from Harry. There was a confused look on her face that seemed to become more so when she saw Harry.

"You have been summoned here at the request of the Heir Apparent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and pursuant to the terms of a Contract executed by the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and House Greengrass on June 23rd, 1981, said contract being for the betrothal of Daphne Renee Greengrass to aforesaid Heir Apparent Harry James Potter. There being preconditions to execution, such summons being issued only when such preconditions were met, a meeting before this time was not necessitated. I Grisha verify that the preconditions of the aforementioned Contract between House Potter and House Greengrass were met on June 22nd, 1993 at Gringotts London. Who speaks on behalf of House Potter and the Bridegroom?"

"I do," Harry said.

"Who speaks on behalf of House Greengrass and the Bride?"

"I do," Mr. Greengrass said.

"My assistant shall now draw blood to verify your identities and particulars."

"I swear, they want to bleed me dry," Harry quipped getting a snort from Mr. Greengrass. Daphne just looked on in bewilderment.

Moments later, Grisha was inspecting the parchment. "The identities of the Principals have been verified. Mr. Harry James Potter, having attained Bonding Age this past June 21st and, as specified in the Contract having initiated a Soul Bond with Hermione Jane Granger and Luna Celeste Lovegood and having married them pursuant to the relevant laws and rites has completed the preconditions of this contract. Mr. Greengrass, do you dispute this finding?"

"I do not."

"The blood verification and our records indicate that Miss Daphne Renee Greengrass surpassed her thirteenth Summer Solstice last June 31st, 1992 and her sixth monthly cycle last July. Mr. Greengrass, do you dispute these findings?"

"I do not."

"As there is no dispute to the findings, Bride and Bridegroom are found to be of Bonding Age. As Bridegroom, by virtue of his Soul Bonds and eligibility by such bonds for Plural Marriage, and by virtue of such marriages is deemed legally of marriageable age, such legal age extends to the Bride despite her minority. Do the family spokeswizards dispute this finding based upon your laws?"

"I do not," Harry and Mr. Greengrass said.

"Mr. Potter's assertions as to the fulfillment of the preconditions of the contract have been verified. The parties to such contract are all aware that pursuant to the terms of the contracts, Mr. Potter is to take Miss Greengrass as his Wife at Law?"

"I am," they answered. Harry looked at Daphne who appeared to be silently crying.

"Mr Greengrass, at this time, do you have any reason to claim House Potter has defrauded you or misrepresented any facts or law to induce you to agree to this Contract or that you were under any other form of threat or compulsion to enter into this Contract?"

"I do not."

"Will the parties please rise?" Harry was a little surprised when Daphne stood knowing from before it was not required of her. "House Potter, do you agree that Harry James Potter shall be lawfully bound to Daphne Renee Greengrass as Husband to Wife from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"I do."

"Mr. Greengrass, on behalf of your family do you agree that Daphne Renee Greengrass shall be lawfully bound to Harry James Potter, Heir Apparent as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter as Wife to Husband from this day forward until death shall part them from this world?"

"I do," he said.

"You may be seated." After they sat, the Marriage Certificates and Blood Quill were brought forward. This time there was no explanation as Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass signed and, after a whisper from her mother, Daphne signed as well followed by Harry.

"Bloody hate those things already," Harry said when he was done.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass, please rise." They did. "As all of the conditions of the Contract have been met and you are of Bonding Age and as magical oaths and contracts between the families have been exchanged, by Wizarding Law I now proclaim you Husband and Wife. Mr. Potter, as you have titles, do you wish to bestow one upon Mrs. Potter?"

"Countess of Abengale," Harry said.

Grisha wrote something upon the parchment. "Mrs. Potter, upon your Seventeenth Birthday you shall have the title of Countess Abengale with all rights thereto appertaining. Although it is not required, at this time you may kiss the Bride, Lord Apparent Potter."

He looked at Daphne who gave his a slight nod despite all of this. When he walked up to her, she only offered her cheek, but that was far more than he expected. He kissed it and to his surprise she kissed his briefly. "We're going to have a long talk, aren't we?" she whispered.

"Of course," he replied.

"This concludes the Rite of Marriage," Grisha said. "Mr. Potter, the same conditions and services as last time?"

"Of course."

"Mrs. Potter, it is the wish of House Potter to keep this quiet for the time being…"

"We expected as much," Mr. Greengrass said.

"That being said, you may retain your maiden name until your seventeenth birthday. There will be no public announcement of this marriage until such time or such time as the two of you should hold a public wedding ceremony whichever is sooner. Hogwarts will not be informed of your change in status until the morning of September 1st of this year. In other matters, do you have a magical or muggle passport?"

"A … a magical one," Daphne said.

"Your Muggle Passport and Gringotts charge card with a 5,000 Galleon per year spending limit drawn upon the House Potter accounts should arrive in tomorrow's post. Mr. Potter, she will be staying at your current residence?"

He looked at Daphne's parents who gave him a slight smile before nodding. "Yes."

"Is there any other business?"

"Would it be possible for us to use this room for a few more minutes?"

"We have no problem with that provided you violate none of our laws."

"Is keying a person into an access trunk a violation?"

"No, so long as the trunk is removed from the premises when you depart."

"The Greengrasses will be taking it with them. Would it be a violation for Daphne and I to exit to my home via the trunk?"

"Again, not so long as the trunk is removed."

"Thank you, Sir." With that the Goblin left.

He spent a few minutes explaining to all three of them how to key themselves into the trunk and Mrs. Greengrass handed him a parchment with their other daughters' names upon it.

"Blood activation?" Mr. Greengrass asked when he was pricked.

"Goblin based wards, among other protections," Harry said.

"That's really top notch!"

"Thank you, Sir. Although I swear they want to bleed me dry." He then opened the trunk. "Dobby?" he called out.

"Sir!" the elf said appearing in the room wearing his most formal uniform.

"This is my Head Elf, Dobby. Daphne will be joining us for dinner. Please let Hermione and Luna know we'll be there directly and please see to it that Daphne's things are moved to her rooms."

"Rooms?" she asked.

"You'll see."

"It being dones, Sir," and the elf popped away.

"Daphne?" Harry asked. When she turned to him he continued. "I've asked your family over for a visit this Saturday, if that's okay with you."

She could only nod in reply.

"You may visit them tomorrow if you like…"

"We appreciate that, Mr. Potter," Mrs. Greengrass said, "but I think it best she use the next two days to get settled in, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "After you?" he indicated to Daphne.

"Is this a trick?" she asked.

"It's just a ladder. If I go first … well I'd prefer not to start things off with any accusation that I might have looked up your dress…"


	14. Chapter 14: Bewilderment

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Actually, it's not computers that suck on occassion. It's Microsoft.

**CHAPTER 14: BEWILDERMENT**

Phineas Nigellus Black had been the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black for well over two decades before he was found murdered in Knockturn Alley in 1925 in what authorities believed was a robbery gone bad. He was also, at that time, the most visible and vocal advocate of Pureblood Supremacy within the Wizengamot and the most reviled Headmaster in Hogwarts history which was probably a step up or step down depending upon ones point of view from having been the most reviled Professor in memory. His murder was never solved in part because he had so many enemies there were few to rule out as potential suspects. In 1985, there was a brief furor when a book was published entitled _I Killed Phineas Nigellus Black, _written by a Muggle Born who had died the year before until it was revealed that the Muggle Born in question had only been six years old in 1925.

Phineas Nigellus had advocated that Purebloods should have large families so that there would be a large pool of potential matches and so that one day there would be more Purebloods than those of inferior lineage, much to the annoyance of a significant minority within the Wizengamot – including the majority of Ancient and Noble Houses – which either were then or had historically been Half Bloods. But in having five children, at least in that respect he practiced his own philosophy. Not that any of his children liked or respected him. His second son, probably the only true Slytherin of the lot, acted the dutiful Pureblood bigot for years and managed through his father to attain a life time, non-hereditary appointment to the Wizengamot where he immediately turned against his father's politics arguing for Muggle protection laws and equal rights without regard to blood status, election of government officials by all the Wizarding citizens of age and other "radical" ideas. Naturally, Phineas disowned him.

Ironically, were it not for the disowned Phineas Black, the historic Black name might well die out seeing as the only other male descendant of Phineas Nigellus Black still bearing the family name was currently serving a life sentence in Azkaban Prison. The other remaining Blacks were the disowned Phineas's grandson, two great-grandsons and five great-great grandchildren, four of whom were at Hogwarts although not one was in Slytherin. Another great-grandchild had been Vivian Black until her marriage to her second cousin, also one of Phineas Black's great-grandchildren David Greengrass. It was an arranged marriage but one designed to avoid any "entanglements" with the growing supremacy movement and, by the time Vivian finished Hogwarts the two of them were by no means opposed to the match. They would be married for seven years before their oldest daughter was born. Part of this was due to the war which, when Vivian finished school in 1973 was already raging. The other part of their delay was financial.

Thanks in no small part to the disinheritance of Phineas Black the Muggle supporter, his line of descendants were forced to make a go of it without the backing of a wealthy head of house and had to earn a living on their own. A handful entered the Ministry as Aurors or such. Most avoided government jobs. David and his wife began their post Hogwarts career working in shops, living with his parents. By 1976, the war was having a disruptive influence on local magical manufacture and David Greengrass saw an opportunity. He opened what was for all intents and purposes an import company that sold foreign made products to local shops. At first it was just he and his wife, but by 1979 even as other shops closed, his business while not flourishing, had expanded to the point where he could hire employees, move out of his parent's home into a flat and he and his wife could afford to start their family.

The Greengrasses were by no means wealthy, but they now had a nice home in the country which they had bought when Daphne was five. They even had two House Elves. Daphne's Hogwarts tuition was paid in full before she started school and that was no mean feat. They had remained neutral during the War mainly because they were too busy to get involved with either side but also because they were from a disinherited line which meant they had nothing to really offer either side. They also kept quiet as to if or whether they had leanings one way or another. The truth was they were opposed to Voldemort and his Death Eaters who they saw as a bunch of wealthy socialites with too much time on their hands or low life upstarts with nothing to lose. Still, as they were not clearly in the other camp and disinherited or not they were seen as Blacks, socially if not politically they were "courted" by those same wealthy socialites and low life upstarts about betrothal contracts for their yet to even be conceived children.

As a Sixth Year Ravenclaw Prefect, Vivian had gotten to know the First Year Gryffindor Lily Potter and, to the extent that she could took the brilliant Muggle Born witch under her wing. They became friends and it was through this friendship that they secretly began negotiations with the Potters in 1981 for the Betrothal of their first daughter. The nature of the betrothal kept their daughter off the market while at the same time did not commit them to the Potters' side of the war due to the contingencies in the contract and the fact that their daughter would not be the only wife – not that either were known to anyone outside of the Potters and Greengrasses. In the event that somehow the strange circumstances necessary occurred, they both considered it a good match for their eldest.

Daphne knew of the existence of a betrothal contract between her and somebody since she was seven. She knew it was contingent upon certain events coming to pass, events her parents believed were highly unlikely. She also knew that her parents had no real qualms if she should one day have to go through with the marriage anyway. She was raised by parents from old, magical families and thus was raised knowing that arranged marriages were likely. She might not have liked it, few people truly did even if it was the common practice. She also knew it could be a good thing under the right circumstances seeing as her parents were clearly fond of each other and of her and her sisters despite their arranged marriage. What she did not know was to whom she was betrothed or that there was a possibility she might marry before she was sixteen. But as she was magically raised even in a somewhat progressive family, she also was taught what being a wife could mean. Whether she liked her husband or not, she was expected to take to his bed and bear his children and she knew the former could be expected as early as the night of their marriage, regardless of her age or whether she wanted to do that or not.

She had been told that day why she was accompanying her parents to Gringotts. She had been told it had to do with her betrothal and was told to dress in formal robes. This was not particularly worrisome as a first meeting with one's betrothed was considered a formal affair in polite society. She still was not told who it was or whether this was more than her formal introduction. Part of her feared that she would enter Gringotts a Greengrass and leave as someone else. Worse, she feared, despite her mother's assurances to the contrary, that her betrothed was much older than her. She was, quite frankly, stunned to see who it was.

Like any child raised in magical Britain at the time, of course she knew who Harry Potter was and had heard of him for as long as she could remember. When she was much younger, she even read some of the books, although she found them to be so fantastical as to be unbelievable even before he showed up as part of her First Year class. She was sorted into Slytherin and he was sorted into Gryffindor and it was clear within days that those two Houses disliked each other on principal. She didn't truly see why, except that they did. The problem for her was, with the exception of her best friend whom she had known for some years, she didn't like anyone in her House and that included her Head of House. But as Slytherins did not openly associate with other Houses this meant her only source of information about anyone else was either her own personal observations or whatever tripe her Housemates where saying at any given time. The general belief in her House was that Potter was a typical Gryffindor – not terribly bright, foolhardy and born to dislike Slytherins. It was also believed he was a spoiled, rich kid. She knew that House Potter was wealthy, but aside from an expensive broom that she knew he had received from his own Head of House, nothing indicated wealth. If anything, he looked poorer than the boy he always hung out with.

Moreover, as the scion from one of the oldest magical families in Britain, in many ways he acted more like a Muggle Born or a first generation Hogwarts student. Of the ten Gryffindors in her year, Harry was one of four who had never said anything mean to her, the others being the Muggle Born Hermione Granger who, behind her back naturally, was more likely to be called the Bane of Ravenclaw than a Mudblood after it was learned that she was at the top of their year as it had been over ten years since that spot had ever been held by a non-Ravenclaw in any year; Neville Longbottom was another, although he seemed so shy there was no way to tell if he was truly nice or too tongue tied to say anything nice or otherwise; and the other was Parvati Patil whose parents were immigrants. That Harry Potter was at the very least rude to Draco Malfoy and his cronies, while it might be a shock to them, was hardly a surprise to her. That's not to say Harry was friendly to her, but he was no less polite to her than he was to students from other houses.

Seeing Potter seated at the other side of the table had stunned her. What stunned her even more was it seemed not only as if he was getting along with her parents, who seldom warmed up to anyone quickly, but that they might actually like him. And, before she truly knew what was going on, when the Goblins began their blood tests to hear him joking around with her father left her speechless and confused. Before she could even think, she realized this was not a meeting to discuss the betrothal, but to execute the marriage. She was overwhelmed with so many emotions: fear, frustration, a sense of betrayal, confusion, sadness and, in a way even relief, that she could not help but cry. It all seemed to be over so quickly and so unceremoniously that there was even a small sense of loss as she felt that if she was going to be packed off as a thirteen year old bride to a boy she barely knew at all, she should at least have had a proper wedding. She forced herself to remember her upbringing in the end when her mother whispered a reminder. But as she descended the ladder into that trunk, she wondered whether she was descending into some kind of hell.

She was silent as she followed him to the door after he descended behind her. It opened into a huge room and an Elf was standing there as if waiting for them.

"Master Harry, Mistress Daphne, dinner is ready and will be served in the Informal Dining Room."

"Thank you Higgins," Harry said. "Well, I was going to show you around a bit, but that can wait. This way."

She didn't say anything, merely followed him looking at the place as he led her from that room which he called the Entry Hall into the Great Hall pointing out the Parlors, the Game Room, Library and finally through the Formal Dining Room to a room beyond. She was confused. The paintings and tapestries spoke of age, but the place looked brand new as if it had been built yesterday or something. It lacked any kind of lived in feel to it. "Surely this isn't your Manor," she began.

"Don't know if I even have one, although everyone thinks I do so maybe I do. I moved here the day we got back from Hogwarts – well the day we Muggle Raised got back at any rate. Believe it or not I wasn't kidding. This is actually a trunk. And this," he said, "is the Informal Dining Room where we usually take our meals – except for lunch of course."

They entered a much smaller room that seemed almost cozy compared to the rest of this place. There was a table set for four people and he led her to a chair and held it for her as she sat. He took the seat across from her.

"You eat lunch in that other room?" she asked still unable to gather her thoughts for this was all happening faster than she could process it.

"Picnics in the gardens," Harry said. "Ah Ladies!" he said.

Naturally, Daphne thought, my back's to the door.

"Ladies, as you can guess this is Daphne Greengrass or Potter if you will, Countess designate of Abengale. Daphne, this is Hermione, Countess designate of Finchley and the former Luna Lovegood – she's a year behind us in Ravenclaw – Countess designate of Hwicca."

Daphne saw the two girls, both in nice and very new looking sundresses.

"Bit overwhelming, isn't it," Luna said.

"Um…"

"So how did it go?" Hermione asked as Harry sat the two of them down.

"Well, I had a surprising pleasant conversation with Daphne's parents before it happened. Kind of wish she was there. She came in right after and Grisha didn't waste any time with pleasantries or anything. She looked … upset?"

"Confused," Daphne said. "Angry at the lot of you, scared, a bunch of other feelings as well."

"How you found out was not my choice," Harry said. "I would have preferred you had some … um … warning."

"I've known about the betrothal since I was seven," Daphne said trying to regain her composure. "I didn't know any of the details, not even who my betrothed was. I will admit I was pleased it wasn't Malfoy, or any other boy in Slytherin for that matter, but don't think I am thrilled about this."

"Bit of a shock for us as well," Hermione said. "When we woke up Monday morning, none of knew anything about any of this, not even our parents. Turns out someone obliviated them or something like that years ago and probably me as well. We learned about the contracts, the Soul Bonds, the fact that the soul bonds were forming and all of that Monday morning."

"And two of us were Muggle raised," Harry said, "where our ages, the fact that our parents chose this for us and that I can even have more than one wife at one time are … well, we're all too young, arranged marriages are practically unheard of and something like a Plural Marriage is a crime."

"You were Muggle Raised? That explains a lot."

"Oh?"

"It's hard to explain but … there were moments especially first year when … well it was like … if you had been raised magically … Then again, you do run with Weasley and he seems pretty clueless about some things as well."

"Ronald is clueless because he either doesn't care to know or thinks he knows when he doesn't," Hermione huffed.

"Like that Wizard's duel First Year," Daphne nodded.

"You know about that?"

"Malfoy is a braggart. Told us all – very loudly, I might add – that night just after curfew how he called you out and you accepted…"

"Ron accepted," Hermione huffed. "Harry just didn't contradict him."

"Makes it worse then," Daphne continued. "Draco was all on about how you were set up to get caught out of your dorm after curfew. He was rather upset the next day to learn his oh so cunning – in his deluded opinion's – plan had failed."

"Filch makes too much noise to sneak up on you, really," Harry commented.

"So you were out?"

Harry nodded. "And didn't get caught."

"Almost got the lot of us killed, but yeah, we didn't get caught," Hermione all but scolded.

"I hoped you were over that," Harry said.

"Well, since the Troll was the second time I almost got killed in two months and it was a much closer thing than running head long into that Cerberus in that out of bounds corridor, I did. But don't think I came to see that as fun."

"What? There was one of those things in the school? What do you mean by the lot of you and what's the troll got to do with anything?" Daphne asked.

"Oh goodie! A story!" Luna practically squealed.

"The lot of us were Harry, Ron, Neville Longbottom and myself. Ron was insisting Harry had to do it, Neville forgot the password to get back into the dorm and didn't want to be left out alone and I was trying to stop them from getting into trouble. Personally, I'd take Filch over Hagrid's pet any day. As for the Troll, I was in the bathroom when it cornered me and Harry came looking for me. Harry distracted it by jumping on its back and jamming his wand up its nose and Ron got lucky and levitated its club. Dropped it on the thing's head and knocked it out."

Daphne didn't know how to respond. "Um… well… You know, given the Hogwarts rumor mill it's a wonder I never heard about any of that!"

"How many times has something or someone tried to kill you since you started school, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Um … you mean that I know of for certain?"

"Yes. Let's keep it short."

"First year? Fluffy – that's the Cerberus – Troll, Quirrell at the Quidditch match although at the time we thought it was Snape, maybe that dragon of Hagrid's, Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, Fluffy again, the Devil's Snare and Quirrell and Voldemort both until I killed Quirrell…"

"You-Kn-know-Who? But you've already…," Daphne said.

"We don't know what happened that night," Luna said. "But I believe Harry when he says that somehow You-Know-Who was beaten but not truly killed."

"Second Year … well there was that Whomping Willow, a House Elf although that was more an accident, the acromantulas in the Forest, Lockhart when his wand backfired and almost cause the cave to collapse on my head, that basilisk, Voldemort again and Mr. Malfoy."

"Huh?"

"The Whomping Willow was where Ron crashed that flying car," Harry said. "It wasn't very happy with us at all. That rogue bludger at the first Quidditch match was done by a House Elf trying to convince me to get out of school because of the stuff going on. The Acromantulas is a long story. Let's just say there're loads of them in the forest, they're huge and not very friendly at all. Lockhart, the useless coward, tried to obliviate Ron and I down in the Chamber of Secrets or at least the nearby cave and instead wiped out his own memories and nearly dropped the cave on top of us all. I killed the basilisk, defeated that version of Voldemort which was the reason it was on the loose and Dobby took care of Malfoy. Seems Malfoy was rather upset that in addition to ruining his plans to unleash that thing on the Muggle Borns, he got kicked off the Board of Governors and I tricked him into freeing his House Elf. Before that Elf – my Head Elf Dobby – banished him from the school quite violently, he had said 'Avada"."

"Th-the Killing Curse?"

"So I've been told."

"How did you kill a basilisk? They're immune to magic pretty much and even if not… And why didn't it kill you?"

"I had help from a Phoenix and a sword. The Phoenix blinded the thing and I drove a sword through its skull, although it did bite me…"

"You would be dead!"

"Phoenix."

"Oh right," Daphne said. "Tears?"

Harry nodded.

"That was the monster?"

Harry nodded.

"Must not've been very big."

"I guess. Is sixty feet long big for one of those things?"

Daphne just looked at him in shock.

"It seemed about that long. It was about as thick as I am tall. Then again, I didn't stick around to measure it."

"Um…"

"Let me guess," Luna said, "the rumors pale in comparison to the real thing?"

That broke Daphne's brain lock. "That Boy-Who-Lived rubbish pales in comparison to the real thing! And you got into the Chamber? It's real?"

"All it takes is the ability to talk to snakes," Harry shrugged. "Well that and figuring out where the entrance is which wasn't that hard once I figured out that the Muggle Born who died the last time it was opened was Moaning Myrtle."

"No wonder you're in Gryffindor," Daphne said.

"Actually, that's 'cause I told the Hat not to put me where it wanted to."

"And where was that?"

"Slytherin."

"It wanted you in Slytherin and you told it Gryffindor?"

"No. It insisted on Slytherin and I told it anywhere but there."

"Why? I admit I'm not fond of my House but…"

"Ron would think it's 'cause he told me there's not a witch or wizard who went dark that wasn't from that House, but even then I thought he was biased. No. I had the misfortune to meet Draco Malfoy before he was sorted and wanted to be as far away from that git as I could get."

"I can understand that," Daphne nodded. "So, the Hat wanted you there and you talk to snakes. Any chance you're Slytherin's Heir?"

"I am descended from him. One of my Potter ancestors married his granddaughter or great-granddaughter. Dumbledore thinks that ability had something to do with what happened when my parents were killed but we have some of the old Potter journals here and it seems that trait pops up in my family every few generations or so. Then again, the grandson of my Slytherin ancestor married a great-great granddaughter or so of Gryffindor."

"Any other Founders in your line?"

"The daughter of one of my Potter ancestors was Helga Hufflepuff's Mum. I'm descended from her younger brother. But, I think it's safe to say that if you can trace any of your family magic back to the time of the Founders, you'll find Founders' Lines in your tree. I know you and Luna are descended from Phineas Black and all three of us from his father. The Blacks have Slytherin and Gryffindor in their line as well far enough back."

"When we found out about out bonds, we learned a lot of interesting things," Luna said. "For example: Harry, Hermione and I are all descended from Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel."

"But she's a Muggle Born!"

"Not if you go back seven generations or so on both sides of my family," Hermione said. "Maybe it's just me, but it's something I think should be looked into. What if there really is no such thing as a true Muggle Born as in a witch or wizard from a family line that never, ever had magic? What if every witch or wizard ever born has magical roots if you just look back far enough? Kind of shakes things up a bit, don't you think? Just because a child is a Squib would not mean their magical line is ended, rather it's just gone dormant for a few generations or so? Excluding himself, Harry can trace his Potter family's magic back more than thirty-two generations and he has portraits of thirty-two of those generations scattered about this place. Do you know how many would qualify as Purebloods today?"

Daphne shook her head.

"Seven, including his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. The rest were all technically Half Bloods. Now in my opinion, if you want true bragging rights based upon your magical heritage which is truly more impressive? Being able to trace you magic back unbroken thirty-two or more generations even where many of those ancestors married Muggle-borns? Or only being able to go back fifteen or so, even if the last nine were technically Purebloods? One of these days I hope to be able to find a way to see how far back my magical heritage can really be traced. As far as I'm concerned, my family's just been on an extended Holiday from this world."

"You're preaching to the converted," Daphne said somewhat annoyed. "I'm from Phineas Black's family. My Great-great grandfather was disinherited along with all his descendants because, to use that brain dead idiot Malfoy's expressions, he was such a Blood Traitor that he made the Weasleys look like mild mannered Pureblood Supremacists. Great-Great Granddad Phineas, while almost a hundred at the time, was murdered by Death Eaters as was his son Silas, his Grandson Stanley and his two boys Albert and Marcus – they were Aurors, his Granddaughter Anna, Luna's grandmother and the founder of the Quibbler and a critic of the Purebloods and their leader, his Granddaughter Lana, her two sons, their wives and all their children because they either were or had been Aurors, were married to them or because they were their children, his Great-Granddaughter Ellen who prosecuted Death Eaters and their supporters and her nine year old son and his Great-Grandson Frank who was a hit wizard. Not one of Phineas Black's descendants was a Death Eater or supported their nonsense although, because the rest were targets, the adults did their best to appear neutral and not draw the attention of either side. It may not appear brave, but what good is it to be brave if in doing so your family is wiped out.

"I had Malfoy pegged as an idiot before we got into the boats First Year. I wish my name began with a 'P' because I might have argued with it about Slytherin as well once it put that self absorbed moron into that house. He has no ambition. He believes he's entitled to everything. As for cunning, he fancies himself as cunning, but he's delusional. The biggest problem in our year is that his so called heritage has made the him Grand Idiot which he uses to gather about him his sycophantic toadies who, if they combined their brains together might one day for a brief moment have a real thought. The only one in my year who's not a total waste of food and air is my friend Tracey and I'm still reserving judgment on Bullstrode and Zabini. But Parkinson and Runcorn are slags whose only utility will be taking boys into their beds so those boys don't come my way and the other three are ranked 38, 39, and 40 in our year only because there's nowhere lower for them to go."

Daphne gasped. "I'm sorry," she said contritely. "I'm new here and that was completely inappropriate. But see here, Granger…"

"Hermione please," Harry commanded.

Daphne nodded. "Her …Hermione, I may wear the green and silver but that does not mean I believe one word from that upstart idiot Malfoy's mouth and I'd appreciate it if you didn't assume that I did!"

"You're right," Hermione said. "Aside from where you were sorted, I had no reason to assume that. Honestly, I think this is the most I've heard you say in two years put together."

Daphne nodded. "Aside from talking with my friend Tracey, it probably is. Could we please change the topic? My parents always said that politics, even if you agree, is never good dinner conversation and are we going to eat?"

"Oh," Harry said. "Sorry about that." With that the meal appeared.

"So Harry," Daphne asked, "what was it like growing up in the Muggle World."

"Not a good topic either," Hermione said.

"Oh?"

"While most Muggles are and try to be decent people, Harry lives with his Muggle Aunt and Uncle and they are not nor do they try to be decent people, especially to Harry. I've known him two years and while I know given a choice between living at school all year long and coming home and having to deal with those … things … he'd stay at school."

"No, that's okay Hermione," Harry said. "I … I trust you and Luna and want to trust Daphne too. You and Luna share a soul bond with me and I think trust is important. Daphne was thrown into this without that … um … to help so trust may be more important. My first memories are of scrubbing floors. I was pretty young at the time and those are rather vague memories. My first clear memory was when my Aunt started to make me cook meals. I was four. She'd tell me to do something and if I did it wrong I got swatted on the behind with a ruler. She didn't ever tell me how to do it or show me how. Break an egg. Wrong. Swat. Do it again. Wrong. Swat. Again. Swat. Again! There's an eggshell in the bowl. Swat!"

"I'm surprised you came to like cooking," Luna said. "He cooked this, you should know," she added for Daphne.

"I learned the basics pretty fast. Faster when I realized that if she left me alone I got more to eat provided I ate while I was cooking. Until I was five, I thought my name was Boy Freak or Boy or Freak or something. It was only when I was first sent off to school that I was forced to learn my real name. The only new thing I ever got before my First Year Hogwarts school supplies were my glasses. I did get my own uniforms for Primary School, but they were always bought second hand. That's when I was six. I got a good hiding when I brought the note home for school saying they needed to take me to an eye doctor, another hiding when we got back from the eye doctor and they needed to take me to the place where you get tested for your glasses, and another when we had to get the glasses, and another after we got back and my Cousin Dudley took my glasses and broke them. Until I got my first Hogwarts letter, I slept in a cupboard under the stairs. They moved me to a tiny bedroom afterwards. It's eight feet by twelve feet or so and all the furniture is broken in some way. Getting the picture? Not the pampered prince, was I?"

"Why would anyone do that?" Daphne asked.

Harry shrugged. "My Aunt's a Muggle and hates magic and my Uncle's one too. They figured they could beat the magic out of me."

"That's just ridiculous," Luna said calmly. She seemed to be the only one that acted calm. "Are you sure your Aunt's a Muggle? I mean your Dad was a Pureblood and Mum was a Muggle Born. Who's sister was she?"

"My Mum's older sister."

"Probably a Squib then," Daphne noted. "Makes it worse. She should've known better."

"Why do you say that?"

"If she and your mother had the same birth parents, even if those parents are Muggles, she's a Squib. Usually, when magic manifests itself in a Muggle family, it's with the first born child and all their younger brothers and sisters are magical as well. If the first born is not magical or a younger child is not magical, they are Squibs. Unlike a true Muggle, they have a detectable magical core, it's just too weak for them to manifest magic."

"Of course," Hemione countered, "it's possible they were adopted. It's also possible they had different fathers. If your gran, for example, got pregnant with your Aunt out of wedlock and the father scampered, then married and had your mother…"

"Then the Aunt would be a Muggle most likely," Daphne finished. "Is that where we are now? Those vile Muggle relatives place?"

Harry nodded. "Dobby warded the room so they can't get in even if they somehow got passed the muggle repelling ward. Even if they did, the wards on this trunk are very powerful in their own right. They can't bother us."

"But maybe we could bother them someday," Daphne said. "Why do you have to stay here?"

Harry explained the Wards Dobby discovered on the property, what they did and why they needed Harry's presence at least eight hours a day in the room to charge. "Fortunately, being in this trunk counts as being in that room magically speaking," he concluded. "Given my first two years at Hogwarts, as annoying as those people are, I'd rather not take the risk of those wards failing anytime soon."

"Why is it that whenever we talk about your life, it's disturbing?" Daphne asked.

"Hello," Harry quipped. "I'm the real Harry Potter."

Daphne snorted.

"My entire life, or at least for as long as I can remember, all I wanted was to be normal. I knew my life with my relatives was not normal even when I was very young and it was not normal in a bad way. I learned I was a wizard on my eleventh birthday and a part of me though that well maybe I can be a normal wizard, whatever that was. That hope was practically dashed before I was even sorted when I learned I was like really famous. That's not normal either. Throw in all that's happened to me at Hogwarts and it's even more not normal. All I wanted was to be a part of a nice, happy family that loved me and to have friends. Oddly enough, although it means my life is still not normal by any standards, I might finally be moving in that direction.

"The problem is even if that happens, the rest of this bloody world seems intent upon not letting me be normal even in my own abnormal way. I'd toss the bloody fame if I could and never get sucked into another encounter with Voldemort. But I can't toss the fame and Voldemort doesn't seem to be dead and it's clear he wants me dead badly. I'm a parselmouth not because I chose to be, but it's just what I am. I don't see it as being innately dark anymore than I see speaking Latin or French as dark. It's a familial magic I'm told - Hermione told me that - and has manifested itself before in witches and wizards who were not dark, but they hid it 'cause most witches and wizards think it is. Magic is not dark or light. That is determined by the intent of the user. But I'll be damned if many of the students at the school can even begin to get their narrow minds around that one. So I can do something that's not common. So what?"

"You've never said that much about you or your life before," Luna said. "Not all at once at least."

Harry smiled. "I trust you guys. We've had loads of time together - well maybe not with Daphne here. I'm still dealing with a lot of things from my past, but I trust you guys with … well, with everything. Daphne here was thrown into it at this point in our … our … well, you two know the word. I'm not gonna change just 'cause she's here. She's a part of this now. She's a part of us now in a way I guess."

Daphne snorted. "I suppose I am. I will do what is expected of me, just don't expect me to enjoy it."

"Yeah," Harry seemed to agree. "Kinda like your first day at Hogwarts, I guess. You're away from your family with a bunch of people you don't know. I would say I understand, but to be honest being away from my relatives is always a good thing."

"It's not at all the same," Daphne protested. "My first day at Hogwarts did not include sleeping with a boy and letting him have his way with my body!"

"Oh. Well no worries there."

"What do you mean no worries?"

"Even if you wanted to do that tonight, it's not happening. And it's not going to happen until Hermione and I have gone that far and we haven't and probably won't anytime soon."

"But … but it's our wedding night," Daphne said surprised that she actual felt a twinge of disappointment although she knew it was a feeling of rejection. "You're supposed to do that with me! It's your right as my husband! Am I not pretty enough? You are old enough, you know. Don't you want me?"

"Whether I want to do something, whether I can do something, whether I have the right to do something is not the same as whether I should do something," Harry replied. "If our relationship does get to that point it is because we both want it, not because I have any right to expect it."

"But a marriage has to be consummated for it to count," Daphne said wondering why she was arguing this point at all.

"True," Harry said. "It has to be or it can be annulled on those grounds. But given our ages, it does not have to be consummated until the youngest of the two of us turns twenty-one and that would be me seeing as you were born in November of 1979. That means we have until July 31st, 2001 to worry about whether or not that happened. In this house, we do have some rules. When it comes to intimate things the rule is this: if Hermione and I have not gone that far, then I won't go that far with Luna or you. If we have, I still won't unless you want me to."

"And … and just how far have you gone?"

"Hugging, snuggling, walking together holding hands or arm in arm or such," Luna said. "Oh and kissing…"

"But not full on snogging like the upper years do," Hermione added.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked.

"No tongues."

"Oh right. That seems a bit …"

"It must be pleasurable or they wouldn't do it," Hermione commented, "but we're a bit young for that, don't you think?"

"Oh," Luna added, "and he's seen us naked, but that's because we let him. Besides, until last night we didn't have any bathing costumes that fit. Oh, and he knows I don't wear knickers, although I am wearing some now."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"My monthlies started. You know that means I won't be knickerless for a few days."

"Oh right."

"And Hermione and I do sleep in his bed, but we shower and change in our own rooms. That's for the bond, however. Hermione and I need six to eight hours of intimate physical proximity or contact with Harry every day until our bond is fully formed although even afterwards we'll probably want to continue with that."

"But that is sex, isn't it?" Daphne asked.

"Intimate physical proximity merely means spending time within each others personal space," Hermione said.

"What's that?"

"If a person gets physically closer to you, it's okay up to some point but then, if they get any closer you feel uncomfortable and want to take a step back or something. When that happens, they've entered your personal space so intimate proximity means we spend time that close or closer to each other. Now physical intimacy can include sex, but it includes a lot of other things as well such as hugs, and snuggles, and holding hands and kisses and such; things which you could do with parents and brothers and sisters and such and no one would think it sexual at all. Besides, do you really think Harry could do that twelve to sixteen hours a day every day? He's bonding with both of us, you know."

"That's why we sleep with him every night," Luna said. "Easiest way to get our bonding time with Harry."

"So you don't even have to be awake?" Daphne asked.

"It's nice when we are, but nope."

"So … you won't be sleeping with me?" Daphne asked Harry.

"Do you want me to?"

"Well … no, but …"

"Even if you wanted me to, sex stuff won't happen until our bond is complete which, we're told, can take up to a year. Once the bond it complete, you can sleep with me that way but only if you want to. Heck, I can't even go into your rooms unless you want me to and invite me…"

"There're wards? Wards like the ones on the girl's dormitories?"

"No," Hermione said. "It's another of our rules and Harry respects it."

"Oh. Um. So what do you expect of me?"

"Expect?" Harry replied. "I really don't know. What I would like is for you to be comfortable here. I would like for you to become our friend and for us to become yours. Anything else, anything more is not expected but would not be unwelcome should a time comes when you want more from this relationship."

"And if we don't consummate…?"

"If the marriage remains unconsummated as of my twenty-first birthday and if you want it, it can be annulled. But until then, you are my wife and I am your husband. If you want a boyfriend, you know the nature of the oath and contract you signed today, I am your only choice in that regard legally and magically."

"I know," she replied. Deep down, however, she was starting to think this might be a good thing.


	15. Chapter 15: A Talk

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: There are some mature themes in this chapter. I know I've used the device before in other stories. There are differences with each, but all serve a similar purpose. There will be nothing graphic and I hope you refrain from reminding me I've used this sort of thing before…

**CHAPTER FIFITEEN: A TALK**

"Miss Daphne?" a voice called. "Miss Daphne? It's time to be getting up."

Daphne opened her eyes. She was so sure that Harry would come to her that night and ravish her and yet it had not happened. The morning light streamed in through the windows of her admittedly very nice bedroom and she turned towards the voice and saw a House Elf in a blue dress. Her family had two such elves and they wore what they pieced together. This one was in a proper dress.

"And you are?" Daphne began.

"My name is Flower," the Elf said. "I've been chosen to be your Handmaiden, Miss Daphne."

"Handmaiden?"

"I have duties about the house, but my primary duties are to you. I take care of your room, make sure there's always fresh flowers about and that. I take care of your clothes and your possessions. I take care of you, Miss Daphne. I can be doing your hair if you want among other things. It's time to be getting up, Miss. Do you bathe in the mornings or shower?"

"Shower's fine," Daphne said. "I prefer baths later in the day… Um …"

"Flower, Miss Daphne."

"Flower."

"Your personal things are all arranged in the bath," the elf said pointing to a door. "You can rearrange them as you see fit. But that's for later. You need to be doing you morning things. Breakfast is in forty-five minutes, Miss. While you're doing such, I'll lay out your clothes for the day if you'd like?"

"That's fine, Flower. Is there a reason you call me Miss?"

"I know you being married to Lord Harry, Miss. I can call you Lady, if you like. But I sense for now you would prefer Miss Daphne."

Daphne nodded. "Miss Daphne is fine. Married or not, I don't feel Lady is right. Not between us at least."

"You'll be spending the day with Master Harry and Miss Hermione and Miss Luna. I'll have your rooms arranged the way you want them…"

"How do you know …" Daphne began.

"You've thought about it, yes? You thought about where you want your pictures, dollies and such? You reserve the right to change your mind, but while I am a House Potter Elf, I am your Elf as well and it's my job to make your thoughts a reality. Now, get up. The day awaits you, Miss."

"Do the other girls…?"

"Have their Handmaidens?"

Daphne nodded.

"They do indeed. Miss Hermione's is named Petal and Miss Luna's is Blossom. Many of us girl elves have flower names, Miss, if you're wondering. Our Harry named us all. We're Potter elves and are just starting out as it were. As are you in a way, Miss. Now the day begins, so Miss needs to be getting ready for it."

Daphne came out of her bathroom sometime later. She had dried herself and her hair with magic, not even thinking about the fact that Harry lived in the Muggle world. Not that it would have mattered with the trunk. She saw that Flower had laid out her clothes, which were to be a sundress over her under garments and a comfortable pair of sandals, all of which had been the fruits of her shopping trip with her mother the week before as she had truly outgrown her clothes from last summer. She debated about cosmetics and then decided against any makeup or such as she put on the clothes laid out for her. Ready for this day, at least in terms of attire, she walked towards her bedroom door. There were three green spots on the door and she soon saw they were just cards, each in a labeled holder: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. She wondered what that was about as she left her bedroom and entered her sitting room. Flower was there and offered to escort her to the Informal Dining Room where breakfast would be served and Daphne accepted the offer. The truth was she wasn't truly sure how to get there as the last night had been a blur to her.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep or even when she went to sleep the past night. Despite what Harry and the others had told her she was certain Harry was going to exercise his husband privileges with her that night. Despite their ages, most of the wizards she knew would have taken her. Most probably would not have waited at all. But Harry never came. She was somewhat relieved but also to her surprise a little hurt. It was, after all, her wedding night. That was when most marriages were consummated, or at least that was what she was taught to believe. After all, the duty of a wife was to bear the next generation of the family and this was particularly true in arranged marriages with venerable Houses such as House Potter. She was only thirteen, but she was apparently old enough to conceive. Harry probably knew this. It was true as to Daphne and Daphne was sure it was also true with Hermione and Luna. He was neither required nor expected to wait, but that was exactly what he seemed willing to do and Daphne did not know what to think about that.

She soon found herself in the Informal Dining Room. She was the first to arrive and took the same seat she had been in the night before. There was a card at the place and a pencil. She had not seen a pencil since her mother began teaching her to write with a quill. The card listed what were obviously breakfast selections and she was surprised at the variety. She was surprised to see that while there were seven different kinds of juice except that there was no pumpkin juice. It was obvious to her what the card was for and she placed an "x" beside what she wanted and signed her name at the bottom. The card and pencil disappeared and a plate with toast, a glass of milk, a glass of juice and a fruit salad appeared. There were several jars of jams and marmalades on the table. She was spreading orange marmalade on her toast when the next person arrived.

"Good morning, Daphne," the blonde haired girl said.

Daphne looked up to see Luna. Luna's hair was longer than she had thought, easily reaching down to the middle of her back. Luna was wearing what looked like red knickers and nothing else. She sat at one of the chairs closest to Daphne and began looking at her card.

"Did you forget something … um," Daphne began.

"Luna," Luna replied. "It's possible. Then again if I forgot something, how would I know?"

"You're not wearing anything!"

"Don't be silly. I'm wearing knickers, not that I want to. Monthlies, you see. I just don't want to leave any kind of mess on the furniture." Luna went back to filling out her card as Harry arrived.

"I … um … I'm pretty sure Harry wouldn't want to…"

"Of course he wouldn't. He's a boy. No sense in letting him notice that sort of thing too much, is there?"

Harry was dressed and Daphne was at least a little relieved by that. He told them good morning then kissed Luna briefly on the lips. He kissed Daphne on the cheek before she even had the time to think about it and then took the seat across from Luna. Daphne watched and it seemed as if Harry was unaware of Luna's state of undress.

Hermione came in wearing what looked like her Hogwarts skirt and blouse which seemed inappropriate to Daphne somehow. She too said good morning and then began unbuttoning the blouse. The skirt came off followed by her blouse revealing deep blue undergarments which soon joined the skirt and blouse on the floor as well. Not wearing anything at all, she walked over to Harry and gave him a kiss before taking her seat.

"What's going on here?" Daphne all but demanded. "You don't seriously expect me to … to …"

"Walk about the place naked?" Harry asked.

"You don't …"

"No I don't. They dress that way 'cause they want to, not because I ask them to."

"But why?"

"It's a triple green card day," Luna said. "Green card for breakfast means you can wear what you want to breakfast and until lunch. Green card for lunch means you can wear what you want until dinner time and green card for dinner means you can wear what you want to dinner and for the rest of the evening. Now if there were any red cards, that means we're to dress appropriately."

"We're under time compression now," Hermione said and then explained what that was and what it meant.

"So," Daphne said, "one hour outside is…?"

"A hundred sixty-eight in here on our current setting," Harry finished. "Well, about a hundred sixty-six and a half now," he added after consulting his watch.

"While we're under time compression, we can't leave the trunk and no one can enter," Luna said. "It's just the four of us for now. It's nice and warm here so we don't need clothes to keep us warm. The daylight in the garden isn't real. It's good enough to keep the plants healthy, but it won't burn your skin so we don't need clothes to protect us from the sun. It usually doesn't rain during the day, so we don't need clothes to keep dry, and if it's scheduled to rain, we're told when and where it will fall. Harry thinks we're very pretty so we don't need clothes to impress him. And since we are well and truly alone, we don't need to worry about societal conventions or modesty."

"It's actually kind of nice," Hermione added.

"But you're dressed," Daphne added looking at Harry.

He shrugged. "I'm not as pretty. Besides, this attire of mine might not be considered appropriate either." He was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. "Don't think it would be appreciated at Gringotts or would make a good impression on your parents, for example. Red cards apply to me as well to dress appropriately for that day."

"So you don't expect me to…?"

"Green card means wear what makes you comfortable," Harry said. "If you're comfortable wearing nothing at all, that's fine. If you're not that's fine as well."

Daphne thought about that as her eggs and bacon arrived before her. She watched Harry and the others and nothing indicated Harry was ogling the two girls at all. Obviously, he was used to seeing them like this. Still, she was not at all comfortable about the idea of joining them in their choice of comfortable attire.

"So, what do you do with all this time?"

"Well," Luna said, "we spend the mornings exploring the gardens. They're quite extensive, enough so that after three weeks here we still haven't seen most of it."

"How extensive?"

"About forty square miles under cultivation," Harry said.

"Miles?"

Harry nodded. "The flower garden's the smallest, only a couple hundred acres or so. The fruit garden's pretty big what with all the orchards and such. We usually have a picnic lunch in there down by the lake amongst the cherry trees. Don't know how big the other three are. We have a magical plant garden but we need to be with an elf there as many of the plants haven't been covered in Herbology yet and some are dangerous. We have a Herb Garden that's supposed to be even bigger than the fruit garden and the same's supposed to be true with the vegetable garden. And we're not even at full capacity yet."

"We're not?" three voices asked.

"I was speaking with Dobby about it when I was cooking yesterday. Apparently we can almost add to the size of the gardens to about sixty-two and a half square miles. We don't really need to, but we can. Pity we can't have a quidditch pitch."

"Why not?" Daphne asked.

"Not enough headroom apparently. The average height in the gardens is around two hundred feet, high enough for the trees. There are some valleys with more height, mainly in the herb garden and the magical plant gardens. The only place large enough with enough headroom is a lake in the magical plant garden. It's at the bottom of the water system. All the water in the gardens flow into that lake, I'm told. The idea place for a pitch would be higher up where water would flow away from it and that would mean not enough headroom. I could add one maybe, but it would cost a few thousand Galleons and, to be honest, it's not all that important."

"Why do you need so much land?" Daphne asked.

"It came with the trunk," Harry shrugged. "Don't really need it, but it'll make 10,000 Galleons a year at least. All of the fruits, vegetables and herbs you'll eat here came from here as do most of the spices. The one crop we don't grow is wheat, so with the additional acreage, we may also be self-sufficient in flour and bread and the like. Even then, we'd still have a lot of land so I'm thinking oats, barley and hay."

"Why's that?"

"Well, feed for livestock although I'd also like plenty of pasture as well. I think we could easily raise our own milk cows, beef cows, pigs, chicken and sheep; maybe even ducks and geese. That way the only foods we would need to buy would be fish and such."

"So you're thinking of becoming a farmer?" Hermione chided.

"A gentleman farmer, thank you," Harry snarked. "The Elves will manage the farm. We just walk through our dominion and enjoy the view … and the profits."

"What about horses?"

"What would I need horses for?"

"Riding of course! Can't be a proper gentleman farmer without horses to ride."

"I don't ride."

"I do," Hermione and Daphne said in unison.

"I ride with my parents," Hermione said. "It was either horses or golf and my Mum and I don't like golf."

"My family rides as well," Daphne said. "Same reason. Daddy's into golf and Mum isn't. Astoria and Jenna also ride and Cynthia's taking lessons this summer. Michelle will as well when she's older."

"Might want to think about a golf course," Hermione said.

"I have," Harry replied. "That thought crossed my mind for certain after I met Daphne's father. Seeing as your father is insisting on taking me out for a game, I wouldn't be surprised if Daphne's father is thinking on similar lines. Might as well have a place to practice."

"The one problem is, how much will this cost?"

"The landscaping won't cost a thing. Dobby said maybe 500 Galleons for the seeds for trees, grass and crops and such. About 2,000 for building supplies…"

"For what?"

"Barns, fences, a mill to grind flower, a dairy and a place to slaughter livestock. Probably need a few more elves, come to think of it. The big expense will be the livestock. Dobby figures that could run as much as 20,000."

"You have that kind of money?" Daphne asked.

"'Bout 100,000 right now with the additions to my account on account of you three lovelies."

"Still, Harry," Hermione said, "just 'cause you have the money doesn't mean you should spend it. It has to last us until you come into you're full inheritance which isn't for another eight years."

"I know. It's why it's only a thought for now. We'll see how much the basilisk brings in."

"Excuse me?"

"I killed it and it's considered a top end threat type creature. It means it's mine to dispose of as I see fit and Dobby says it's worth more pound for pound than a dragon. It could be worth a million or more although I'm not thinking of keeping all of it."

"You're not?"

"I was thinking of keeping about half. The rest would be split into shares and distributed among the families of the victims and you and Ron, of course. I was thinking one share each to Colin, Justin and that Clearwater girl 'cause they were petrified, three shares to you Hermione."

"For what? I don't need the money, you know."

"First, because you missed seven weeks of classes due to that thing, three of which because it almost killed you. And it was you who figured out what it was and left me with enough information to figure out where and how to get into the Chamber.

"Three shares to Ginny or her parents depending upon what happens Friday. Four shares to Ron 'cause he went with me into the acromantula colony and down into the Chamber. Were it not for that cave in, he would have been with me at the end as you would have been if you had not been petrified. Finally, I think I'd give six shares to the school's scholarship fund. Now if that thing really is worth a million, that mean's I'd be keeping 500,000 and each share would be about 26,000 Galleons. I think I can make up for the expansion with that."

"Any other grandiose plans?" Daphne asked.

"Near term, we're adding a new bedroom suite to the upper floor…"

"Why? You have five and one's not being used."

"It will be beginning the real tomorrow night," Harry said.

"You have another contract out there?"

"Two actually. I have a line continuation contract with House Abbott and another contract with House Weasley to deal with. I will also add a sitting room to that floor. Long term, well that would fill up all the floors I currently have but Dobby tells me I can add two more. One will be for guest rooms - I'm figuring and even dozen, maybe fourteen to be safe and a lounge. The other, well that's for much later."

"What's it for?"

"Sooner or later, probably later, there will be children to consider and they'll need rooms too."

"You expect us to live here … forever?"

Harry looked at Daphne and shrugged. "I don't know what properties my family had or has, Daphne. What I do know is I can't access them until I turn twenty-one. My living choices outside of this trunk are somewhat limited and not … um … not right for the lot of us. The trunk is currently in my bedroom at my relatives. I can tell you, it's small. It'd be a tight fit for the four of us and that's without taking into account sleeping arrangements. When I'm not here … well it's my dorm room at Hogwarts mostly. Again, not ideal. Ron snores like a pig, if you must know. That and I'm pretty sure I can't fit you three into my bed. So, for now this is my home. I truly feel like it is."

"Why do you say that?"

"A house is where you live. A home is where you live too, but a home means family and ones that you love and they love you too."

"Are you saying that…?"

"In time, Daphne. That is my hope anyway. Hermione, Luna and I are bound by a bond that's forming. You're bound to me and I to you by a contract. I want to make the best of this. I want you to one day see this as … well … as what you would've wanted had you thought about it as a girl. I don't want you to have any regrets about what has happened and I don't want to have any either. What I'm trying to say is this: I will not take you away from your parents or sisters. I know I could do that, but it's not the right thing to do. But I want the four of us to see each other as family as well one day. One day, I hope we will see yesterday as one of the best days in our lives so far just as I hope to see the day before when I married Hermione and Luna as just such a wonderful day. Then again, considering my life until now, that bit is almost easy for me. But I want it to be that way for you too."

"Still doesn't explain why you want to live here forever…"

"Wait 'til you see the gardens," Luna said.

The gardens, as they were called, were far more than Daphne expected. Gentleman farmer, it was said. He had a bloody domain of his own. What shocked her was how understated he was about all of this. Over the days in time compression, he seemed to take it all in stride as they walked through a portion of the gardens each morning. Harry seemed more interested in watching "his girls" than taking in the sights and now that included her. She was surprised at how that made her feel, even if the closest she came to what Hermione and Luna wore was her new bathing suit which she wore for Harry's swimming lessons. She could see the look on his face and it was not reserved for Hermione or Luna. He truly thought all three of them were beautiful and he was the luckiest bloke on earth because they were with him. It made him easy to talk to, and her 'sister wives' as well. It was a wonderful time with them and she felt more open than she had since she started Hogwarts. She felt safe here with them. She could be herself here with them, something she only felt with her best friend - her only friend outside of her sisters really - Tracy.

True, she still was reticent about baring it all as it were. True, her new family expected her to finish her summer assignments as soon as she could. Truly, she would have preferred to put them off to later. True, she didn't have all that much in common with Hermione and even less with Luna it seemed. But she was beginning to feel she had finally found true friends at Hogwarts, after all she had known Tracy since she was five. She went to bed every night, and each night she was happier to be here in this special place with her new friends. She knew, one day, and it was a day that would come, she knew she would let Harry go all the way with her as it were. No boy she had ever met had deserved that thought but Harry had and did and the best thing was that day was never today. She still had time to get used to the idea she was well and truly married to him. She knew that Hermione and Luna had already decided the main issue. They would consummate their bond one day and bear Harry's children in time. Daphne now knew she would follow them in that regard. She loved it here. Maybe she was beginning to love him as well. Maybe she would have the same kind of arranged marriage her mother had. Maybe this was for the best.

But that was in some distant future, Daphne knew. She had no bond with Harry, unlike Hermione and Luna. She could still avoid a full on marriage to him. He said that was her choice and she appreciated that; far more than she could ever say to him yet. Until he turned twenty-one, she was his girl and could have no other boyfriend really. She understood that. He wasn't … he wasn't like the other boys in Slytherin who would most certainly have taken advantage of this situation. He was making this her choice, not his. Merlin's Beard, that made him desirable. A husband who respected his wife? She knew her father was that way with Mum, but she also knew that seemed to be the exception in the Wizarding World and not the norm, especially in arranged marriages.

He was the head of an Ancient and Noble House and by being his wife for now that meant House Protection for her, her parents and her younger sisters. As tempting as it was, she still wasn't sure if she'd one day take the final and irreversible step and consummate their marriage and be a Lady Potter, Countess of Abengale for the rest of her days. But he was offering her that choice, wasn't he? She had eight years to figure this all out before she or he could seek an annulment. And he was not pushing it at all. Merlin, how special that made her feel. She wasn't just some trollop, some bint bound to a wizard by some contract she had no part in really agreeing to. He was letting her decide the issue in her own time. How could you not respect that?

But there was something on her mind, something she couldn't talk to Harry about. Normally, she would have talked to her Mum about it, but her Mum wasn't here. She would see her family again on Saturday. Harry had promised that and she now believed he kept those kinds of promises. But this couldn't wait until then. She felt it. She needed to know. She watched the dynamic and knew that she needed to talk with Hermione alone. While both Hermione and Luna were soul bonding with Harry, Hermione was the older one and the one most likely to understand.

It was her fifth morning in this place when, as they walked out into the gardens again, she approached the naked witch.

"Hermione?" she asked. "We need to talk, I think."

Hermione gave her a surprisingly knowing look. "Privately, I assume?"

"That would be best," Daphne said.

"Harry?" Hermione said. "Daphne and I are going off for a girl talk, if that's okay with you."

Daphne saw Luna giving her a knowing look. "That's fine by me," Harry said. "Luna and I will just head off."

"Thanks Harry," Hermione replied. "We'll find you when we're done."

Harry smiled and took Luna's hand and led her off somewhere. Hermione took Daphne's and led her into the Fruit Garden.

Sometime later Hermione said: "Well, was our talk what you wanted?"

"Yes," Daphne sighed. "Most definitely."

"We could go back now, you know. Unless you want to talk with Luna."

"I think that would be best - a talk with Luna, I mean."

"She'll be pleased. Wait here and I'll send her," Hermione said and then seemed to skip away into the distance. Some minutes later, Luna appeared.

"Hermione said you want a girl talk with me?" she began.

"Yes," Daphne said with a smile.

"Oh goodie!" Luna practically squealed.

Sometime later Daphne said: "I'm in."

"In?" Luna asked.

"Yes in, all the way or at least when the time comes, I'm in."

"We figured it would take much longer, if ever," Luna replied. "Harry's…"

"Not expecting me to … well, you know. I know. But … well after these last few days … how can I do better really? He … well, he's fanciful and all that but … he actually respects me! He respects you and Hermione too. You know how rare that is in our world? Especially in an arranged marriage? My Mum and Dad are exceptions, not the rule and I know that. Yes, I know I will be but one of his wives and yes, I know that I don't have the bond you two do have with him, but I'm a Snake and see and opportunity before me all but handed to me on a silver platter. I'm in!"

"Glad to hear that," Luna replied. "Truly, I am. So what now?"

"Um … well … should I leave my clothes here or strip before him to show Harry I'm in?"

"You're choice on that," Luna said. "He does like watching us undress and he is a total bloke in that regard. You leave your clothes here and the Elves will deal with them. Or you can take them off for Harry. I'm sure he'd appreciate that. Truth is, he's used to seeing me and Hermione starkers so…"

"The three of us will have to tell him, don't you think?"

"Yes. Yes we will. Hermione and I thought to wait … at least until Hannah was here with us and in progressed to this point. But maybe now is for the best."

Daphne nodded. She stood up. "Into the den of lions, I suppose…"

Luna laughed. "Oh he can be that against You-Know-Who and nasty, dark creatures, but he's more a pussy cat otherwise, don't you think?"

Daphne smiled. "It's why I'm all in now. Perfect boyfriend material or, I suppose, husband material."

"Perfect indeed," Luna agreed.

Daphne left her clothes behind.

Harry had definitely enjoyed Daphne's new attire, but was being teased mercilessly by Luna about it. After Daphne had kissed him full on the lips, their first mutual kiss of any kind since Gringotts, and after she insisted upon having a snuggle with him during their picnic lunch, Luna had begun the lighthearted teasing. Harry had not shot back in anyway. After all, he now had three beautiful girls who were his and his alone. Daphne was getting a reputation as being cold, an Ice Princess Harry had heard and yet now she was anything but that, at least with him and his other "girls." As they ate lunch, and as Luna chided him, he could care less about such things. He knew he was in love with Hermione and was certainly going to be that way with Luna, sooner rather than later, and now he knew it could be similar with Daphne.

"Don't listen to this, Daphne," Harry said at one point.

"I know," she said leaning into him closer. "She's just being … I guess … herself. She doesn't really mean it and is actually happy I'm now fully a part of this even though we don't have the bond. I don't mind, really."

"Um … well that's good, right?"

"It is. But the three of us need to talk to you about something … after lunch."

"What?"

"After lunch, Harry."

Lunch ended after a bit with Daphne sitting in Harry's lap and kissing him for no reason whatsoever and often at that. The other two girls moved much closer once their picnic was done. They were practically touching each other as Daphne remained on Harry's lap.

"What do you know about witches," Hermione asked.

"Um … what I can see, what Madam Pomfrey taught us blokes first year. You have monthlies and all that."

"Indeed we do," Hermione began.

"Rather annoying that bit," Luna added. Hers had ended and she seemed ecstatic to get out of knickers again. Although Luna and Hermione suspected it, all three girls were relieved that Time Compression did not extend one's discomfort. Even though less than an hour had passed Outside, Luna's time was no longer for her than it would've been outside. "It's a girl thing, really. Actually it's a woman thing. We're girls until our first monthlies and women at least of a sort after that. But they are annoying."

"We are, when we're old enough," Daphne said, "the two halves of a necessary whole. We young women are one half, you boys or young men are the other. It takes to two make a baby, but it's we women who must bear them and raise them."

"It's what boobies are for," Luna added. "You boys have part of that but not all. Girl boobies are for feeding babies!"

"That and the blokes like them," Daphne added. "When we have them, at least."

"Jobs and careers and such," Hermione said, "that's what we can do. But nature designed us girls to have children. It's our biological role. It's why girls exist and why, in time, boys find us fascinating and not icky as you may have when you were younger. Nature intends us to mate and have babies one day. The lot of us are now going through what's called 'puberty,' which is the transition from boys who think girls are icky … and mental … to men who want to be with girls and girls from that to wanting men and such. We are growing to have children and find men to be their fathers. Nature makes us all this way, but it's not perfect. A woman might grow to be a bad mother and a man to be a bad father … you understand?"

Harry nodded.

"We all hope we won't be," Luna said. "We all hope that and the better one's of us try to be the best possible parents when our time for children arises. Just 'cause out real parents weren't there - well my Daddy is, but he's not really been since Mum died - it doesn't mean we can't be. You're life before now does not mean you can't be a good Daddy to your children. My life without my Mum doesn't mean I can't be a good mother to our children when the time comes. I'm your soul mate, Harry, just like Hermione and we promise to be the best Mummys around for our babies when they come and we hope you promise to be the best Daddy too. And we know Daphne hopes this of you as her husband and Daddy to her babies as she hopes this as your wife and Mum to your children as well."

"I …," Harry began.

"We're years away from that, Harry," Hermione said. "Plenty of time to get used to the idea and such, right?"

"I … I suppose."

"Good," Hermione said. "Now all three of us here are women, females of the human species, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Biologically the four of us exist for but one purpose - to reproduce. You, as the male, to mate with your females and we as the females to mate with you and bear your young and raise them. Doesn't really matter whether we're humans or not, does it? Every living thing exists to reproduce, doesn't it? We just are smart enough to understand what that means. But biologically, that is our function as a man and as women, right?"

Harry shrugged.

"But biology isn't all that's going on here - or at least not that kind, Harry. As humans we have some sense of morals and just don't rut about just 'cause we're in heat or some such."

"Add to that that the female orgasm is almost uniquely a human trait," Daphne added. "That means unlike most animals, we don't have sex with you lads because we're in heat. We barely know when we are and you lot certainly don't. We don't suddenly go from unattractive to irresistible just 'cause it's the right time of the month for us to conceive. We can have sex with you lads just because we enjoy it, and not just to procreate. And we can enjoy it."

"And as young witches, we actually need that enjoyment," Luna added.

"Um…," Harry began.

"The Muggles burned witches, you know," Hermione said. "Not wizards. Not really wizards, but witches. They thought we were evil, not magicals, just us witches, Harry. They thought we were seductresses who would steal their husbands. They thought we danced about naked in the wilder places in evil rituals and engaged in unnatural acts with each other. They were partly right…"

"Partly?" Harry asked.

"Well, we're no more seductress than any other woman, not really. True, we can use potions, but those potions were available to muggle women before the Statute of Secrecy as in back when they sought to burn us. We're no more evil than other women, and arguable just as good or bad. And there's no evidence of sexual rituals of any kind, really. But the last bit about engaging in what they considered and still consider unnatural sexual acts? Yes, we're probably guilty as charged. It's our nature to be that way when we're young for certain."

"Excuse me?"

"Physically, we're no different than any girls, Muggle or otherwise. Puberty starts for us some months and maybe a year or more before we go through menarche. Our bodies begin producing hormones and such we never had before or never in such quantities. We begin to develop as women and not girls anymore…"

"We begin getting boobies, Harry," Luna said. "We know how you like them."

"Um…," Harry began.

"But we're witches, Harry," Hermione said. "We enter puberty as does any other girl, but Muggle girls are not magical and they don't have to contend with the physical changes and magical changes that are going on. Physically what we witches are going though is no different. Magically it is. You wizards face a similar problem, but it is by no means as extreme as it is with us. Our changes can create an imbalance between our maturing bodies and magic. If we don't deal with the imbalance, we can suffer magically, even lose our magic altogether. Fortunately, nature provided us young witches with an answer…"

"Orgasms," Luna said.

"Wh-what?" Harry asked.

"Sexual release," Hermione continued. "Once puberty sets in we are so tempted to do things to … to fix whatever is going on. I can't speak for Luna or Daphne. They were magically raised after all. For me, a few months after my tenth birthday I had these urges. I needed to do something about them and then … then found out what. At the time it was so embarrassing and humiliating in a way. I couldn't tell my Mum about it. Masturbation is just not something excepted as an open topic in the Muggle World. Yet I couldn't help it. Every day I … um … did it to orgasm and often more than once a day. I felt dirty. I felt there was something wrong with me. I felt … then I got my Hogwarts letter and a part of me thought maybe this was a witch thing…"

"My Mum told me about the change, as it's called, before she died," Luna said. "When the urges came, I accepted them."

"My Mum was waiting for the signs before giving me the talk about the change," Daphne added. "Caught me humping a chair's armrest she did. She let me get off before talking with me about what was happening to me and told me a better way of getting off alone. Told me how to diddle myself, she did. It was embarrassing as hell, but I thank her for it."

"I didn't learn about any of this 'til my first week at Hogwarts when we had our talk with Madam Pomfrey," Hermione continued. "I actually felt better after that knowing I as a witch needed to … um … diddle myself practically daily. Wasn't embarrassed by it anymore. Could care less if my roommates saw me doing it in the dorms, after all they were doing it too and didn't bother to hide it from me. That was stage one, as it were."

"Stage one?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Prebonding age stage. Diddling every day or almost every day is that stage. We hit bonding age and within a few months or so, simply diddling yourself is not going to be enough. We need physical intimacy with another person. Don't need it as much as orgasms. We can go weeks and even months without it, but we do need it all the same. Beginning the term after we hit bonding age, or as soon as we do - after all Daphne and I hit our bonding ages during our summer before Second Year - anyway, once that happens, we're assigned a mentor. Madam Pomfrey assigns them…"

"A mentor?" Harry asked.

"Upper Year girl," Hermione replied. "We move to their dorm, sleep in their bed with them. They teach us about intimacy and sex. Yes Harry, that means we have sex with them and they have sex with us. Practically every night except when we're both having our monthlies. Mine was a Fifth Year so I lived in her dorm and slept in her bed for the two months she was my Mentor. Once that time is over, we can become their girlfriend - their lover, Harry. More often than not this doesn't happen. Just 'cause they're good with us in bed and we with them doesn't mean we have to like them as friends and girlfriends are that first and lovers second - friends. I never truly became friends with her so when our time was up I went back to the Second Year dorms and she took another of my roommates as her apprentice."

"Far fewer than half of the Mentors and Apprentices remain together after their time is over," Daphne said. "Really never liked mine at all even if she was a good lay. Once that relationship ends, we girls are on our own so to speak. We can either find a Girlfriend to sleep with or join a Girl's Club. I had a girlfriend, my best friend, and we had agreed to be together that way, but I was the first to get through mentorship and she hadn't even started yet so until she was through, I joined a Club. They're five at Hogwarts. There's one in each House and a Fifth open to all post mentorship girls. I chose the school Club. Didn't really want to be with other Snakes aside from my best friend, you see. In the Clubs, we have sex with whoever is available. Must've shagged fifty girls before my friend finished her term as apprentice and we could share a bed together. But in time, she finished and I left the Club behind for our bed."

"Um … and you, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh. I was approached the day after my mentorship ended by another upper year girl I knew. She had two other girlfriends and wanted a third so we could share beds together. I had to agree to become their girlfriend too, of course. I did. Spent the rest of the year in the Fourth Year girls dorm in one of those two beds with one of those three girls. I also got to shag them following Quidditch practices and matches…"

"You mean Katie and Alicia and Angelina?" Harry asked.

"Only way into the girls locker room," Hermione giggled. "It was a lot of fun."

"So where does this leave me?" Harry asked in a hurt tone of voice.

"Girl sex is girl sex," Luna said. "Until we're older, we need it. There are always a few slags out there who'll shag any boy, anytime and anywhere. They're the exception. Girl sex is safe for us. Girls know how to give us our jollies and know they have to and why. Boys usually don't. But girl sex is not love, Harry. Girlfriends remain girlfriends, but it's not love and does not lead to families and we know that. We need the sex and intimacy for our magic for now. When we're older we can take it or leave it, although we'd always be friends with our girlfriends if we had any. We don't fall in love with them, Harry. The vast majority of us do not. We still fall in love - and for us lucky, lucky ones, that one is you, Harry. Accept what we are and what we need and accept that it does not change what you mean to us…"

"Or are coming to mean for us, as the case may be," Daphne added.

"I love you, Harry," Hermione said. "I love you with all my heart, all my soul and all my magic. This changes nothing for me. I'm a witch. This is what I am. But it changes nothing for me."

"I'm falling into that kind of love too, Harry," Luna said.

"And I know I can and want to," Daphne added. "We need what you're too young to offer truly, Harry. We talked about it. We're your wives and when Hermione decides to consummate the bond, you can bet Luna and I will be standing in line to do so right after…"

"Assuming you're up for it, Mr. Tent Pole Trousers," Luna quipped.

"But until then - and then will be sometime soon after our Soul Bond in finalized - we need witch time," Hermione said. "We've decided to keep it within the family, as it were. I've been Luna's mentor and girlfriend since our first week in Time Compression and this morning Daphne has joined us. We tell you this because we think you should know and you should know that this doesn't change a thing between us."

"Not so fast," Daphne said. "Some changes. First off, Harry, if they're naked then I am too from now on. Second, my limits are Hermione's limits so I want cuddle time and long, slow kisses on the lips with you and third, they've agreed that from now on can I sleep with the lot of you if and when I want to. Have a problem with this?"

"Um … no, not really…," Harry began.

Daphne leapt upon him.

"Remember," Hermione said, "no tongue kissing and he behaves himself with his hands!"

"You're no fun!" Daphne giggled breaking a kiss before diving in for another round.


	16. Chapter 16: Line Continuation

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: For those who may have taken some issue with where this seems to be going, please see the A/N at the end of this Chapter… But, as it's not important you can skip it too.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: LINE CONTINUATION**

"Mrs. Abbott has arrived," Grisha the Goblin said, "she asks for a meeting before the ritual."

Harry nodded from his place at the conference table. "Is her daughter with her?"

"She is."

"Send them both in."

"Sir? She requests a private meeting!"

"Did that yesterday and it caused some minor problems with the Bride. Nothing I can't handle, but I'd rather not go through that again, Sir. Send them in!"

"Sir!"

Harry recognized one of the two who entered. She was Hannah Abbott, no doubt about that. The other blond haired and older woman must be her mother he thought. He bade them each to take a seat across the table from him.

"Emily Abbott," Mrs. Abbott said. "And this is my daughter Hannah, Mr. Potter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Abbott. It's good to see you too, Hannah."

Hannah nodded and gave Harry a slight smile and deep blush.

"I really appreciate what you did earlier this year, Hannah, even if it didn't make a difference."

"Oh?" she said.

"After that incident with Justin and the snake and all the school thinking I was the one out trying to snuff the Muggle Borns, I walked by your table in the Library when you and your other Puffs couldn't see me and heard you. You stood up for me when all the other Puffs were convinced I was the one who was setting a monster loose, or at least not saying it wasn't me. Thank you."

"You're - you're welcome?"

"I hope it was not about this contract…"

"I do know about it, H-Harry. I've known since I was seven or eight. Also didn't think it would ever come to pass. You are my betrothed and yet you're not seeing as there're conditions and such that … well that are more likely not to come to pass than to do so. I said what I said because it was what I believed and the evidence to the contrary was unconvincing. It was not out of some sense of loyalty by a contract which might never be enforced."

"I appreciate that and your honesty," Harry continued. "You know why we are here?"

Hannah nodded. "Something about the contract. It's what the Summons said. You're - you're trying to break it, aren't you?" There was a hint of pain in her voice.

"Is that what you told her?" he asked the mother calmly.

"It's the logical explanation given how young you two are. I was hoping to talk you out of it… breaking it, I mean."

"Too late," Harry said. "The deal is done. Give these two ladies their folders," he said to a Goblin in the room. The Goblin put two leather bound folders before the two Abbotts. "First document is a Certificate of Marriage between myself and the former Miss Hermione Granger, validated given our age because of a forming Soul Bond. We married here at Gringotts two days ago. The second is another Certificate of Marriage between myself and the former Miss Luna Lovegood, also by way of a forming Soul Bond. We married the same day. Third is a Certificate of Marriage between myself and the former Miss Daphne Greengrass. All three were by contract between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and their families and Daphne's was conditioned upon my soul bonding with both of them. That soul bond, and the plural marriage it allowed was the condition for enforcement of the contract between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. Well, that and the fact that Hannah and I were the only two left from those lines when the conditions were met. I'm not here to break the contract. I'm here to see it carried out … today!"

Hannah gasped and her mother paled.

"I had a choice," Harry continued. "The conditions of enforcement were highly unusual and there was not real way to say if they ever would come to pass, unless they did. But they did. My choices were to either wait until the soul bonds and those marriages became known to you - which I could delay until September First, at which time House Greengrass and Abbott could demand execution of the contracts or, or I could demand it now. I choose now, rather than later."

"Why?" Mrs. Abbott asked.

"Timing is everything, don't you think?" Harry replied. "I can keep all this secret from the magical world 'til September First when the Headmaster and staff must be informed. That would also be as long as I could keep the fact that the preconditions in our family contract have been fulfilled. After that time, you could demand enforcement which, I am told, would be in the papers. I have reason to suspect there are those who'd wish these contracts can be annulled or worse. I'd prefer to keep all of this as quiet as I can. Easiest way for me to do that is to walk out of here today with Hannah as my wife and I as her husband and consort. We have a limited degree of emancipation, you know. The secret of our marriage and of my other marriages will be under the protection of my House and, I hope, hers."

"Surely this could wait," Hannah's mother said. "You're both so young. If you're not trying to avoid enforcement, then there's no rush for me to demand it."

Harry nodded. "However the contract does require enforcement as soon as practical following the completion of the preconditions. To delay, even if we agree, would incur penalties to the Houses or to the House seeking the delay. Or did I misunderstand that part of it?"

"No. You are correct. My concerns are naturally for my daughter. When Stan and I entered into this agreement, we knew it could happen as soon as this summer and knew what it meant. But that was before your parents were killed. Had they lived, you would be living at the Potter Estate which was acceptable to us. Now … well now we have no idea where you live, who you live with and what your living conditions are like. I know that you're fairly well set financially, but do you have the room for all of you? Will Hannah be comfortable there? Will the people you're living with accept this or would this be a problem?"

Harry laughed. "They don't accept anything out of their view of the ordinary which includes me. _If_ it was at all necessary for me or my ladies to have any interaction with them at all, we probably would not be here right now. I doubt I would have been able to start the bonds that set this whole thing in motion if I hadn't found a way to stay at their house and yet stay completely out of their way."

"So how can you …?" Mrs. Abbott began.

Harry then launched into a description of the wards about his relatives house, why he had to be there and how he could keep himself and his ladies there without dealing with the relatives. This included a lengthy discussion of his trunk - without too many details - and the access trunks he was already using.

"You're saying you haven't even seen those relatives of yours since you went home?"

"No Ma'am. I haven't. My other ladies haven't. I doubt I will anytime before I can leave that place. I doubt my ladies will either … although they _do_ want to meet…"

"Why?"

"If I gave my other ladies that boon, my relatives would probably be hexed into the next century and we'll leave it at that, thank you. I haven't asked for details, but I understand my Head Elf did a real number on them before I left Hogwarts. I get the feeling anything more would just be cruel."

"So she won't have to deal with them?"

"I won't say that," Harry grinned. It was almost feral. "What I would like to do is impose on their hospitality with all my ladies in tow and in such a way that they have to behave themselves and watch the lot of them squirm for a few hours. Whether I can do that in a way that keeps them in line is another question. But that's beside the point, isn't it? Hannah will have no contact with them whatsoever. That's what matters."

Mrs. Abbott nodded. "My next question, given your youth and Hannah's as well, is … is what do you expect from her in terms of physical intimacy?"

"You're talking about sex, right?" Harry asked almost cheekily.

She nodded.

"Let me answer with a few questions of my own," Harry said almost blushing. "First, although I think I know the answer to this, is Hannah of Bonding Age?"

"I am," Hannah said blushing. "I … I was a bit of a late bloomer but not too much. My thirteenth Summer Solstice was last June but my sixth monthly cycle wasn't until this last February."

"Been through your Mentorship then?"

Hannah gasped. "How do you know about that?"

"The others told me about it. Well, Hermione and Daphne did. Luna's going through it with them now."

"Y-yes. Yes I have. It finished a few weeks before I came home for the summer Hols."

"What you went through with that and maybe since with girls, is what we call Stage Three Intimacy. I'm only at Stage Two with the other three and probably will be for some months at least and maybe longer. It seems the Bond that's forming between Hermione, Luna and me keeps that part of my teenaged self in check … at least until it's formed or so the books say."

"What's Stage Two or Stage One for that matter?" Mrs. Abbott asked.

"Stage one includes hugs, kissing on the cheek and holding hands if we walk together side by side," Harry said. "It's the only Stage I do insist upon from my ladies. Stage Two includes kissing on the lips - no tongues - snuggles and cuddles including sitting on my lap and that's it. Each Stage is an increased degree of physical intimacy and aside from Stage One and the last Stage, if Hermione and I are not there yet, I won't be there with anyone else. Aside from Stage One, all stages will only happen between any of us if one: Hermione and I are there and, two: each girl of their own free will decides to go there as well. I'm not going to force any of them to do something they're not ready to do."

"And the other stages?" Mrs. Abbott asked.

"Stage Three includes sexual intimacy short of intercourse, basically what girls are familiar with when the go through Mentorship although I'm told the mechanics on their end for me are different. But the mechanics for me on their end should be substantially similar. Stage Four - well, that may be the hard one 'cause it's permanent in a way. That's consummation and full on intercourse. We hit Stage Four and there can be no annulment. It probably will happen between Hermione and Luna and I. That's the Bond. As for Daphne and Hannah, it will be up to them if and when that happens and again, it won't happen until I've been at Stage Four with Hermione. Stage Five is the last one and the only one where you can skip from One straight to Five. It's also the only one where you don't have to wait for Hermione to take that step before you can provided it's what you want, Hannah."

"What's that Stage?" Hannah asked.

"It has preconditions," Harry replied avoiding the direct answer. "First one is a proper wedding. While what will happen here today at Gringotts means we're married … well, I've been through it three times now. Hermione's Dad put it best when he said it was more like a business meeting than a wedding, although never having been to a real wedding I can't say that for certain. Luna's Grammy and Grampy said that without a killer business deal, beheading or dismemberment Goblins don't find things romantic even amongst themselves. So, first precondition is a proper Wedding between us, whatever you think that is. That means that we each have to be at least sixteen, seeing as we can marry properly at that age in Scotland without a parent's consent and considering my parents are dead… Second condition, and it's not negotiable, is that we've taken our O.W.L.s. That's mainly for Luna as the rest of you are older than me and I'll still be fifteen when I sit for my O.W.L.s and Luna's only a little over a month younger than me but a year behind us and it's only because the law allows you to leave school with your wand at that time. Preferably, Stage Five will not occur until you've taken your N.E.W.T.s

"Stage Five is sexual intercourse without protections. It means trying to have a baby."

"Oh?" two voices asked.

"Stage Five is my ladies' choice and not based upon Hermione's choice. My marriage to Hannah is to perpetuate her Ancient and Noble House. Basically, I'm just breeding material since I have no other rights to House Abbott. Not that I'm complaining, just stating the facts. When they are old enough, they will decide when and how many. The question of 'if' is mainly for Hannah and Daphne. If we don't consummate the marriage before I'm twenty-one, as we know it can be annulled. If we do, it's final. And that means they will have children by me one day. But if that happens and when that happens and how often that happens is up to them. That is the agreement I made with them about this and that is the agreement I'm offering to Hannah about this. The marriage today is required by the contract between our families. Beyond that whether we consummate it or not and how many and when there are any children by it is more her decision than mine."

"I hate to bring this up," Mrs. Abbott said, "but since we're on the subject of intimacy and you know - goodness knows why - about young witches and their needs, how will Hannah's be met in that regard? I mean, if you're not - um - fulfilling the needs of your ladies yet…"

"My ladies told me about it this morning," Harry said and technically that was true. "Their needs in that regard are being met with each other. Now as I understand it, the intimacy I can provide may be enough provided they do the other bits by themselves, but they decided it was best to be intimate with each other as well. They say it will strengthen their relationship with each other which they say will make things easier down the road given that a plural marriage is hardly something that most witches have to deal with. I agree. I want them to be friends with each other. It'll make things easier for them, I think. So if being intimate with each other helps the family, then it's a good idea. As for Hannah, I would now hope that they offer to be her girlfriends and that she accepts. Her needs in that regard would then be met even if I'm not yet ready to meet them for her."

"You don't sound like a twelve year old," Mrs. Abbott began.

"I'm not sure if I am," Harry replied. "You know what my first clear memory is?"

She shook her head.

Harry didn't tell her his true first memory which was of his closet and a hiding for something. "Scrubbing floors. Scrubbing floors. Later it was weeding in the garden, cooking meals, dusting, doing laundry. I have no memories of games or friends - not before Hogwarts at least - or anything most children had. I worked. If I wasn't at school, I worked. If I didn't do the job well enough … well … I don't want to talk about it."

The two on the other side of the table remained silent for a time, both either surprised or shocked at this revelation. Hannah remained silent. Her mother, after regaining her composure spoke.

"Will I see my daughter again?"

"Yes. That is the plan. I mentioned access trunks, didn't I?"

She nodded.

"You'll be keyed into one as well as Hannah. When we're done here, you'll take it with you. Hannah will come with me. The access trunk will allow you to come and visit or Hannah to come to visit you. There will be days when this is not possible, but you will receive a schedule. After we're done here, you will be allowed to visit your daughter on Saturday. Sunday, and we're off to France for a month or so. But there will be days even then when you can visit her or she can visit you. They're ten such days on the schedule so far, but there may be more. When we return, she can visit you or you visit her every day until September First with perhaps two exceptions. Naturally, if you wish to see her off from Kings Cross, that is acceptable as well. Once we're at Hogwarts, due to the connection between the trunks you can visit her throughout the year although I think it would be best to do that on weekends."

"She could come home too?" Mrs. Abbott asked.

"She could. But we think it best that she does not. Not sure about the rules about that and we don't want to push them … or force them to make new ones."

"This is … well you didn't have to …"

"The contract means that she is to be my wife and I her husband. Doesn't mean you're not her Mum anymore. The one thing my girls hate about Hogwarts is that they're stuck there for nine months of the year - or more if they can't or don't go home on the interterm Hols - and their only contact with their families is by post. I have the means to see another way and I am going to use it!"

There was another long silence.

"Thank you Harry," Hannah said with a smile, one mirrored on her mother's face. "Even for that."

Harry shrugged. "Should we move on?"

Hannah arrived at Harry's trunk alone after they were married. Harry had told her he had some errands to run in Diagon Alley and should be along in an hour or so. He quipped that it was hard to get all romantic about a Gringotts marriage, that at least one of the fathers said it was more like a business transaction. She had that feeling as well. She knew he was going to give her time to get used to this, he had said so and she believed him, still this was not what she envisioned as a girl when she thought of her wedding day. Harry told her not to truly think of it that way. This was their marriage day by prior arrangement. The wedding day - perhaps the one of her dreams - that would come one day when they were older.

She entered the Hall, and looked around at the tapestries and portraits on the wall, none of which were moving at all or asleep as she was used to. When she finished, an elf in a pink dress of all things was standing before her. The elf curtsied.

"Miss Hannah?" the elf said. "It is an honor to meet you. My name is Marigold. I've been assigned as your handmaiden, responsible for your rooms, your things and you, of course. The others are waiting for you in the Ladies' Parlor, if you will follow me."

"What are these tapestries and such?" Hannah asked.

"Master Harry's ancestor Potters, Miss," Marigold replied.

"Why aren't they moving?"

"Tapestries don't move, Miss. The portraits are magical, Miss, but they need time to absorb enough magic to animate properly. When they fall asleep, that means they have enough magic to begin the transformation although it may be weeks before they're awake and able to talk. This way, Miss Hannah."

She was led through a great room that seemed to stretch on forever, although it did not. It was filled with places to sit and relax and the walls that were not windows had more tapestries and portraits. The elf did not explain this room but led her to a door on the right which she did say was called the Ladies Parlor. Hannah entered and saw three girls seated in chairs with either a cup of what was probably tea or a bowl of something. There was a blonde she did not know at all mashing whatever was in her bowl while the other two were sipping their tea.

"Ladies?" Marigold said, "may I present Lady Hannah, Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott, wife and consort of Master Harry, Baroness of Tinworth."

The Elf Maiden bowed and a chestnut haired young woman in a blue summer dress stood. Hannah sort of recognized her. She kind of looked like Hermione Granger from Gryffindor except her hair was all wrong. It looked too nice for Hermione. The girl walked up to her and curtsied.

"Milady Abbott," she said. "It is a pleasure to meet you." When she stood she continued. "Formally, I am Lady Hermione, wife by soul bond of our husband Harry, Countess designate of Finchley. Otherwise you can call me Hermione."

Hannah knew this drill. She curtsied herself. "Your Grace," she said. When she stood, Hermione gave her a gentle hug and whispered in her ear: "Welcome to this family."

This formality continued with the necessary curtsies and such as she was introduced to Harry's other two wives: Luna, the Countess designate of Hwicca and Daphne the Countess designate of Abengale. Each of them welcomed her too.

"Have a seat," Daphne said when they were done.

"Would you like some tea, Miss?" Marigold asked when Hannah was seated. "The ladies here prefer the home tea which we grow here at the estate. It's best with a little honey and lemon. But if you have another choice…"

"The home tea sounds nice," Hannah said nervously.

They spent time chatting about Hannah's day and Gringotts and what Harry had told her before the very anticlimactic marriage rite itself. Hannah wasn't nearly as talkative as Daphne had been when she had arrived, but Daphne had also been just a little put out by it all seeing as the first thing she had known about why she was there was when she was led in for the rite itself. Then there was the discussion of the stages of physical intimacy.

"As Harry should have told you, the bond is preventing us from moving towards true sexual intimacy with him," Hermione said.

"He did," Hannah replied.

"Naturally, it follows that Stage Three cannot occur anytime before our soul bonds are finalized," Hermione continued. "As you and Daphne do not have such a bond with Harry, in theory at least you could move to that Stage sooner, but the bonding process also prevents him from being truly receptive. As he should have told you, the Bonding should be complete by around Christmas although given our ages it might take even longer than that."

Hannah nodded.

"What he probably didn't tell you or your Mum is that the three of us here think it will take longer and that even when it's complete, he won't be ready for Stage Three."

"Why?" Hannah asked. Not that she was disappointed to hear that.

"Harry has intimacy issues," Luna said. "Oh, it may not seem like it when you see him with us and when you're with him, but you will sense it just like we do."

"Intimacy issues? Is he … what's the word?"

"Impotent?" Hermione replied.

"That's it."

"Um, well he often has a tent pole in his pants," Luna said. "But that doesn't mean it's truly working yet."

"Oh? But he's of bonding age! We couldn't marry if he was not."

"Magical bonding age," Daphne said. "It doesn't mean he's sexually mature only old enough to begin a magical bond. It does not mean he's old enough to magically consummate one and neither are the others probably."

"Wizards mature differently than witches," Hermione said. "First off, on average they enter puberty later than we do. More importantly, their raging boy hormones have little effect on their magic. They don't enter puberty needing sexual release to mature. They certainly don't need physical intimacy. It might be some time before Harry even feels a need to do something about that tent pole in his pants. And, unless he gets used to things such as physical intimacy, he might not do it even then. Whatever you heard or may have heard about Harry's home life is a lie! The only physical contact he had with the people raising him was usually violent. They never loved him. They never truly cared about him at all. Physical contact for him was pain and humiliation. He has no memory of being hugged or comforted. He has no memory on anyone caring whether he was hurt or sad or lonely. The first hug he remembers was from me at the end of our First Year and he seemed like he wanted to run away then. Stage Two may be for a while. It is to teach him that there are those of us who do care about him, that he can be loved. It is to teach him that he can love too. And finally, it's to teach us all to share. This Plural Marriage cannot work if any of us think we're more important to Harry than any of the rest of us. This includes Luna and I who have a bond with him that the two of you don't. We must all be an equal part of this. We must be that way for our sake, for each other's sake and for Harry's sake."

"So what are you saying?" Hannah asked. "He's not physically mature enough or what?"

"We're pretty sure he's not physically mature enough to reproduce," Luna said. "Having sex with him would be pointless in that regard and you can't consummate, soul bond or not, until both are mature enough to have children. Just 'cause we've had monthlies does not mean we're … what's the word, Hermione?"

"Ovulating. At least not with any consistency. According to the books, it might be a year or two before we're truly ready that way."

"And until Harry has reached the same level as a boy, it's pretty pointless. We can't consummate unless we're both capable of producing a child even if we don't actually do so. Throw in his emotional situation and … well … this will take some time."

"Emotional situation?" Hannah asked.

Hermione then told her about what Harry had told them about his life before Hogwarts, with help from both Luna and Daphne as he had told them of other incidents. Hermione then went on to explain his adventures over their first two years at Hogwarts, none of which were what Hannah expected.

"But he's such a nice boy," Hannah said. "If what you say is true he should be … I don't know …"

"He should be totally closed off," Hermione said. "That or he should make Malfoy look like Prince Charming or something."

"Prince Charming?" three voices asked.

"Sorry," Hermione replied. "Muggle reference. Make Malfoy look like the perfect boy…"

"Eew!" Daphne said. "Sorry, but I don't see that!"

"Then how…?" Hannah began.

Hermione shrugged. "Can't say why he's not that way. He just isn't. But he still has issues and until he's through those issues…"

"Through enough, at least," Luna added.

"He can't be trusted with," Hermione blushed, "with sex."

"Many boys not much older than him who get a girl into a broom closet assumed they're entitled to such things," Daphne said. "They shag one, dump her, and move on to the next. Or they shag her and others as well. We're his wives! We're his I guess intendeds for lack of a better word. Hermione and Luna are soul bonding with him. You and I are his wives too. Do we want a husband who only cares about the notches in his wand or one who cares about us?"

"There is the issue that now that he is in a Plural Marriage, there's no legal upper limit to the number of wives he can have," Hermione added. "We want to keep it small. We want him to think of us and have no reason to look elsewhere. He has issues. We need to make sure that when we move to the next stage with him he doesn't start … start …"

"Shagging any girl who'll let him," Daphne added. "He is The Boy-Who-Lived, you know. In a couple of years or less, many of the girls at Hogwarts would let him into their knickers given half the chance and we don't want that. We need him to see us as the only notches his wand will ever need. That's certainly true for Hermione and Luna given their bond. I want to think it's true for me too. I definitely don't want to find myself stuck in the Slytherin dating pool when I'm older. Or any dating pool come to think of it. I am Lady Potter, not some tart who'll drop her knickers to try and snag The Boy-Who-Lived. I've already snagged him even if he doesn't know it yet and more importantly, I don't see him that way at all. And I'd rather he did not as well."

"Don't misunderstand," Luna said, "Harry is really nice. He really is and we all think he's a wonderful boyfriend or husband or whatever you're comfortable calling this for now. We are still concerned about him. His upbringing couldn't have prepared him for this and he's still young. When he starts getting the urges … well, we just hope he doesn't change too much. It's our job to help see that he doesn't, after all we are kind of stuck with him."

"We're not saying Harry's a git or that he ever will be," Daphne said. "We just understand that under the wrong circumstances his upbringing could … well, he could become one and we've all talked about it and know it's our role in this to help him overcome that upbringing and remain as nice as he is now."

"And a little more open," Luna concluded.

Harry returned just in time for supper.

"And what were your errands?" Hermione asked a little cross at him. After all, this was his marriage day to Hannah and he hadn't treated her nearly as well as he had Hermione or Luna or Daphne for that matter so she was a little put out with his errands.

"It's a surprise," Harry said with a smile as he kissed all the others, including Hannah. "Don't ask me what, 'cause then it wouldn't be. And aside from some things which I will give to the lot of you after dinner, the rest of the surprise I'm picking up tomorrow. I think each of you will like two thirds of it and maybe all of it. As for the other third, I hope you all appreciate the intent. Dinner?"

"Harry…," Hermione growled.

"Don't," Daphne whispered. "If it's a good surprise getting angry with him before he shows us is silly. If it's a bad surprise, then we can get angry with him."

Hermione seemed to relax. "You're right."

The dinner conversation was far more relaxed than it had been on Daphne's first day. Hannah wasn't as talkative, for one, but they realized that she was far more aware of this than Daphne had been so she wasn't asking question after question. It was more that they were asking her to get her to engage and open up even if just a little. Harry knew it would take time to get to know her as he was still getting to know Daphne and Luna to a large degree. That she seemed accepting of this made it easier for him to open up a little. All in all, it was a successful dinner in his opinion.

Afterwards, he led his four ladies to the Great Hall and took a seat on one of the couches.

"And now, for your first surprise," he said to all of them. "I ordered them yesterday just before meeting with Daphne and her parents. They were ready today so that was one of my errands. Dobby?"

Dobby appeared with a small shopping bag. Harry reached in and pulled out four small boxes. He seemed to inspect them for a moment before he handed each box to each of the girls with a mild admonition not to open them until he said so. He did. They each opened the small, glossy, probably cardboard box and in side was what at least two of them knew was a ring box. All four pulled their red or blue boxes out and opened them and gasped. Harry just smiled.

"H-Harry," Hermione began, "this … this is…"

"Wow!" Daphne and Hannah said.

"It's really pretty," Luna added.

"Harry? What?" Hermione began as she slipped a ring upon her finger and the others did as well.

"They're betrothal rings, of course," Harry said with a smile. "Got them from a jeweler in Diagon Alley. The main stone - at least two carats he said or the equivalent, is your birth stone. Now as Hermione and Luna share the same birth month, I gave Hermione the sapphire one and Luna the deep, blue opal as they're both September stones. On either side is a three quarter carat diamond and then beside them a small, ruby chip as apparently ruby is my birthstone. Until we have the proper wedding as our contracts allow, I decided a wedding band is not appropriate. That's the ring I insist I'm allowed to place on your fingers."

"It's too much, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Don't you like it?"

She nodded. "It's totally beautiful. But it must've cost a fortune! Not just mine," she said as she admired hers, "all of them!"

"About three thousand for the lot," Harry said. "But I believe you all are worth far more than that. I want you all to wear them. I want all the world to know you are my girls and will be forever."

"Th-thanks, Harry," Hannah said. The other three practically leapt at him and took their turns trying to snog him senseless.

Daphne sat back and admired her ring after a good Harry snog. "Well, don't know 'bout you Hermione, but he's one third of the way towards the perfect gift or surprise for me. He misses on the other two, this one alone is worth it!"

Hermione could only nod in reply. They were, after all, rings meant for a princess or some such.

The next morning dawned and Hannah, wearing her ring, walked down to breakfast following her new elf Marigold. She saw the green cards on her door but had not asked about them. As Daphne had, she walked in wearing summer clothes and found Luna and Daphne already there wearing nothing at all. As Daphne had been, she was taken aback at this. Daphne explained to her about time compression and how the green cards told them what they had to wear or not wear as the case may be. She explained that attire - or lack of any for that matter - was purely a matter of choice. Being naked was by choice and not a requirement.

"But it is so fun," Luna added as Harry entered. He was dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt as he sat down for breakfast. Hermione arrived a few minutes later dressed in a skirt and blouse which she removed slowly as if for Harry's entertainment and then her undergarments as well before she walked over and kissed Harry before taking her seat. It was explained to Hannah that the wives could choose if and when to bare it all. It was explained as she stood to undress - she was a Hufflepuff after all and loyalty was a huge part of her character and she liked and trusted Harry - that the first undressing was always in the gardens for the wives. Hannah was naked within minutes of entering the gardens. She didn't want to seem disloyal. She was Harry's forever after all. She knew she was blushing furiously. But Harry did say she was beautiful and she got a toe curling kiss from him moments later. Add to it that he didn't try anything more … how did she get this lucky?

"That was wonderful!" Hannah said a few days later into time compression. She had just been thoroughly ravished by Daphne after she had done the same to her. She had already had girl time with both Hermione and Luna, but that was the other two days.

"It's always best with … with a sister of sorts," Daphne replied. "I left mentorship and had a choice, go Slytherin or go to the school club. The only girl in Slytherin I was willing to be with was my best friend Tracy, but she had only just started mentorship so it was the school club for me. I was with a lot girls over that time. None were true girlfriend material. Tracy got done and she and I were together for the rest of the year but … I don't know. We're better off as friends than lovers I should think. We talked about it. I wasn't then willing to go back to the club and she … well she'd prefer that for then we remained exclusive in that way, but said come next year she'd … she'd want to find her true girlfriend if there was one out there…"

"Must've hurt," Hannah said stroking Daphne's hair.

"Not really. We both knew we weren't 'it' for each other that way and to be exclusive would only hurt our friendship. Then I came here. Hermione, Luna and now you. Maybe it's the fact we're married to Harry, I don't know. But I feel this is special. Harry knows and doesn't ask. We don't do it in front of him, you know. But for some reason, this feels right and when he's ready for us and we for him I'm certain that will feel right as well. And you?"

"Sent to the Upper Year girl's dorm once my time with my mentor was up," Hannah said. "We all were, those of us who've been through it. Basically, I slept with whoever wanted me to there. My best friend Susan was there as well and we were allowed a bed from time to time. I guess it's a Hufflepuff thing as we're not allowed to join the school club until Fourth Year. Until then, it's just Puffs. This is better, I think. I'd rather know who my bedmates are then find out that night, you know?"

"You're all in, you know?" Daphne said. "Tonight and for the foreseeable future, you share Harry's bed with the rest of us. It's so cuddly! You're going to love it!"

And Hannah found that she did.

**A/N: You do not need to read this to follow the story. If you don't, you will miss absolutely nothing from the standpoint of this tale. That being said (or written as the case may be…)**

I suspected when I wrote the last chapter, it would be controversial in some ways.

The fallacy of the "harem" or polyamorous story is that it truly cannot succeed or be realistic in reality – unless it devolves into endless cat fights and struggles for dominance or attention within the group or an effectively dictatorial dominance by one over the group (with the associated resentments). The vehicle I used is unrealistic in our world and experience. (I suppose it might work if all but one of the participants are doormats, but that would never work here 'cause Harry needs help, not docile doormats). The explanations or justifications expressed by the characters was used to explain how this could work and could only work in a magical context (this is fantasy after all). Hermione and Luna share a magical bond with Harry that helps, but Daphne does not and we know that one who has not yet been brought in is Regent for and Ancient and Noble House. She cannot be viewed as truly subordinate to any of the others, especially if the group's activities are in conflict with the best and future interests of her House.

For varying reasons, none of Harry's girls are docile types. Daphne is a true Slytherin: ambitious and cunning. This will be a benefit to Harry if used to support the Family, but it could be a real problem if used to advance Daphne within the Family – which could well have happened without some kind of work around. Hermione is not inclined to be held back by gender or anything. She is logical, studious and, were she "just a Muggle," would probably not grow up to be "taken care of." She is one who would only accept limitations imposed upon her if those limitations were ones of education and ability – although even then her acceptance might well be grudgingly so. Luna will be Luna regardless of any external pressures. No one can tell her what and how to think and what to believe. This combination of personalities, without more, could become a nightmare.

Each of the girls has something to offer that Harry lacks to a degree and each will bring talents and perspective he will need. I don't plan to spend inordinate amounts of time dealing with the internal politicking of the collective, which would be most of this story without a way for them to come together and set their places where they each are important in their own right but not threatening the others positions within the group. Likewise, Daphne is not fixed in this the way the others are. She can opt out in time. (Whether that happens is another matter.)

The other problem I've had (and had with JKR's books) is understanding what kind of society could produce Voldemort. Any kind can produce a Tom Riddle. But there's a significant difference between Tom and his later incarnation. Hitler without the Nazi Party is a bitter, loud mouthed outlier. In this regard Tom without Purebloods and Death Eaters is worse since he was a cold blooded killer all by himself but it does not follow that he could become what he became and charisma alone does not explain it either. The eventual rise of Nazi Party could not have come about without some kind of underlying hatred or fear of others and could not have risen as it did in a country that was politically and economically stable where the vast majority who might otherwise have raised a fuss respected their national institutions and were not practically terrified about their futures. Such was anything but the case in Germany following WWI. There are no such obvious political or economic stresses in JKR's work that could explain the Death Eaters and lack of a broad response.

Why was it that there had to be an Order of the Phoenix? Was it not little more than a counterinsurgency insurgency? Was it not an extralegal organization operating without the approval of the "legitimate" government? Were they not taking the law in their own hands, assuming they were not declaring the law as they saw it? Again, this sort of thing is "foreign" to us today in many countries. You may find such situations today in such nice places to live as the Middle East or the Balkans where age old resentments continue to fester for various reasons. Other countries have had a taste of it in their pasts. But to really find a historical basis for the problems in the magical world, you have to look back a lot further than the 1990's. 1920's Germany was one of the most recent and obvious Western models. Russia in the decades prior to and following the Bolshevic Revolution of 1917 is another. The society that lead to the French Revolution of 1789 (and the hell that followed) is a third. This list is not intended to be all inclusive. The English Civil Wars and religious wars that were part and parcel with the Protestant Reformation is another. In fact, I think fictional Wizarding Britain is more like that much, much earlier period for reasons far too numerous to list.

Pureblood = Aryan and Muggle Born = Jews may have been in the back of JKRs mind, but it was not what led the Nazi's to power. There were a lot of other things bothering the average German in the 1920's, many of whom could care less about a supposed Jewish conspiracy at first. Their economy was a wreck. They were under enemy occupation. One must also include that "Germany" was never really a nation before the 1860's. What became Germany was a vast collection of smaller Kingdoms and Principalities and such; many of which did not like their other "German" neighbors and certainly were not entirely thrilled with becoming a part of a Prussian dominated nation state. The only thing that they generally had in common was language which is hardly much of anything. (George Bernard Shaw once remarked – not entirely in jest – that the British and Americans are two peoples divided by a common language.)

After their almost comic attempt at a coups in 1923, the Nazis changed tactics and tried to become popular, preying on whatever fear garned them mass appeal and support. This did not mean they played nice. They certainly did not. They just didn't go to a beer hall and think they took over the government anymore. And even when they won enough seats in the government to put the former Communist Party hack Hitler in as Chancellor (and he was one for a bit), and even after they set fire to the Reichstag then blamed on the aforesaid Communists to justify taking over everything, it took years for them to move from that to the Final Solution. It's doubtful anyone thought they were not anti-Semitic at any time, but the real nightmare did not happen over night.

The Death Eaters pogrom against the Muggle Borns, however, did explode into being. In Wizarding Britain, the rise of the Death Eaters brought with it the wholesale (if not organized and state sponsored) murder of Muggle Borns and opponents, something that did not truly come to pass until well after the Nazis took power (that's not to say that the Nazis played nice until then, but neither were they running about killing left and right and bragging about it like it seems Voldemort and his ilk were). In this regard, while both are undeniably evil, the two situations are very, very different.

(Disclaimer: the above is a very quick, simplistic and certainly incomplete summary far from a complete analysis and should not be taken in any way as any kind of sympathy for anything the Nazis did or stood for…)

The Wizengamot and magical society were divided almost from the beginning. The situation that necessitated an extralegal organization like the Order was a government that would not allow Voldemort to take power legitimately but was too divided to crush his movement for its temerity; in other words one where the ideas had enough support and votes to paralyze meaningful response but not enough to allow the Death Eaters to walk through the front door. As there is no evidence that any of those in power were there through popular election… We are left with an archaic form of governance lacking only a true monarch. We are left with a minority governing class (even if they are not all Purebloods) and a vast majority who have no say in government. (Either that, or the majority of all adults work for the Government. All you need to do is look at the problems in modern day Greece to see why this cannot work.)

Another issue is the role of women (here witches) in society. Harry's group is intended to be exceptional not just because of their rather unique relationship. In the books the role of women is somewhat ambiguous and certainly by no means clear. Amelia Bones is a Department Head. Minerva McGonagall a Deputy Headmistress, but we see few others who are both in a position of power and respectable. (Dolores Umbridge is a dangerous, loose cannon at best and there's nothing to suggest anyone truly respects her – feared maybe, respectable...?) In the government, we have Madam Bones and are told of three others (aside from aforesaid Pink Toad): Malfada Hopkirk who signed the letters regarding Harry's illegal use of underage magic, Marietta Edgecrombie's mother who works for the Ministry which could mean anything and Tonks.

In Canon, Muggle Studies is at least fifty years off – (according to Hermione, I think) in other words no later than 1943 and is probably closer to a century off or 1893 since it seems to be silent about the automobile and airplane – then again there is the Wizarding Wireless and the Nights Bus to further confuse things. We do not know whether and to what extent Muggle Studies addresses Muggle history and politics much less if it does how recently. This is critical because their education could well fail to note the success of woman's suffrage and their subsequent participation in the political process.

Prior to 1893, women were excluded from politics generally throughout the world. The handful of historic exceptions were monarchs (and they were truly exceptions of this exception), brief periods of time in one place or another, or small localities and not countries. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to extend the vote to women (France had done so briefly following the Revolution, but that died with Napoleon and did not see the light of day again until after WWII. In the United States Wyoming and Colorado allowed woment to vote at that time - 1893 - and New Jersey had when it became a state in 1790, but repealed that right for its women after a vote fraud scandal in 1807.) Between 1893 and the outbreak of WWI, only Australia and Norway joined this Club. The U.S. granted women the right to vote in 1920, something at least some women had been advocating since before the American Revolution. Britain granted limited suffrage in 1918 (30 yrs old and landowner or the wife of a landowner whereas the right for males was now age 21 without regard to land ownership), structured such that the vast number of women did not enjoy the same right as their male peers. Voting equality between men and women did not occur until 1928. The point is that 100 years before the story, women were not part of the body politic.

The archaic view (that in varying degrees was common globally) was that woman either lacked the ability to participate in governance or should be excluded because their role was to deal with family. This is highly simplistic and a great generalization, but I'm not writing a dissertation here. The point is, historically women's true participation in governance is connected to the rise of democracy, although not always contemporaneous with it. Democracy in a somewhat rigid class society has usually been restricted to a class (for example ancient Athens where the majority of residents could not participate and even then women of that participating class were excluded and Britain where originally it was limited to the nobility and later limited to landowners thereby excluding most of the population and this statement is without regard to various religious exclusions in many places). To the extent this work seems to relegate witches to the back bench (or outside the hall) of the body politic, it is not inconsistent with what was the case throughout the world a century earlier. To the extent that female characters are politically savvy is not inconsistent with that as many women throughout history have been even if they were not in true political positions (and could not be).

Back to the original point:

The "disturbing" suggestions also arise from the old European attitudes towards witchcraft which were themselves contradictory in many ways. These aspersions and the resultant persecutions fell upon woman almost without exception (except where they became an excuse for a pogrom against Jews). A woman who chose to behave contrary to societal (male) expectations might well find herself subject to a witch burning. Likewise, in a society where divorce was impossible… "Witches" were accused of just what Hermione said they were accused of perhaps not individually, but it was believed to be true of the whole. This story assumes that such accusations were not entirely without a basis in fact, as Hermione explained but further assumes that it was not necessarily a permanent thing.

As for why it continues in an era where they do have effective birth control … societal custom can have its own momentum and will not change easily without a much greater need for change. Effective birth control does not create a need for such change, merely a practical possibility. Girls having sexual relationships out of a magical/physiological need for it (as opposed to true promiscuity) does not mean that as a group they will change long standing custom and practice just because they can, particularly where their options are between those who understand what is required and those who do not. As for why boys are not so indoctrinated… Maybe they should have been but for whatever reason (desire for supposedly virginal wives being one possibility) they have not been so educated.

I don't expect everyone to like what I write or even agree with it. The only way to achieve that for any author is to write and publish nothing (in which case they can hardly be considered an author.)


	17. Chapter 17: An Elegant Solution

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I had planned to stay ten chapters ahead. Seems I'm now about twenty… Some amusing bits, but no sex. They are too young for that, you know… And things may seem to spiral out of control a bit. Then again, it is Harry Potter…

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: AN ELEGANT SOLUTION**

Harry once again sat in the conference room at Gringotts reviewing contracts and notes for the upcoming meeting. Of all the meetings he had this week, this one would be the most difficult by far. The first meeting and marriage occurred after the Grangers and Mr. Lovegood recovered their memories about the contracts and what should have been. It also occurred after Harry, Hermione and Luna had spent more than two weeks together knowing they would be married and why thanks to the research and study time available through time compression. The Greengrasses were fully aware of their contract with House Potter. Their concern was about finances and living arrangements mostly and not about the fact their thirteen-year-old daughter was getting married that day on such short notice. Daphne was aware of a contract, but not the details and her concerns were of a more personal nature. The meeting yesterday was along similar lines except Hannah was aware of the details of her contract before they met. The parties did not want out of the contracts, not really at any rate.

That was the difference. In this meeting, Harry wanted out of the contract and knew that at least on the surface that was easier said than done. He had not called in all the signatories as he was fairly certain one would not be persuaded to abrogate the contract. The other two might be, but unless the third also agreed they were stuck. He expected them to resist anything that might force them to breach the contract because, while the contract was not explicit about it, the penalties for a breach were probably steep.

There was a way out of the contract. It's language was such that there was a loophole, one which in the ordinary course of events would never be available or at least exceeding difficult if not impossible to utilize. But there was no such thing as "ordinary course of events" in the life of Harry Potter and at least in this one instance maybe not being normal had its advantages.

"Mr. Potter?" Grisha's voice called. "The others have arrived. it's time."

Harry closed his folders and nodded. He was here in this room to prepare, but knew the meeting would be in another room. Given the circumstances, this required a bigger entrance than before.

"Have they taken the oath?" he asked.

"They have indeed," Grisha replied. The oath was to be a magical one binding the others to say nothing about what transpired today aside from a cover story that Harry would give them later. He was doing his best to keep it all sorted and keep his emotions in check. He really wanted to give these people the benefit of the doubt, but wasn't certain that benefit would amount to anything. He gathered his things and followed Grisha from the room. How he wished Hermione or Luna or any of his girls were here, but that was not how this worked.

Grisha led Harry to another door and it opened. Harry heard a voice announce his arrival.

"All rise!" it said and it was definitely a Goblin. "His Grace, Lord Harry James Potter, Earl of Hwicca, Abengale, Hereford and Finchley, Baron of Loch Sheen, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter!"

Harry knew now that while those titles meant little until he came into his full inheritance, he had been entitled to them since the death of his father and he was still learning what that meant for now. There were three people at the opposite side of the table and several Goblins, many of them armed, around the room. Harry did his best to ignore it all. He walked to his chair and took his seat arranging his folders before him. Grisha took one of the seats next to him and Dobby, acting as his bodyguard took the other. The rest of the Goblins in the room remained standing.

"You may be seated," a Goblin announced. The three others, looking very confused, took their seats.

"This meeting is called pursuant to Summons and in accordance with Treaty between the Goblin Nation and Magical Britain," Girsha began formally. "This meeting is held under a Goblin enforced Truce between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and House of Arthur Weasley. The Truce, by law and treaty is to insure there will be no unnecessary effusion of blood but any breach of said Truce shall be dealt with … harshly!"

"Truce?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Why would we need a truce?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Harry Dear, what's going on?"

Harry did not respond nor look up from his folders.

"There are sufficient grounds," Grisha continued, "for House Potter to declare a Line War against House Weasley. You have been Summoned here to avoid such a fate for both Houses sakes."

"A Line War?" Mr. and Mrs. Weasley asked in confusion.

"An attempt and Line theft or usurpation," Harry answered, not looking up. "An attempt at subordinating my House to yours!"

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "We've done no such thing!"

"Oh?"

"H-Harry?" Mr. Weasley began. "Wh-what are you on about? We've done no such thing as Molly said. You're friends with our sons and … and we enjoyed your visit last year. Th-that's not line theft!"

Harry pulled two documents from his folder and slid them to Arthur and Molly Weasley. "I have no issue with your treatment of me last summer," he began. "Can't say the same for the relatives I've been forced to live with. But do explain that!"

"It' a betrothal contract for Ginny?" Arthur asked confused after reading the first page. "I have no memory of this! We never signed such a thing!"

"I don't remember it either," Molly added.

"Not again," Harry muttered. "Look at the last page," he said aloud. "Those are your signatures, aren't they?"

The two did as they asked while it was clear by looking Ginny was beset by conflicting emotions although she remained silent.

"That looks like our signatures," Arthur nodded. "But signatures can be forged."

"That must be it," Molly agreed.

"I can assure you, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley, that the signatures are authentic," Grisha said. "The signing occurred here on the afternoon of November 11th, 1981 and was witnessed by Ragnock Harshafell, another account manager. It was done with a blood quill and the blood matches your own on file. There was no evidence at that time that either of you were being coerced or compelled to sign this document magically or otherwise, although Ragnock Harfang's notes stated neither of you seemed to have actually read the document. Mr. Weasley stated that the two of you were fully aware of its terms. Unfortunately from Mr. Potter's standpoint, not reading or understanding the terms is no basis to invalidate the contract."

"It changes things a little," Harry added.

"How so, Mr. Potter?" Grisha asked.

"Well, if they have no memory of this, it's like the last time, isn't it?"

"It is possible, Mr. Potter, that this contract merely slipped their mind. What is certain is that if their memories were magically altered as were the others, it was by a different technique. The others were subjected to a memory cap, and advanced and delicate branch of your mind magic that requires great skill and finesse. That does not appear to be the case with these two. If their memories were altered, it was most likely by obliviation. It is effective but crude. The technique suggests there may have been another perpetrator although it could be the same person. In that case the motivation was different."

"Are you saying we were obliviated?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"That appears to be a valid suspicion under the circumstances given the evidence, Mr. Weasley. Unfortunately, it is all but impossible to prove since unlike a memory cap, the memories are well and truly erased and after so much time, a temporal gap can be expected and is in and of itself not suspicious. Be that as it may and as suspicious as subsequent events appear, the fact remains that neither you nor your wife were under any form of magical compulsion when you signed this and when you stated under oath you were not under any form of coercion and did not have grounds to claim fraud, those statements were truthful to the best of your knowledge. About the best that can be said is that you had not truly read that document before signing and, as you had no Goblin or human solicitor, it probably was not explained to you in detail. It is those details that bring you here today and provided a basis for a potential Line War."

"So this changes nothing?" Harry asked.

"Only their degree of complicity and culpability."

Harry nodded. "Actually, while it doesn't change what I need to do today, it does change how I should do it. What I was going to do, believing the Weasleys were a part of all this was confront them with this contract, do what I came here to do and be done with it. Now I feel I need to explain why it must be that way. They won't like it, but you know it's the only option that does not involve either killing or Azkaban or both. That's why I asked for our earlier meeting, just in case they were not truly part of this."

He looked at the two Weasleys. "I believe you when you say you have no memory of this and I believe Grisha when he says you were probably unaware of the details when you signed it. It is possible that the reason the two of you were obliviated was because you did eventually read it and found it every bit as offensive as I do even if it is perfectly legal. That, or like some others, you tried to use this agreement as a means to gain custody over me, something Dumbledore clearly was not about to allow under any circumstances."

"Why wouldn't he?" Mrs. Weasley began.

"He did something to my Aunt and me the day after my mother was killed. My Mum did something that night that kept me alive and that protection was made into a ward scheme. That ward, based upon the common blood we shared with my mother, protects me from Voldemort and his minions. So long as those wards exist, they can't find me. Well, that's not totally true. They can't find me in the Muggle world or outside of public places in the wizarding world if I do not wish to be found. Even if they could, they can't kill me or any member of my family. They can hurt us, but not kill us. Not with magic at any rate. That doesn't mean I can't be killed by magic or that I'm immortal or something. I could leave here, step out into Muggle London and get hit by a bus - a big Muggle vehicle - and be quite dead as a result. I could also be killed by magical means by creatures and such. What happened in the Chamber of Secrets proves that when I was bitten by the basilisk."

"But you didn't die!" Ginny said.

"Only 'cause Fawkes was there," Harry said. "I would have otherwise 'cause it was the basilisk and not Voldemort who struck that blow. Anyway, those wards protect me but they only work so long as my Aunt lives at that house and I live there at least thirty days of the year. And they will only work until the youngest member of my family turns seventeen and until recently that was me. As much as I would have preferred to live anywhere else and with anyone other than those people, those wards are useful and that's probably why Dumbledore has been rather … demanding that I should stay there.

"Now to the Contract. On the surface, it states that you as Ginny's parents and Dumbledore as my then acting magical and legal guardian agreed to betroth Ginny and me and that we would marry, absent extenuating circumstances, sometime between her fifteenth birthday - August 11th, 1996 - and my nineteenth birthday - July 31st, 1999 - in exchange for which as Headmaster of Hogwarts he would not require you to pay tuition for any of your children."

"That doesn't seem terribly offensive," Mr. Weasley said while his daughter squeaked and blushed.

"I can see why we signed it," Mrs. Weasley said. "Bill was set to start wizarding school the next September and we had six more behind him by then. At that time, even though Arthur and I attended Hogwarts so that meant they all would be invited to attend, we didn't have the means to pay for even Bill's first year's tuition. We could have sent him under a hardship scholarship which is available for a legacy student, but wizarding families are only allowed two such scholarships. That means five of our children would have had to attend St. Michaels…"

"St. Michaels?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it's one of the other wizarding schools in Britain and the one nearest our home. Most children attend those schools in part because they cost next to nothing aside from uniforms and supplies. It's not a bad school, really. But Hogwarts is the oldest and most prestigious and for certain jobs, particularly within the Ministry of Magic, you're better off going to Hogwarts. It doesn't mean you can't get a nice job if you don't, but there are more opportunities coming out of Hogwarts in general."

"But what about the Muggle Borns that go there?" Harry asked.

"They are selected at random each year from all over. They pay tuition if they can but most are on a special scholarship for Muggle Borns."

Harry nodded after a few moments. "And, to be honest, if that's all there is to this I would only be upset about the fact that Ginny and I don't have a choice in this matter, but I understand that's still legal."

The two older Weasleys nodded.

"It's the details - again legal - that I really find offensive," Harry went on reading directly from time to time. "First off, the contract allows the two of you or Dumbledore to - what's the word - abrogate any other betrothal contracts that existed or could exist between the Bride and/or Bridegroom - that's how we're referred to throughout this, Ginny - and any third parties or any other contracts that might void or invalidate this one; to end any engagements entered into by or on behalf of the Bride and/or Bridegroom with any third parties and annul any otherwise valid marriages entered into and such. Again, I'm told that's not an unusual provision but in my case it can potentially cause serious problems and may even be viewed as attempted murder…"

"How … how can that be?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

He held up a document. "This is a certificate from the Ministry stating that I share compatible and complementary magic with Hermione Granger…"

"A Soul Bond?"

"It means one is possible between us, but not certain," Harry continued. "This is another stating that the same thing is true between Luna Lovegood and myself."

"Two?"

"Possible, but not certain. This is a betrothal contract between my parents and Luna's made about a month after she was born. It is a conditional contract and that condition is the start of the bond. We can be married anytime after that without regard to our ages. This is a similar contract between my parents and the Grangers…"

"But they're Muggles?"

"And my Mum sought them out, became friends with them and looked after Hermione, Luna and me while her parents worked. The law does not absolutely prohibit telling the parents of a Muggle Born about their child's magic until they are to be sent to magical schools and there are exceptions and I believe this fell into one.

"This is a betrothal contract between my Father as Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter - he was not yet twenty-one when he signed the other two even though his father had already died - and the Greengrass family. I was to marry their daughter Daphne anytime after I began bonding with and married Hermione or Luna provided that my Dad died without having any other children. Because I'm the last Potter, I can be in a Plural Marriage.

"Then there's this one between the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. It's a Line Continuation Contract conditioned upon Hannah's father dying without another child and my being married in a valid plural marriage with at least two witches to continue the Potter line. And yes, I know what a Line Continuation Contract means.

"The contracts with the Lovegoods and Grangers were signed before my father turned twenty-one. They were reaffirmed afterwards when he was able to legally exercise all his rights as Head of House Potter.

"These last four are all marriage certificates executed here at Gringotts this week. I married Hermione and Luna on Tuesday after it was verified our bonds were forming. I married Daphne on Wednesday and Hannah yesterday as all the conditions of their contracts have been met. Needless to say, I doubt you were even aware of these possibilities back when you signed yours and as you can guess, yours now poses some problems."

"I should say it does," Mrs. Weasley began. "I would never have agreed to this if there was a chance of a Plural Marriage."

"Last of an Ancient and Noble House," Harry said. "Without that clause about breaking up contracts and marriages, I had the right to a Plural Marriage to continue the line and protect the future of my family seat in the Wizengamot. And since it's illegal to interfere with or break up a Soul Bond and neither you nor Dumbledore ever had the authority to interfere with any contract made by the Head of my Ancient and Noble House, unless you and Dumbledore break this contract of refuse to enforce it, Ginny's stuck as my fourth Potter wife and fifth wife overall."

"That clause in your contract about breaking others is a problem. Dumbledore can't use it to go against the will of the Last Lord Potter, but he can use it to interfere with things or to prevent that from happening. To interfere with a forming Soul Bond could kill us, hence the bit about attempted murder…"

"Just out of curiosity, how did you find out about this?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Harry was not about to tell them about the Tennysons / Flamels. But he had a plausible story which was not entirely false. "I have no living magical parents or such. These are all recorded at the Ministry and since my parents are gone, so long as I'm twelve and they're about me, I can get copies." It was true enough even if he didn't do it that way.

"And you're wives?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Are they living with you?"

Harry nodded.

"With your relatives?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I got a live-in trunk from a friend when I got back from Hogwarts. The trunk is at my relatives and that's where I live for now. It means I am living there, but they can't get in or get rid of it. My girls have access trunks and one is at each of their homes so we can come and go as we please. I only need to be in my trunk eight hours a day or so, in other words when I sleep. I also need to have contact with Hermione and Luna for the bond for eight hours a day or so until it's fully formed, so they sleep with me and no! We're not having sex or anything like that! If anything, the bonding tends to prevent that."

"Is it large enough for all of you? How do you eat?"

"It's larger than the Burrow on the inside and it has plenty of bathrooms so there's no queuing. As for eating, there are House Elves with the Trunk and I have a large Trust Fund with more than enough to pay for food and for my girls' needs. May we continue?"

The Weasleys nodded.

"You said you have no memory of this Contract and I believe you. I said early - and neither of you disagreed - that I doubted you would've signed it for all the Galleons in Gringotts - no offense, Grisha."

"None taken," the Goblin replied.

"You would not have signed if you even thought there was a chance that Ginny might be part of a Plural Marriage, am I right?"

The elder Weasleys nodded.

"At the time you signed this Contract, Dumbledore knew about the other four," Harry continued. "He had claimed magical guardianship over me by then and would then have access to those contracts. He had already taken care of that situation - or so he thought."

"Taken care of…?" Molly began.

"He visited the Grangers and the Lovegoods, stunned them by surprise and memory capped them," Harry began before explaining what the families had promised to do and how Harry was supposed to have grown up with Hermione and Luna so that both bonds might one day form. "The Greengrass contract was contingent upon my bonding with one of them - Hermione or Luna that is. The Abbott Contract was contingent upon my entering into a Plural Marriage already which meant a bonding with either or both or one of them and marrying that girl and Daphne. By eliminating the Grangers and Lovegoods from the situation, he had no reason to deal with the other families. After all, just because a soul bond might form does not mean that it will."

"I can't believe he would do this," Molly began.

"He did," Harry said. "We can't say precisely why, although we have a pretty good idea. All we really have are theories - guesses really - that make some sense under the circumstances. But he did and because he did that's why he's not here and why you had to take that oath today. He's messed with my life long enough and I won't give him a chance to continue doing so for whatever reason!

"Right then. Now as I said, there's nothing that can be done about my other marriages until I'm twenty-one and then only if they're not consummated."

"What's that mean?" Ginny asked.

"It means if I never had sex with one of my wives before then. While the bonding prevents sex for now, it's pretty much certain to happen sooner rather than later once it's complete. Hannah wants this Contract and marriage and I am beginning to like her and Daphne seems to want it too, so I'd say that won't be an issue seeing as we have a little over eight years to get to that point before it can be used to annul the marriage.

"The other problem is while there are things I might be able to do about the contract with Ginny, unless I'm willing to kill her or you or Dumbledore, I can't get out of it completely. My best shot of getting out of it was two weeks ago. Had I not gone after Ginny or had I gotten there too late, she's be dead and this contract would be void as I can't marry a dead person. But Voldemort would be back as well so that wasn't an option and it's not like Ginny means nothing at all to me. She is my best friend's sister and I don't dislike her or something like that. Since such measures were not really an option, the only other way I can avoid marrying Ginny - seeing as there really are no conditions or other ways out - is to either avoid it until I'm twenty-one when I can void the contract on my own or avoid having sex with her until then…"

"Can't you do it at seventeen?" Ginny asked.

"That's usually the out clause in these things," Harry said. "Except this Contract does not allow that so I can't, at least not until I become the Head of my House which does not completely occur until I'm old enough to take my seat in the Wizengamot. What this means, Ginny, is whether we want to or not, we will be married by the time I'm nineteen. Our only way out would be to abstain from consummating the marriage until we're twenty-one and can annul it on those grounds. The next bits are even more offensive to all of us because they're intended to take care of that way out.

Harry read. "Upon both Bride and Bridegroom attaining their respective bonding ages…," he looked up. "I have. The earliest Ginny could is this time next year." He continued: "… the parties may with or without consultation with each other use such reasonable, non-magical means as they deem appropriate to encourage the Bride and Bridegroom to enter into a romantic relationship with one another. Furthermore, the parties may take similar measures to encourage the Bride and Bridegroom to engage in frequent sexual intercourse…"

"And just how are we to do that?" Mrs. Weasley almost shrieked.

"It doesn't say," Harry replied. "My girls told me of a scenario, though. Ginny reaches bonding age next summer probably, and probably before I'm allowed to leave the Dursleys. Since I do have four, young wives all of whom are at or beyond bonding age, they've told me things about teenage witches and their needs. I was Muggle Raised and even if not, if we weren't married they probably would not have mentioned those things. I know now that between bonding age and magical and sexual maturity - or pregnancy whichever's first - they need sex even more than teenage wizards. They are not forbidden from having it with boys, not since magical birth control which they're all required to take, but many of us blokes only care about getting our jollies, not whether she does and that's what she needs to mature properly so they are all strongly encouraged to seek sex with other young witches."

"You're not supposed to know about that!" Molly said.

"Four wives," Harry replied. "And believe me I was stunned when they told me 'bout it. But … well, the magical world is different, you know. Saying something's off 'cause it's not that way in the Muggle world doesn't always work really. Anyway, they have those needs and even if I could provide them, I can't possibly provide them for all four, can I? Not as often as they need it for now given the fact we are all in school and have time commitments and such so they explained this to me if for no other reason than to let me know they were intimate that way and it was not because of me at all.

"So here I am, clueless about such things, and I arrive at the Burrow after Ginny has reached the age where just diddling herself is not enough - she's now beginning to need physical intimacy and sexual release - but before she goes through her mentorship where she's taught to have sex with girls. You take us aside, somewhere alone, and tell me about her new needs and tell her to let me help her with them. She's sexually in need of it and I'm just a fourteen year old bloke who probably would jump at the chance and her Mum's just told us she's okay with us doing it … a lot. Moreover, you tell me that sex is not a big deal in the Wizarding World while you're still single. Most all wizards and witches are doing it before they finish school and you'd rather it would be me than some boy who didn't care at all about Ginny and her needs and naturally, even in the Wizarding World her brothers are not an option. Unless we absolutely hate the idea of doing that with each other, that small push and we're shagging like bunnies in no time."

"You've got to admit, Molly, you did the same with me Fifth Year," Mr. Weasley said.

"And still needed a mild love potion to get you going. He was very shy at the time," she explained.

"She told me first, about the potion that is," Arthur said. "It's not that I didn't want to, but I guess then I needed the little extra push and I took it because I wanted to make her happy."

"Now, the contract does not require this," Harry said, "it only allows for it. Let's continue, shall we? Should the Bride and Bridegroom not become a romantic couple prior to the Bride's fifteenth birthday, the parties may, without consultation, use any legal magical means they deem necessary to bring the couple together and encourage frequent sexual intercourse."

"And," Harry continued, "while the contract does not say what magical means can be used, it only restricts illegal ones. As you signed this contract, you basically agree no Unforgivables as I'm told they're called. There are some potions out there that would get us together and shagging even if we couldn't stand each other. There are potions out there where we couldn't stop ourselves. We could be shagging on the Gryffindor House table during meals in front of the whole school and not care at all!"

"Eeep!" Ginny squeaked.

"But why?" Mrs. Weasley asked almost in tears.

"It gets worse, Mrs. Weasley. So far the Contract allows this but does not require it at all." He then continued reading. "Once any of the parties determine that Bride and Bridegroom are or have engaged in sexual intercourse, they shall do the following," Harry stopped. "That means you have to and in your cases, given that the value of your tuition waiver could be at least 50,000 Galleons, the penalties for breach are severe or so Grisha tells me. And, given his actions so far, I have no doubt Dumbledore has no reservations about the 'shall' bit. Continuing. First, the parties shall provide living accommodations for Bride and Bridegroom that shall facilitate frequent sexual intercourse." Harry paused. "It doesn't say what but we guess it means something like married student quarters at Hogwarts … so we don't have to do it in broom closets or in the Great Hall I guess. Second, the parties shall use such magical means as necessary to continue the sexual activity - but at least now we might be able to get to our room without shagging in the Great Hall, every broom closet or such. It also probably means I would sleep in Ginny's bed at the Burrow, again so she and I could run off before doing it at your dinner table. We don't know if it meant her staying with me at my relatives and until I got my trunk, that would just be cruel! And it gets worse…"

"How could it get any worse?" Mrs. Weasley sniffed. "I would've never agreed to this!"

"It gets worse," Harry began.

"How could it get any worse?" it seemed all three Weasleys asked.

"Third, once such living arrangements are in place either at school or the home of the Family of the Bride, the Bride shall be denied any form of magical Birth Control and placed on fertility potions." There were gasps. "Small loophole here, being Muggle Raised," Harry quipped. "Doesn't prevent us from using non-magical Birth Control. Hermione says the best method, aside from not having sex at all, is a pill girls can get, but you need to be part of the Muggle Health System to get them. Doesn't matter how fertile Ginny is if she's taking drugs that make her have her monthlies anyway. But we'd have to know about this and the Contract says she and I are not to be told and since, aside from the bottle or detection spells that you can't truly master before Seventh Year at the earliest there's no way to tell the difference between one potion or the other, they are supposedly the same in taste, color and odor - birth control in a brown bottle and fertility in a white one … three months for the Birth Control potions to wear off and, depending on the girl and when in her monthly cycle and how often she's having sex - and we'd be shagging like bunnies by now - and she's pregnant. This Contract allows Ginny to get pregnant as early as her Third Year in theory! Nothing is required until her fifth, unless we're already having sex so, as no girl is allowed to remain at school if she's more than three months along and she's never allowed to return to school, Ginny could be out of school before her O.W.L.'s and probably would never finish. While there's nothing preventing it, this contract does not require that you or I provide tutors to allow her to one day finish her education and take her N.E.W.T.s!"

"Wh-what-whatever else I-I may've th-thought I w-wanted," Ginny cried, "I-I w-wanted to f-f-finish j-j-just like M-M-Mum!"

"I would never have agreed to this for my daughter!" Mr. Weasleys stated.

"N-n-nor I," Mrs. Weasley added softly. "Wh-what h-have w-we d-done t-to our l-little g-girl?"

"Do you want to hear more before I get to the part that really has me in a twist? There's a bit in here about her having to bear me three boys. Might not seem much to you Weasleys, seeing as she's supposed to be the first daughter in ages, but I'm a Potter. Last few generations aside, we tend to breed far more girls than boys and that - girls or boys - are always the father's thing. Interestingly, our recent success with boys first or only came after someone invented a potion the father could take to choose the sex of their child before even having sex. Problem is, take it too much and the guy might not be able to have children at all! With a couple of exceptions, we Potters rarely had more than one boy, but almost always more than one girl and almost always two or three before the son was born. I can't use that potion for more than one child. That means, if I am a true Potter, she'd have to have four to six girls to get me those three boys at best! She's be on again off again pregnant for a dozen years or more assuming no problems! Basically, whether you or Dumbledore knew, she's to breed early and often! Then there's the bit where she's not allowed employment outside of the Household. Then again, it seems her true job is to breed early and often and believe me my girls and I take offense at that! I'm not saying they only want one child each, but they want to choose when and how many and not to be tied down that way unless they want to! They want the option to have jobs and as they are all smart and such and I have elves and their parents will help out when that time comes - hopefully not until after we get our N.E.W.T.s - why shouldn't they have that choice? Nothing against you Mrs. Weasley, but why shouldn't they if they can? And, as much as I hate that bit, from my point of view it's not even the worst bit!"

There was a long pause before Mr. Weasley spoke. Both Ginny and her mother were still crying. "This doesn't justify a Line War…"

"No," Harry said. "Shagging your daughter rotten as soon as possible and getting her pregnant as soon as possible and as often as necessary does not. But the final clauses do!" He began reading. "Upon the marriage of the Bride and Bridegroom, the Bridegroom shall be deemed a Vassal of the Head of the Bride's family until his death…"

"Bloody hell," Mr. Weasley sighed.

"Wh-what's a V-Vassal?" Ginny asked.

"It means, for the rest of my life your Dad or one of your brothers or one of their sons is effectively Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter with control over my lands and property and accounts and, probably most important, absolute control over my seat in the Wizengamot. Now, if I have a male heir who survives me it reverts to him on my death or his twenty-first birthday whichever is later. During my life your family can do what they will with that and there's nothing I can do to stop them! I became Head of House upon my Dad's death! I can't take full control until I turn twenty-one and can take my seat in the Wizengamot, but I am Head! Until this summer, I knew nothing of this! I should have been instructed on this BEFORE I began Hogwarts and should even now be receiving reports from Gringotts about my accounts and from my House Proxy about what's coming to vote in the Wizengamot. While Dumbledore is not my proxy now, you Weasleys are his Vassals! And, as for the reports, I do know one of the wards prevents me from receiving mail from - I suppose - unapproved sources. When I turn seventeen, I can normally tell my proxy what to do and sack him if he doesn't. If I'm a Vassal, he's not my proxy. I've lost my seat and heritage! That, since it's through no fault of mine or my ancestors, is Line Theft even if it could revert to my line in time! There's also the bit where upon turning twenty-one I'm to pay the Head of the Bride's family a half million galleons subject to a deduction in favor of Dumbledore for yours and your brothers' school tuition. My House can afford it but that's not the point!"

"Those are grounds for a Line War," Mr. Weasley sighed. "If we signed this, even if we didn't know this at the time…"

"Dumbledore must've known this!" Mrs. Weasley hissed. "Why would he do this?"

"To take control of House Potter," Harry said. "Of the Ancient and Noble Houses, it's one that while not always opposed to him is not always for him and it seems my ancestors always carried the middle, enough so that if we opposed he lost and if we supported he won. He doesn't carry that middle just by having my votes, but he knows he can't carry them at all if I can oppose him as Head of House Potter. Add to it, he stuck me in the Muggle World and despite his role as my guardian kept me stupid about all of this when it's supposed to be his job to teach me! He's been a member of the Wizengamot since he turned twenty-one so he was there when Phineas Black was appointed to that group and began arguing for Muggle and Muggle Born rights and in favor of such things as elections to government and all of that. Dumbledore was willing to grant some concessions as to Muggles and Muggleborns - without true teeth to enforce them - but not such radical ideas as elections. Of course, I doubt it helped that Phineas and the Radicals who supported him later became enamored with Karl Marx and the Bolshevicks. Don't ask me about that lot. I just know they tend to offend.

"My Ancestors opposed Phineas 'cause of the Bolshevick thing and Dumbledore on his concessions - because he was too weak - and on some form of elections - because unless you're on the Wizengamot or a senior Ministry Official, you have no say in how things are! With one notable exception not relevant here, Dumbledore wants things the way they were and quiet! He fears reform and fears a Muggle Raised like me with what Daphne calls more than a fair bit of political capital by being The-Boy-Who-Lived and some stuff I've done lately should it get out; I might have ideas as radical as Phineas – less the Bolshevik bits – and the ability to get enough votes to make them happen and Dumbledore won't stand for it as it flies in the face of whatever he calls the Greater Good!"

"So this was all about politics?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Since he doesn't profit from this in Galleons really, what other thing could it be?"

"And what do you think about that?" Molly asked.

"I'm twelve years old! What I think now really doesn't matter! Ask me that again if I ever get my House back and take my Seat! Or ask my appointed Proxy then."

There was a long pause. "How do we get out of this mess?" Molly asked. "Nothing against you, Harry, but we'd never want this for Ginny and not for this price! Can we do anything?"

Harry sighed. "My girls and I have been working this since we learned of it and Grisha for far, far longer. This contract was written by a clever Goblin who saw at least part of what was going on. Apparently, he couldn't make it totally unbreakable - short of killing people that is - but he wrote in potential loopholes that could, if they happened, at least preserve my Line."

"Such as?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"I can't get out of marrying Ginny nor she of marrying me without dead people. That bit for us is sealed and my Plural Marriage doesn't change that since I can have a fifth wife with reason. We're pretty sure it has to be a consummated marriage, so annulment is not an option and that we must marry by the time I'm nineteen. We are certain, however, we can get out of the bits about potions and pregnancy."

"But that does nothing about the Vassalage! You marry her and…"

"I owe Vassalage to the Head of the Bride's Family - as in the Head of her family as determined at the time of her marriage to me. If she's a Potter before she's married to me and not a Weasley; I owe Vassalage to me as I'm the Head of House Potter - the only one. And I also owe myself a half million at age twenty-one and as I didn't send any children through Hogwarts with the tuition waiver, I don't have to pay that back since that clause only applies if you're the Head of the Bride's Family. Clever trick, the Goblins played. It was a long shot that this could happen…"

"Has it?"

"It will by the time I leave here today."

"Adoption?" Molly asked.

"It could be deemed a contract in conflict with the Betrothal Agreement and then avoidable by either yourselves or Dumbledore," Grisha said. "This called for a more subtle and elegant solution, if it could happen."

"Turns out Grisha here wrote the contract at Dumbledore's behest," Harry chuckled. "His elegant solution was a long shot, but better than no shot at all and, until three weeks ago I could only have hoped that the lot of you forgot about this until I turned twenty-one…"

"Life debt!" Arthur hissed. "If she's your slave…"

"Muggle-raised," Harry almost sing-songed. "We did away with slavery - and in my case that includes the elves I employ - and I do employ them. While they are magically bonded to me and my family, they are paid a wage for their services even if it's not much by our terms. What I propose and insist upon is not slavery and calling in the debt by making her my wife triggers the Vassalage Clause as she's still legally and magically your daughter. Another guess?"

"I can't think of anything," Mrs. Weasley began.

"A concubine," Harry said.

"BUT THAT'S A SLAVE!" she shot back.

"Legally and magically, it's not," Grisha said. "A slave can be sold and used as property - whored out for profit as I believe you Wizards say. Concubines cannot be. A slave cannot be released from their status. Concubines can be. A slave cannot marry. Unreleased concubines can marry their Lord and Master. A slave's children are bastards without any rights to inheritance. A concubine's children are at worst only subordinate in such rights to the children of her Lord and Master's legal wife assuming he doesn't marry the concubine and even without marrying her the Lord and Master can make them equal to those children such that if the first born son is the son of the Concubine, he is the heir of the family. A slave has no family and no head of family for she is property only. A concubine becomes, upon bonding, a member of her Lord and Master's family by law and magic and name. It is a relationship that can be abused without much in the way of recourse in your world. But it does not follow that it is always abused. She would be neither slave nor wife, unless Mr. Potter marries her in time which he both can and must do. Since Mr. Potter cannot avoid the marriage without her death and he does not wish that for her, they must marry. But as his concubine first, she would then be more than a mere betrothed who can be cast aside or ignored since he becomes responsible for her well being from the moment of their bonding. She would be less than a wife, which avoids the Vassalage and Payment Clauses, yet more than a betrothed, which protects her and obligates him to treat her well. It's an elegant and devious solution to this dilemma, even if it was - as Mr. Potter said - a long shot to avoid Line Theft."

"Daphne says you would've made a great and proper Slytherin and given that most of her House are anything but…"

"I consider that a compliment, Mr. Potter and please thank the Countess for it for me."

"I will indeed as it was meant to be one."

"And how does this solve the problem?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Still have to marry her before I'm nineteen," Harry said. "Now we have over six years to get used to the idea. I had Grisha draw up a new betrothal contract and since it does not stop us from marrying and I am somewhat emancipated, it doesn't trigger the Contract Clause. It defines the terms of the betrothal, as it were. This gets us all out from the potions nonsense, but she will as my Concubine, be living in my trunk with my family. What this means is not in my bed shagging like bunnies. That's not saying it will never happen, but when it does it will be because it's what Ginny, my family and I want and we all agree it's time. Under this contract, Ginny and I will marry sometime after her bonding age but not later than her seventeenth birthday. It also states that unless I and my family agree for reasons of our prolonged safety - as in the wards on my Aunt's House which protect us all and will fall when the youngest of us is seventeen – she will not be required to become pregnant until after she finishes Hogwarts. And, before you ask, my family will only agree if we all agree the wards remain necessary for our safety from Voldemort and his minions and none of my wives are willing at that time to take that bludger for the team. Then and only then does it fall to Ginny and in no case will she become pregnant such that she can't sit for her O.W.L's and unless it's her choice, by our rules, not to go on for her N.E.W.T.s. Otherwise I will provide tutors for her to continue on if she cannot finish Hogwarts because of that decision. Only in that regard is she different in any way from the rest of my wives and it's only for that - hopefully unneeded reason - that I will keep her as a concubine beyond her bonding age. I won't order my wife to get pregnant. I can order my concubine to do so. I will only do so for the safety of all of us and only if my wives balk and - as Hannah wants a large family to preserve House Abbott - it's entirely possible she'll be the one taking that bludger.

"She will leave here my concubine. That's not negotiable. It's the only way out for House Potter! Had you been part of the conspiracy against my House, you would've both been escorted out long before now and I would've already bound Ginny to me because of the Life Debt she owes me! I would've owed you no explanation and no apology or anything! But get this straight: before we leave this room, magical and legally she is no longer your daughter, she's my family. This contract says that and says that I'm responsible for her from now on. Don't worry. It seems I make more than 20,000 a year from my trust to spend and have 90,000 I can spend to support her and the others. I will pay her Hogwarts tuition through Seventh Year before the summer is over - anonymously of course. One of my elves is probably already collecting the things from her room which they think might be of sentimental value, as well as her books and school supplies. She won't be getting her clothes back. When we leave here, we have an open appointment with Madam Malkin's and Madam Carter's for a completely new wardrobe for her from her knickers to accessories - age appropriate, of course; summer, fall, winter and spring… It's quite a list my girls have drawn up. Did she get her wand from Ollivanders?"

"N-no," Mrs. Weasley said. "It's from my gran…"

"New wand too, then. I won't have my girls held back by a second-hand wand. She can keep her old one - with your permission - as an object of sentimental value. If we have time, maybe ice cream at Fortescues? Then it's home for dinner…"

"Will we," Mrs. Weasley began, "will we see her again?"

"Certainly not before early August," Harry said. "Plans for the summer, you know? Had you been a part of this plot against my house, not in your lifetime! But, as it seems you were not, maybe in August and certainly sometime over the Christmas Hols. Until I leave my relatives - not earlier than August 4th - you can't write either. Even though my current living situation with them is tolerable, I want to keep the owls to a minimum. After that, she can write to you and you to her. But the oath you took remains. Aside from the three of you, no one can know of this before September 1st and after she's left with us for Hogwarts, not even her brothers."

"What do we tell them?"

Harry smiled. "As a result of last year Ginny had an emotional breakdown today. A generous benefactor saw this and is paying for her to spend time with a private mind healer. It is hoped that she'll be herself again when the school year begins."

The elder Weasleys thought about all of this for a while, as did Ginny. All three read over the new betrothal contract - or more appropriately - terms of concubine contract -although it didn't say that. They spoke quietly about it for a while before all three picked up a blood quill and signed. Harry then signed as well. He then claimed by magical oath his right to Ginny in payment of her Life Debt, signed another document to that effect and Ginevra Molly Weasley became from that day forward Virginia Ellen Potter - that way, Harry explained, she could always remain "Ginny" to family and friends. The Weasleys were invited to join them for shopping - provided they offered no suggestions to the personal shoppers.


	18. Chapter 18: The Second Surprise

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I have found that writing in the Weasleys in fanfics exposes the author to criticism. Doesn't matter how you write them. There's always some out there who will agree with how you do it and others who will disagree and oddly, it seems, Molly, Ginny and Ron garner this yin versus yang response perhaps more so than any other characters. Make them evil, you get complaints. Make them nice, get complaints. Explain them, get complaints. I suppose if I ignored them completely, there'd be complaints. Since I can't win, I write them the way they need to be to fit the story.

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE SECOND SURPRISE**

In the end, however, elder Weasleys decided not to accompany Harry and Hermione on their shopping trip. Mrs. Weasley felt it was best that they said their goodbyes now rather than put them off which would make things more tense if that was possible. There was a long and somewhat tearful goodbye from the older Weasleys with their now former daughter after which they left for the Leaky Cauldron and the floo. Ginny remained with Harry watching them leave. Ginny wondered why it didn't seem all that painful given all that had happened. She would wonder that for some time and learn that her new bond had something to do with why she was not a complete wreck when her parents left and later on. It made sense upon reflection. She had been an emotional wreck for almost a year. She became more of one as that meeting wore on and then things changed immediately when Harry bound her to him as his Concubine. The feelings were still there, just far, far below the surface. For the first time since she had found that diary in her cauldron, Ginny felt almost like she was again Ginny and not someone she hardly recognized or understood.

"Now Ginny," Harry said after a moment's pause, "remember what I said about not ordering you about?" Ginny nodded. "Actually today will be the only two exceptions unless we decide you need to become pregnant first. My first order is this: you are required to be at Stage One Intimacy with me beginning now." He walked up to her, hugged her and to his relief she hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek. He then took her hand and led her into the Alley.

Their first stop was Ollivander's where she was matched with a wand she knew was much better for her than her other one. It was ash with a hippogriff feather core. Harry also purchased six wand holders as they seemed like a really good idea - much better than keeping a wand in a pocket. The holders could be hung from a belt or attached to the wrist.

With their first purchases in a bag, they next went to Madam Malkin's and Ginny got what she thought was a very elegant set of formal wizarding robes. Then it was across the Alley and down a ways to Madam Carter's. Madam Carter's was a store Ginny always wanted to go to but her mother said she was too young or it could be too expensive. Most of her clothes came from a second hand store nearby. Her mother insisted there was nothing wrong with that and Ginny accepted this. After all, while they were hand-me-downs of a sort, at least they weren't from Ron. Madam Carter's specialized in "Modern" fashions for witches and young witches. Most of her clothes could easily pass without notice in the Muggle World unlike Wizarding Robes.

Harry pretty much left her with a shopping assistant to whom he handed the list his girls had come up with. Ginny couldn't believe how much was on there. She never had more than two pairs of shoes at any one time and now, including sandals, she had ten pairs. She had all new underwear, which probably would have drawn a comment from her mother, even if the store itself did not, as the list included "Bras, fitted or training as appropriate, five white, five may have tasteful colors or patters, age appropriate." Her mother said she was still too young for a bra. There were also three one-piece bathing suits which again would have drawn a comment from her mother as being far to revealing to be decent. Then there were the jeans, slacks, shorts, and skirts and more tops then she believed she had ever had. "Tasteful and age appropriate" was the only restriction. There were also jumpers and jackets for her new outfits as well. Then came the dresses. Many were termed "informal" but she also had three formal summer dresses and two such winter dresses. This was followed by coats and jackets for colder weather and "age appropriate accessories" which were mostly some nice hats, belts, scarves, and two handbags. Finally, she got a nice bathrobe and three "age appropriate" night gowns for sleeping. She really had no idea what to do with so many clothes. And she was really stunned when Harry came to pay for them. Without batting an eye, he paid a little over twelve hundred Galleons.

As soon as the purchase was made, Dobby appeared and all the shopping bags disappeared. Harry then took Ginny by the hand and led her to Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor.

"Why do I need so many clothes?" Ginny asked as she ate her ice cream. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she arrived at Gringotts.

"My girls think you do," Harry said with a shrug. "While you might not think it, it seems Hermione and Luna really like having a selection of stuff to wear."

"But … Harry there's no way I'll ever wear all of it! I can't wear any of it at Hogwarts, you know!"

Harry nodded and then explained his trunk to her, including its Time Compression feature and the gardens. "So, we'll be living there year round," he continued, "even at Hogwarts. Hermione and Luna need to be with me for the bond and … well, I am married to all four of them and now that you're a part of this too, you will live with us."

"But…"

"We spend time in the gardens each day in Time Compression," Harry continued. "Now, while I mentioned five gardens and that there may be more by summer's end, in reality there're only two: the Summer Garden and the Winter Garden. Right now, the Winter Garden is more than half of the Fruit Garden, part of the Flower Garden and about third of the Vegetable Garden. The Summer Garden is warm the year round. The Winter Garden has plants that need the seasons so it has the four seasons. Right now, it's early summer and you really can't tell much of a difference between the climates. But that will change in September probably and it will get colder and it will eventually snow in the Winter Gardens. So, to enjoy the Fall, Winter and Spring we need appropriate clothes."

Ginny could only nod at this explanation for she still felt she had more than she'd ever need. When they were finished, Harry called for Dobby and they both took the Elf's hand. Diagon Alley faded away and a small bedroom with dilapidated furnishings appeared in its place.

"Where are we?" she asked. Even by her standards this room was tiny and it lacked any sort of homey feel.

"My relatives' house," Harry said. "Specifically, the smallest bedroom in the house which they allow me to use, although I doubt they're happy about that."

"Why are we here? Where's your Trunk?"

"There," Harry said pointing to a large but fairly normal looking trunk by the bed. "Dobby could've brought us in, but to key you into the wards we need to be outside. Besides, everyone else came in by trunk." Dobby appeared and handed Harry and Ginny their wands and Harry explained how to key herself in. A few minutes later, after being asked to give Dobby her wand, she was climbing down the ladder into the Trunk ahead of Harry.

It still didn't look like much. But, while unfurnished it was arguably nicer than the last room. "This is just a cloakroom of sorts," Harry explained. He led her through the door and into the Entry Hall and Ginny's jaw dropped. "And this is just the Entry Hall," Harry explained. "These doors lead to the other access trunks I've activated and the fireplace can be connected to the floo. I flooed to Gringotts, you see. Now I said I had one more order for you and it's this. Take off all your clothes!"

"What?" Ginny asked in shock.

"Take off all your clothes!"

She wanted to refuse, but now she felt the power of the bond as her hands refused to obey her. "Aren't you going to turn around?"

"No," Harry replied.

She wanted to disobey but could not and soon she stood before him naked trying to cover her bits at least until he told her not to. He was obviously looking her over and she was both embarrassed and wanted to be angry and scared. What did this mean?

"You're very pretty, Ginny," Harry said. "And one day no doubt you'll be very beautiful. Now take my hand and come with me and don't worry about those clothes."

She did as she was told, worried about what would happen next. He had made certain promises to her parents and now it seemed he was going to break them in her mind. He led her into the Great Hall with all of its seating areas and walls seemingly covered with tapestries and paintings, none of which seemed to move at all. Then, he led her off to a side door and she was now starting to get very afraid of what would happen next. They entered the room. It was much smaller, but still very large as compared to any of the rooms at her former home. She was led towards a couch where there were four naked girls seated. Between her and the couch was a low table with a silver tea service upon it. She only recognized one of them for certain - Hermione. She was pretty sure another was Luna Lovegood even though they had not played together since she was about seven or eight. She knew the names of the other two, but not which was which. Harry stopped before the low table.

"How'd it go?" Hermione asked.

Harry described the meeting at Gringotts including the fact that the elder Weasleys had been probably obliviated and were as offended by many of the details in the contract as they had been.

"They had no serious objection to a betrothal between Ginny and me," he said. "But the extreme measures were another thing. I really don't think they read the contract before they signed. They certainly had issues with almost everything but the betrothal itself and the Hogwarts tuition and they explained that to my satisfaction."

"We still couldn't get out of this," one of the other naked girls said.

"No," Harry agreed, "we couldn't. But your idea of a backup betrothal agreement … well, they signed it after reading it."

"So they're on our side in this?" the girl asked.

"Can't say that. They're just not truly against this."

"That's more than we expected," Hermione said.

"Introductions?" the other girl said.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Sorry. Forgot. Ladies, this is my Concubine and Betrothed, now Virginia Ellen Potter. Ginny, this is my wife by Soul Bond, Lady Hermione, Countess Designate of Finchley."

Ginny was still trying to figure out the naked bit and just stood there and stared her mouth agape.

"In a formal introduction," the other girl whom she didn't know said, "and especially to a Lady with a title, it is proper to curtsy and say 'Your Grace' it is a privilege to meet you' or some such."

Ginny did that, although curtsying while naked seemed both awkward and a little silly.

"My wife by Soul Bond, Lady Luna, Countess Designate of Hwicca," Harry said next and Ginny went through the silliness again. "My wife, Lady Daphne," he said meaning the other girl who had been talking, "Countess Designate of Abengale."

When Ginny did the silliness again, Daphne spoke. "I hope you don't have the same problem with Slytherins as your brother Ronald. I didn't want to be sorted into that House, you should know, I just was. We're not all evil or Pureblood Supremacists. Load of rubbish that, if you ask me. I do my best to have nothing to do with most of them. Malfoy's family is after my hand - they won't get it now! I'd rather marry anyone but him or his friends or anyone that thinks like them and marrying into an Ancient and Noble House? Like there's one of them that can offer that? I hope we can become friends in time, Ginny."

Ginny could only nod in reply.

"Finally, my wife and Consort," Harry continued. "She's my Line Continuation wife; Lady Hannah Abbott, Baroness of Tinworth."

"Your Grace," Ginny began as she curtsied.

"Actually," Hannah said, "as Baroness and not Countess, I'm only Milady."

Ginny nodded.

"Have a seat," Hermione said indicating a chair that was close to the table but across from the four of them. Ginny did as she was told.

"Well, I leave her to you," Harry said. "Gotta get to the kitchen, you know." With that Harry left.

"Do you know why you're naked?" Daphne asked.

Ginny shook her head.

"It's because you're a Concubine and not a wife for now," Daphne continued. "As a Concubine, except for special occasions such as your Birthday or a Harry Date - and while there haven't been any of those for us there will be - society expects you not to out dress his wives. You can dress as well, just not better aside from those exceptions."

"S-s-so wh-why are you n-naked?" Ginny asked.

"We choose to be," Daphne said. "When we're alone here, what we wear or don't wear is our business. Luna and Hermione chose to be naked their first day here when they were alone with Harry. Luna likes being naked and Hermione…"

"I've grown to like it as well."

"It's certainly helpful in the Girl Sex department," Hannah said. "No need to undress."

"Hannah and I took a little longer to make this - um - style choice, but we did. So as we are all naked and running about, you will be too."

"All the time?" Ginny asked.

"Only when we're alone in the Trunk and the weather in the gardens is nice," Hermione said.

"And Harry?"

"Oh, he does check us out a bit," Hannah said, "but he's a perfect Gentleman. He goes no further than our chosen stage with him. He did tell you about the stages of intimacy here?"

Ginny nodded. "A little. Stage One for certain, a little about the others but not many details."

"You'll be at Stage One until you reach bonding age," Hermione said, "and longer than that if it's your choice. Stage two is lip kissing and cuddling…"

"It's quite nice," Luna said.

"And you're allowed to sleep in his bed," Hermione continued. "The four of us are at Stage Two. Stage three is full on snogging with tongues, caressing and touching without rules or limitations, hand and oral sex. That certainly won't happen until Luna and my bond with him is fully stabilized. You won't be allowed to go there until sometime after Luna has. I hope Harry mentioned that."

"Not the sex bit," Ginny said, "or at least not that detail."

"It's all by your choice when you do it after you're allowed," Hermione said. "He won't order you past Stage One unless you're still there if and when we decide you need to become pregnant."

"W-will I have to?"

"Maybe," Hannah said. "But that's a last choice thing, isn't it? Hermione doesn't want to go there that soon and Luna and Daphne prefer to wait until after Hogwarts. As for myself, I have a House to think of. I need and heir and a spare and maybe another spare. Harry has the four of you for his House, I'm the only child bearer for mine and I have as much need to see to its future as Harry does so that means a large family, especially 'cause I want at least a couple of daughters as well."

"But Harry said his family tends towards daughters rather than sons," Ginny began.

Hannah nodded. "Doesn't mean he will, but that's true and I … well, my duty to my House … I don't mind. If that means eight or more children to preserve my line so that it does not die out, so be it. And, if I'm to have such a large family, why not start earlier rather than later? I don't need N.E.W.T.s to be a mum and with elves, I won't have to do the cooking, cleaning and laundry unless I want to so I can be a mum. As for jobs? I really haven't thought of that yet. I need to consider my House Vote in the Wizengamot. But do I really want a job? I don't know, Ginny. And I don't have to decide now. As long as I'm pregnant before you have to be, then pregnancy for you will be when you're ready and there's a good chance I will be after my O.W.L.s."

Ginny was actually a little relieved by what Hannah said. Harry made it seem as if her not finishing Hogwarts was all but a certainty when it seemed it was not all that certain after all. She thought about this for a moment and began to think that the way he said it was more for her parents so that they could get used to the idea than it was as a statement as to what had to be down the road.

"Tea?" Hermione asked. There was after all a tea service before them and four cups were already in use.

"Thank you," Ginny replied.

"Sorry. We don't use sugar here," Hermione said as she poured the fifth cup. "We grow most our food you see. We have plenty of our own honey which actually works well with this tea. It's also best with lemon as opposed to cream or milk, but you can use that if you wish."

"Lemon's fine," Ginny said as she squeezed a slice into her cup and put in some honey and stirred before taking a sip. "It's quite nice, thank you. But why did Harry buy me all those clothes if I'm gonna be naked all the time?"

"You're not going to be naked all the time," Hermione said. "We are only this way when we have no reason to leave here and when we're not expecting any visitors and, as the wards prevent visitors except when they are specifically invited, that means we'll know when to dress appropriately. We have seven days of Time Compression between now and the next real day - Saturday. On Saturday we'll be having visitors: my parents, Hannah's mum and Daphne's family. On real Sunday, we're going to France with my parents until early August…"

"But Harry said he needs to be here for the wards or some such!" Ginny protested.

"Only at nights," Hermione replied. "During the day, he can be anywhere else with no worries in that regard. We will move back and forth from wherever we are in France and here through my Access Trunk," which Hermione then described. "You'll be getting one too before we return to Hogwarts. We'll use them to get from our dorms to our new home so we can come home every day - or night as it may be."

Ginny sipped for a few minutes. "Doesn't our being naked like this cause problems?"

"What sort of problems?" Luna asked.

"Well, he's a boy, right? I don't know the words but aren't we letting him, I don't know…?"

"Objectify us?" Hermione offered.

Ginny nodded.

"And where is the problem with that?" Daphne asked. "We are his wives. He's allowed."

"But I'm not! Not yet…"

"You are in all ways but the marriage certificate," Luna said. "You are in all ways a Lady Potter and will be his wife in time. He's allowed to … what's that word?"

"Objectify," Hermione offered.

"Yes, he's allowed that word with us so why not with you too?"

"But he could…," Ginny began.

"He could," Daphne said. "There's nothing we can really do to stop him if he did. We are his wives and that sort of thing comes with the territory and you're his Concubine and it really does come with that territory. But he hasn't…"

"And however much we may want it, he won't for now," Luna added. "His bonding with Hermione and me prevents it so we're safe from that which gives us all time to get to the point where we all will want him to take that step to higher intimacy. Here's the thing, Ginny. We don't know how long this bonding thing will take. Normally, it's about six months … six months of Hermione and me sleeping with him every night and having to get our jollies either with each other or our sister wives or by ourselves. But two bonds? We've read nothing about two bonds. It might take longer with two. And all three of us are younger than most bondings we've read about and younger bonds take longer. When the bonds are complete and when he's ready, Hermione and I will move to the upper stages - short of the final stage of course."

"Me too," Hannah said. "I want this. I need it for my family!"

"And don't count me out in this," Daphne added. "I haven't made that decision just yet, but do you really think I can do better for a husband than Harry a Head of an Ancient and Noble House? Besides, he's really nice and not hard on the eyes at all!"

Ginny could understand that. She had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived since before Hogwarts and that was without seeing the real Harry before. The real Harry was cute, a wonderful Quidditch player and very different in many ways from the story books. He wasn't as great at magic or as confident about his abilities as the fictional Harry. It didn't make him any less fanciable to her, just more enigmatic. It was her crush on him that got her in trouble with that diary in the first place and she knew it. She had never truly thought about his status as Head of a House. She really hadn't thought much about his life before Hogwarts - not his real life anyway as she believed those books. But nothing about Harry Potter was like the books. He didn't swagger like that character did. He seemed to avoid glory all the time, unless it was on the Quidditch Pitch and the fictional Harry didn't play. But when her life was truly in danger, he was at least as heroic as the fictional Harry, but without any need to add to his fame because of it. She really needed to figure out this real Harry from the fake one. Even after a few hours, she was really beginning to like this real Harry and was thinking the fictional one was as much a fraud as Professor Lockhart had been and she had him pegged within a couple of weeks.

"So you're trying to get him all worked up or something?" she asked after a long pause and a few sips of her tea.

"Yes," Luna replied, "in a way. While we are bonding, he won't do anything about it. He also has things to work through before he is ready for any of us."

"His life outside of Hogwarts until now was not pleasant," Hermione said. "He was not well treated…"

"I saw his room, if you could call it that," Ginny began.

"That luxury suite is recent," Hermione said. "Until he got his first Hogwarts letter, his room was a cupboard!"

"But… that's so wrong! Are muggles like that?"

"Only the absolutely worst sort of ones and Harry's relatives are the absolutely worst sort. He has no memory of his real parents. He seems to sense they loved him very much. But the best times he ever had since they died and before Hogwarts was when his relatives chose to ignore him completely. I hugged him at the end of First Year. It's the first hug he remembers from anyone. I kissed him and it's the first kiss he remembers. He's not The-Boy-Who-Lived who always gets kissed by the girl in the end and is always loved and respected. His life has always been far more complicated especially as You-Know-Who is still out there in some form for some reason and wants him dead…"

"But he died!"

"Where's the body?" Hannah asked. "They found his robes and some blood that night, but no body. The Ministry would've paraded it before the press! But there was no body! They never said he died, only that he was destroyed somehow and as no one really knows what happened that night … after all the only other witness who lived was Harry and he was just a baby … there's no telling what happened!"

"So everything they say about him - Harry's a lie?"

Hermione shrugged. "Never read that rubbish."

"I have," Luna said. "It's quite entertaining so long as you see it as fiction. Harry's not like that boy at all and in many ways he's much better than that boy could ever be."

"The truth is," Hermione said, "you should know that You-Know-Who is trying to come back…"

Ginny gasped, "HOW?"

"The diary!"

"But it was from some boy named Tom!"

"Whose full name is an anagram for I Am Lord V-V-Voldemort. His full name as you should know is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Scramble the letters and you get the other bit. Harry didn't know that until the Chamber of Secrets. And this wasn't the first time either, and I don't meal what happened when we were all babies. He tried to come back our First Year and tried to kill Harry three times! Harry won out in the end of that one as well, but You-Know-Who remains and is probably still out there hoping for another shot at our Harry," Hermione ended with a sniffle.

"I didn't know! How could I know?"

"You couldn't," Hermione said. "I'm not sure there were many who knew You-Know-Who's real name and seeing as most people don't even use his made up one… I am surprised you weren't told this sooner."

Ginny shook her head. "I didn't know the diary had something to do with You-Know-Who 'til just now. The first I heard it was You-Know-Who somehow was this morning when Harry was explaining the Life Debt to my … well, my former parents, I guess."

"Why didn't they tell you sooner?"

"Guess they thought I had other things going on that were more important."

"What things?" Luna asked.

Ginny blushed and whispered. "The urges."

"Have you gone through menarche yet?"

Ginny shook her head looking disappointed.

"You're not yet twelve," Hermione said. "I didn't go through it until after I was twelve."

"None of us did," Hannah added.

"I was the early bloomer of the four of us in that way," Luna said. I went through it about two months after I turned twelve. But I'm a late bloomer up here," she said indicating her breasts which were the smallest of the four wives but far more than Ginny had.

"I was the early bloomer up here," Daphne said, "but the late bloomer down here. I went through menarche about eight months after my twelfth birthday. So the fact you haven't begun to noticeably develop in either place doesn't mean a thing yet. None of us were either at your age."

"I know," Ginny sighed. "It's just so many of the others have begun…"

"You're the youngest in our year, Ginny," Luna said. "But you are having the urges which means it's all starting for you."

"It's not just that," Ginny said. "I didn't feel the urges until after what happened and then, I couldn't help it. I had to do it all the time almost! Madam Pomfrey thinks that whatever that diary was, it was … it was … what's the word? … suppressing me in a way. When I … when it … when it was all over, it was … I had to do it all the time! I'd do it all the time! I went home and could barely make it through meals before I needed to do it! I was doing it until I all but passed out from exhaustion!"

"Rubbed yourself raw, did you?" Daphne said.

"Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion so that wouldn't happen, but without it I would've and it wouldn't stop me from doing it again! I was doing it over and over, at least once an hour and sometimes more than that and I couldn't stop! Madam Pomfrey said it was some kind of magical blockage and my Mum let me spend most of my time in my room to deal with it. It was … I know what we witches must do, but it was humiliating that I always had to do that! Fortunately, it's eased off. Two or three times a day is more than enough and I've come to like it too."

"Well then," Hermione began.

"A couple other things," Luna said. "First, if you're having your monthlies, you are expected to wear knickers even on naked days. This rule only truly applies here in the house. You can remove them outside if you with. Secondly, if you feel the need to … you know … diddle yourself, on naked days just don't do it in front of Harry. We don't have our Girl Time in front of him … not yet at any rate…"

"Not yet?"

"Once two of us move to Stage Three with Harry," Hermione said, "that rule no longer applies if it just us here."

"After all," Daphne said, "should we decide to go there and when we do, we want him to know how to meet our needs and watching … as you will learn … is one part of a girl's mentorship so we decided when we go there with him he'll kind of be in a mentorship as well. We want him to know how to see to our needs, you know."

"Um…" Ginny began.

"That's several months away at least," Luna said. "Our bonding - well Hermione and my bonding - seems to suppress those kinds of needs in him…"

"According to the books," Hermione added.

"You said that already, I think," Ginny said.

"And so far," Luna continued, "the books are right. After that, things may change. Once Harry is ready for us, Hermione and I will probably move rapidly to both Stage Three and Stage Four. That's also the bond. The other two here will move to that stage only when they're ready, as will you if you do and if we don't need you for a baby any time too soon."

Ginny received her betrothal ring, which was similar to that the other four wore aside from the main stone - her birth stone - that night following dinner. As odd as this house seemed to be and certainly as shocking as it would be to her mother, the other four girls seemed to work hard to make her seem welcomed and to continue to insist that she was, at the very least, truly betrothed as another Lady Potter. It was explained she would become at least a Baroness upon her marriage to Harry. The Countess was a possibility as well, but she would have to agree to raise their son as "part-Muggle" for he would be a part of the Muggle Peerage and may have duties associated with that title.

The next morning, which her new Elf told here was under Time Compression, she saw green cards on her door and no clothes laid out. She was led down to breakfast by her Elf Sunshine wearing nothing but the ring Harry had given her the night before. She arrived in their smaller, informal dining room first and watched as the other girls arrived, also naked as the day they were born but for their rings. Harry was almost the last to arrive, attired in jeans and a tee and shoes before Hermione, who did what Luna told Ginny was her daily strip down for Harry. The rest didn't bother with it but Hermione always did it. After Harry enjoyed the show, he kissed each of his wives on the lips and Ginny on the cheek and then breakfast was served to them all. Ginny was still nervous about this new life but soon realized the others seemed quite comfortable with this odd lifestyle and soon relaxed and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with them, although she didn't really say much to them. She just observed.

After breakfast she was given a short tour of the Main Floor and Floors below and the other girls explained their daily routine to her: mornings through lunch in the Gardens, an hour or so in the pool as Harry learned to swim and for exercise for them too, and then they would spend time in the Library working on their summer assignments or reading about the Potter family or working on other research projects until dinner. After dinner, they usually spent a couple of hours talking in the Great Room and maybe some more time in the Library before retiring for the evening. They then descended the final stairs to the "Ground Floor" which led to the Gardens.

"And now, Ladies," Harry said, "for my second and third surprises." He then explained this to Ginny who, after all, joined afterwards but did not reveal what the surprises were. They stepped out and the four who had been here all along knew there had been a change. Instead of stepping out directly into the Garden, there were now two walls on either side with doors. Overhead was a glass, arched roof to allow in the light and beyond opened to the gardens. The walls were maybe ten feet or a little over three meters long and less than that in height.

"What's this all about?" Hermione asked.

"Not that great a surprise," Daphne added.

"Actually, the surprises are on the other side of the doors," Harry said. "I thought about it when I truly realized how big the Gardens really are. We could spend the whole summer walking about and still not see all of it, I should think. So…" He opened one of the doors. Beyond was a long room with its own glass arched ceiling and a row of what looked like lockers along one of the walls.

"A broom locker!" Ginny gasped. "You're giving us brooms? And why so many? There're only six of us here." There were thirty such lockers.

"Yes, broom lockers," Harry began.

"You know I don't like those things," Hermione huffed.

"I'm not that good with them either," Hannah said.

"I already have two brooms, Harry, and you know that," Daphne said.

Harry nodded. "A training broom for young children and a Comet 210. The 210's not a bad broom - unless you want to play Quidditch. We don't have a pitch here so… Why the training broom?"

"I've had it since I was little," Daphne replied. "It's still in good shape 'cause I was not reckless on it like some people we know," she added getting snorts or giggles from the others, "and I kept it so that one day … maybe … my kids can learn on it. As for the 210, it's a touring broom. It's good for just flying about and rather forgiving unlike those rubbish things we had for flying lessons at school."

"Right then, aside from Hermione who else first flew under Madam Hooch's instruction." Hannah said that she had. "Daphne's right about those brooms. Many of them are dodgy and the others are probably a terrible idea for most beginners. They're too fast, too sensitive and they won't stop you from falling off or running into things if you fail to control them. Then again, if we had brooms that were truly suited for beginners, I probably would never have made the Quidditch team. I'd have gotten a detention instead. There's no way I could've caught Neville's remember-all on a true beginner's broom. This way ladies." He started to head to the far end of the shed.

"Why so many lockers?" Hermione asked.

"For our magical guests," Harry replied, "at least those who can fly. There's another shed for those who can't or won't." He opened a door at the far end. It too had a glass ceiling and its walls were lined with far more than thirty brooms.

"Wh-why so many?" Hermione asked.

"First, 'cause I got a really good discount for buying so many and second 'cause it gives our guest a choice. First we have Comet 110's, it's a beginner's touring broom that even you can handle. It's probably what should be used at Hogwarts. It's easy to handle, won't fly too high or too fast and won't let you run into anything. It'll stop or avoid it whether you try to hit it or not. It's also hard to fall off of unless your feet are actually on the ground. For you, Hermione and perhaps Hannah too, this broom is a good choice until you gain confidence. I don't expect any of you to become Quidditch players even if we could almost field our own team and you sure can't play a real game on these really. Still, it will allow you or our magical guests to move about the gardens far more quickly than walking."

"Harry, I don't know…," Hermione began.

"Look, you guys are teaching me to swim, right?" Harry replied.

"You can't swim?" Ginny gasped.

"I am learning," Harry replied. "But before this summer, no. My relatives wouldn't think of something like that. Since you're teaching me how to swim and since these are safe brooms, I'll teach you how to fly. Not Quidditch or Seeker flying - unless that's what you want - but enough so that you can move about the gardens. These 110's have a top speed of about thirty miles-per-hour and that includes in a dive. My Nimbus tops out at over a hundred in level flight and much faster in a dive if I start high enough and it will fly me into the ground if I let it. These won't unless you are landing and they land at a slow walking pace.

"Now, if any of you are more confident fliers we also have 210's like Daphne's which can reach forty and can run into things if you don't control them or aren't paying attention, but you still have to try to fall off and their newest touring broom, the 310's which top out at sixty…"

"Ooooh!" Daphne exclaimed, "can I have one of those?"

"Of course," Harry said handing her one.

"Thanks Harry," she said kissing him on the cheek.

"I'll take a 210," Hannah said. "I did pretty well in flying lessons even with those relics we used."

"There's plenty," Harry said. "You can move up whenever you're ready."

"Thanks."

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said. "I really don't like those things. Besides, my parents can't use them."

"I didn't expect any of you to be thrilled about all three surprises, Hermione. But I don't want you left on the ground by yourself. You'll learn and the 110's perfect for learning and getting about the gardens."

"What if I fly too high? Won't I crash into the top of this Trunk?"

"There's a ward that prevents that from happening. It'll also keep you or anyone from flying into the walls even if we can't see them."

"I suppose," she said but clearly without enthusiasm as she reluctantly accepted her 110.

"Got anything sportier?" Ginny asked.

"Really?" Harry replied in surprise.

"I am a Weasley," she replied matter-of-factly. "I've been flying 'grown-up' brooms since I was six. Currently, I fly a Comet 280 at home…"

"That's a real Quidditch broom!" Daphne exclaimed. "It was International Standard twenty years ago! Until Malfoy's dad bribed Snape with the Nimbus 2001's to get Draco on the House Team as a Seeker - and a lousy one at that, it's what Slytherin flew if they didn't have a better one."

Ginny shrugged. "My brothers Fred, George and Bill have 280's. Bill lets me use his. Charlie - who was a Seeker at Hogwarts - has a Cleansweep 7. Charlie took his to Romania with him 'cause he doesn't want Fred, George or Ron to touch it. He's afraid Fred and George will do something to it as a prank and that Ron will wreck it. Ron'll say he's a good flyer, but he's not as good as he thinks. Percy's not into Quidditch. He's got a 240 as does Ron. Well, all my brothers have 240's."

"Those brooms aren't exactly cheap even today," Harry began. "The 310's about the same price as a 240."

"My parent's didn't buy them. That was my Grand-aunt Muriel who's somewhat well off. She's my Mum's Aunt and never had kids of her own and we're all the family she has left after the War."

"But not you?" Hermione asked.

"She does not consider flying a ladylike thing and certainly not Quidditch. Mum disagrees, but it's not her money. Then again, Aunt Muriel does not consider much of anything ladylike. A lady walks. She never runs or skips. She certainly does nothing that might cause her to perspire."

"Talk about old fashioned," Daphne snorted. "Probably thinks a lady should not dance too long or do much more than serve tea."

"Pretty much. And she can be petty. She finds out I'm flying she'll demand my parents to put a stop to it or something. She might even ask for the brooms back and my brothers would hate that - well, maybe not Percy and Bill and Charlie are of age but the others might lose theirs. Only Bill and Charlie know I can fly. I keep it a secret from the others. If it weren't for the fact that the brooms came from Aunt Muriel, I doubt my Mum and Dad would care. Maybe they wouldn't anyway. But Percy's all about rules and such, be they Mum and Dad's or Aunt Muriel's or Hogwarts. Fred and George probably wouldn't care. Ron? He doesn't think girls should play Quidditch - at least not if he's playing and he can't keep his big mouth shut. So, I fly at night when no one's watching - except Bill or Charlie when they're home. I'll accept a 310, Harry. Given my - um - circumstances I really can't complain but…"

"It just so happens," Harry began walking over to a table that had a cloth drapped over it and what looked like seven brooms underneath. The girls gasped at the brooms when the cloth was removed. Even Hermione knew what six of them were.

"Nimbus 2001's?" she asked.

"And a Cleansweep Seven!" Ginny exclaimed.

"How much did this cost?" Hermione asked accusingly.

"All told, including twenty 110's, twenty 210's and ten 310's, eight hundred."

"That doesn't make sense," Daphne said. "The 310's are fifty a piece last I checked. A Seven is well over a hundred. The 2000 a lot more than that, or at least it was. Don't even want to think how much a 2001 is."

"The 310's are still fifty a piece and the 110's and 210's are twenty-five. But I got the lot for half off 'cause I bought so many. The Seven's are now going for under a hundred as well 'cause of the 2000 which is replacing them as International Standard. They used to run 300 a piece, but the pros are replacing all their Sevens so the ones that were not sold are much cheaper since the old pro ones that can be resold are practically being given away. I actually got twenty-five Galleons off for this one. The 2001's were five for the lot."

"Why?"

"No one wants them," Harry said. "This was supposed to be the top end Quidditch Broom, and it is faster at its top speed than my 2000. But it lacks the acceleration and above about sixty, it can't turn all that well. A 280 is a better all around broom for Quidditch than these 2001's. Over a good distance, this will beat any broom around, but a Quidditch Pitch is only two hundred meters or so long and a hundred wide. While speed is part of Quidditch, so's turning and changing speed quickly. If you watch Slytherin play this year, they looked fast and they were but they had to make broad turns at speed 'cause they couldn't turn well and, if the Quaffle was intercepted, it took their fast moving players out of the game for that possession. Malfoy's inability at Seeker aside, the Chasers on all three teams outscored Slytherin last year on a handful of Sevens and 280's and a fair few 240's."

"What about as a straight racing broom?" Hannah asked.

"The one thing the 2001 has that my 2000 and the others don't is a front shield charm like racers to protect the rider from the wind. But it was supposed to be a Quidditch broom. The distance racers - and they don't do that here 'cause there's too much of a chance of the Muggles seeing you - those brooms are much, much faster than a 2001. Twice as fast at least. And that same shield charm stops Quaffles. A backhanded pass to a trailing Chaser bounces off - as Slytherin learned to their detriment."

"So," Daphne laughed, "Mr. Malfoy paid close to 2,500 to get his son on the team last year when he could've done the same with those brooms for six galleons or less today?"

"Yep," Harry replied.

"What an idiot!" Hermione said.

"Who?" Daphne asked. "Malfoy or his father?"

"Both."

"So these are useless then?" Hannah asked.

"For Quidditch and racing, yeah," Harry nodded. "Unless, of course, everyone's using them to even the situation. But as a trunk broom, I thought they'd be perfect."

"A trunk broom?" Ginny asked.

"As long as you're not trying to fly like a Quidditch player or weave through the trees, these are not all that much harder to fly than a 310. With the front shield, the wind won't bother you at all and you can get from here to there in the gardens faster without having to worry about the wind knocking you about."

"Why would that matter?" Ginny asked.

"Do you know how large the Gardens are? Or how far away the nearest wall is?"

She shook her head.

"If the nearest wall is called 'North', it would be in the direction of the house and it's almost two miles from here to that wall. To the South - directly away from the house, it's nearly six miles and to the East and West over two and more miles. As of today, the Gardens total almost forty square miles and I'm going to add another twenty-two and a half to it this summer. That new part will include a recreational area and it will be at least two miles from here - probably beyond the Fruit Garden. That Garden is about nine and a third square miles in size and it's the third largest of the five. The Garden just outside is the Flower Garden and at only 187 acres it's the smallest. The rest of us have walked maybe a mile or two into the Fruit Garden and that's it."

"Uh…uh…uh…," Ginny stuttered.

"It is a bit much, don't you think?" Hannah chuckled.

Ginny could only nod.

"That's why I got the brooms and my other surprise," Harry said.

"A car perhaps?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Can't get one legally 'til I'm seventeen - or one of you are - and we'd need a Driving License and all that. Don't think I didn't think about it 'though. Also, unless it's all taken apart, there's no way to get it in here."

"Oh?"

"According to the manual, an inanimate object must be able to fit through the trunk opening without magic. A car won't fit obviously. According to Dobby, it must be something a single Elf can pop into the trunk and even small cars are beyond them."

"But horses and cows…?"

"Are living things. Somehow that's different."

"Oh. So what did you get?"

"Ladies, gather up your brooms and we'll put them in your lockers and then see. That means the one you asked for and a 2001. You may never use it, but it's yours anyway."

"But I don't have a broom," Ginny said in disappointment.

"Pick any one of the others and it's yours."

"Any? Can I pick the Cleansweep?"

"Can you handle it?"

"Please! True, it's faster than the 280 I flew before, but it's not harder to fly."

"Then it's yours."

Ginny immediately hugged Harry. "Thank you," she gushed.


	19. Chapter 19: Magical Politics

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: MAGICAL POLITICS**

"Bicycles!" Hermione exclaimed when she looked in the other glass ceiling shed. "You said you thought we'd like at least two of your surprises and you were right."

"Really?" Daphne asked with more than a hint of excitement. As she looked in she added: "Okay, Harry. You went three for three with me - assuming one of these is mine."

"Whichever one you want," Harry chuckled.

"What's a bicycle?" Hannah asked.

"It's like a wizarding broom for Muggles, except it doesn't fly," Daphne said. "Still, it's loads of fun if you know how just like brooms can be." She wheeled one out. Hermione, apparently, was checking out all of the bicycles.

"And just what do you do with that?" Hannah asked as Hermione was now wheeling another one towards the door.

"You ride it!" Daphne said. She then got on hers and pedaled into the Garden for a bit before turning around and coming back.

"Aunt Muriel would probably say it's unladylike even if ladies have been riding them almost since they were invented," Hermione said. "They can cause you to perspire 'cause they are a form of exercise."

"Okay," Ginny said, "that's a good reason for them right there. But I don't see how you can do that without falling off."

"My feelings about brooms exactly," Hermione added.

"Oh, in a way they're similar," Daphne said. "These are actually easier I think. It's just a question of balance and not being too silly."

"And moving your legs up and down while trying to balance on those wheels while it's moving isn't silly?" Hannah countered.

"You have to do that to make the wheels turn or it goes nowhere," Daphne said as Hermione got on her bike and tried it out.

"How do you know that?" Hannah asked. "And how do you know how to ride one?"

"Daddy taught me when I was five," Daphne said. "Didn't take too long, although I did fall off a couple times at first. My sister Michelle's the only one who doesn't ride one yet, but she's still four. The rest of us learned when we were five."

"But you're a Pureblood," Hannah said.

"So? Yes, we live in a magical house with a couple House Elves and use floos and all that. But we also have two purely Muggle cars, we ride bikes as a family on weekends. Mum and two of my sisters ride horses for fun and the third, Cynthia is starting lessons this summer and Michelle will do the same when she's a little bigger. I've been to see Muggle Picture Shows and Daddy plays golf. Just 'cause something is Muggle doesn't make it bad or boring."

"Um," Luna jumped in before anyone could reply, "do Muggles ride those things naked?"

"No," Hermione, Daphne and Harry asked.

"Oh. But we can when we're naked here, right?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"Oh goodie! Sounds like fun!"

"Um, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yes?"

"You never said you rode a bike."

"'Cause I never have - not until yesterday at any rate."

"Wait! When did you ride yesterday and don't tell me you didn't fall off!"

"I rode one as a test of something for about ten minutes while you all and Ginny were talking. And no, I didn't fall off. And no, I don't think it's 'cause I was a natural on a broom my first time up. These bicycles are special. You have to really, really try or do something really, really reckless to fall off. If I had one small enough, a two year old could do it."

"A two year old?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Do you want a demonstration?"

"And how would we know you're not some kind of prodigy like Hermione says?" Hannah asked.

"Because I won't be demonstrating," Harry said. "Nor will Daphne or Hermione 'cause at least one of you might think it's a set up. No. The three of you each go and pick out a bike and wheel it out here."

"Harry!" a few voices said.

"Please?" he pleaded. "Trust me. I wouldn't ask if I didn't know it would work."

Luna and Ginny shrugged and headed into the shed. Hannah hesitated but soon followed. Moments later all three were lined up standing beside their bicycles. He instructed the three girls to throw a leg over so they were straddling the things. He told all three to put both hands on the handlebars and to reach forward with a couple of fingers on each hand to the little levers just beyond and to pull those towards themselves. He explained these were the brakes and would slow the wheels, stop them or keep them from moving so long as you pulled the levers towards you.

"Now," Harry continued, "I want you three to get up on the seat and put both feet on the pedals."

"Harry! They'll fall over!" Hermione warned.

"No they won't."

The three hesitated at Hermione's warning, but after Harry's reply Luna did as asked followed by Ginny and Hannah and all of them remained upright.

"That's … that's impossible!"

"That's magic," Harry said. "All the bikes are charmed so that as long as you're at least straddling it and have at least one hand on the handlebars or one foot on the pedals it won't, it can't tip over. See?" He pointed to Ginny who was now doing the same thing except she was doing her best to shake her bicycle from side to side to tip it. It merely wobbled a little. "It also has charms that keep you from over-braking and another - not unlike those charms on the Comet 110's - that prevent the bicycle from running into anything that might throw you off. I won't say it's impossible to fall. I don't think the charms will help if you try to ride through a tree branch that's too low to ride under but not low enough to hit the bicycle itself. It will also sense in a way your skill level and keep you from riding too fast, braking too hard or turning too hard. The better you get, however, and the less the charms will interfere. I'm pretty sure aside from this little stunt, Hermione and Daphne won't activate the charms at all. So, what do you say we go for a ride?"

Harry and Ginny were sitting in the grass beside a newly discovered lake in the Fruit Gardens. The lake where Harry and the others had picnicked so often before today and was not a long walk from the House (or at least its entrance) was now named Hermione's Lake. They were thinking of naming it Cherry lake for all the cherry trees around it, but instead decided to name it for the first to see it, which had been Hermione. With the bicycles, they had moved far deeper into the gardens than ever before; Luna estimated by more than two miles. Hannah had been slightly ahead of the rest riding up a gentle rise when she stopped. There before her and the others when they crested the rise was a much larger lake which now bore the name Lake Hannah. Unlike Hermione's Lake, they could not see the entire lake from here. Here and there were hills and rises that jutted in and out creating coves and small inlets. They would later learn that it was almost twenty times the size of Hermione's Lake but still a fraction of the size of the largest lake in the trunk.

The other four girls had ridden off in pairs to explore and for their "girl time" but also to leave Harry and Ginny alone. Since the beginning, this had been the custom. Even when it was just Harry, Hermione and Luna, the two girls saw to it that they each had an hour or so a day with Harry so that they could get to know him better or, in Hermione's case, spend time with her best friend. They continued this for Daphne and Hannah as well. Now, for this week in Time Compression, it would be Ginny's turn. They were sitting about a foot or so apart, Ginny hugging her knees as they looked out over this new lake.

"You must hate me," Ginny began.

"Why do you say that?" Harry replied.

"After all that happened this year, after all I caused, how could you not hate me?"

"Why should I?"

"I hurt all those people, Harry! Worse, I hurt Hermione!"

"Did you?"

"Of course I did!"

"Fine. Did you know where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is? I mean, did you know before Ron and I brought you out?"

"N-no! I swear I didn't!"

"Did you open it?"

"I must have but…! But that's the strange thing. It had to be me, but I have no memory of any of it. One minute I'd be walking through the corridors or getting into bed and the next second I'd be in a girl's bathroom peeing. Not that bathroom. It was always a different one, but never that one. Always, it was hours after my last memory. And I was always dirty with muck or something on my clothes and tired. The first few times, well I know I did something but have no idea what. Then the message that the Chamber was opened and Filch's cat was petrified and then the others. I knew it had to be me, but I … I had no idea how at first.

"I knew before Christmas that Diary was doing something to me and had to be evil so I tried to get rid of it. But…but it called to me even when I was at home. I didn't want to ever see it again but something compelled me to find it again and all of that. It took me time to find it again - in your trunk. Sorry about the mess…"

"It's okay."

"Then Hermione and Clearwater were petrified. It was another lost few hours for me like the other times had been and then I woke up in the Chamber. Still, it's all my fault and you almost died because of me."

"But I didn't. Besides, did you know that the Diary was evil when you got it?"

"It was just a Diary in my cauldron with my other books Mum had put in there. All it had were initials on it - not mine - which told me it was used even though no one had written in it. I figure Mum bought it for me. I had asked her before about having one not long after I learned to write."

"It wrote back," Harry began.

"So I figured it was magical and I had something like a magical pen pal. Someone raised in the Muggle world might find that odd, but I did grow up where mirrors talk to you so I didn't think it was off until much later when it was too late."

"Did you want to kill Hagrid's roosters?"

"What? When did that happen?"

"Before the Chamber was opened," Harry replied. "Hermione later learned that a crowing rooster kills basilisks and all the roosters had been killed before the thing was set loose the first time."

"How … how was I supposed to know that? I never heard of those things before!"

"Did you want to kill Mr. Filch's cat?"

"I'd say most students do," Ginny snickered. "I never had an issue with it before. But Fred and George hate the thing. Still, using a basilisk seems a bit much for a nasty cat."

"Did you want to hurt Collin for some reason?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"He is a Muggle Born…"

"So? He's nice enough."

"He always shoves that camera of his in my face…"

"Which gives you a reason. I don't think he has any pictures of me unless there's a lot of other people in it."

"How about Justin?"

"Who?"

"The Muggle Born in my year who got it with Nearly Headless Nick?"

"I don't even know who he is!"

"He's the one people say I set the snake on in the Dueling Club."

"I wasn't there, Harry. Left as soon as I saw that Lockhart was teaching. There might have been a lot of girls even in my year who had a thing for Lockhart, but he gave me the creeps even worse than Snape!"

"Well that's good to hear," Harry chuckled. "Even Hermione had a thing for him at first. Makes you better than her on that score in my book. But let's continue with this.

"Assuming you were doing this and were trying to get rid of Muggle Borns, Justin would be at the top of your list if you knew anything about him."

"Why? I don't know anything about him!"

"I believe you, Ginny. But, if you did, you might know he'll become a Baron in the Muggle Peerage when he's eighteen and an Earl when his father and grandfather pass away. In our world, he'll become the Head of a Noble House once he becomes a Baron and he'll have a right to a vacant seat on the Wizengamot ahead of any other claimants for that reason alone even though he's a Muggle Born. He'd have to claim it, of course, but to someone who hates and is willing to kill Muggle Borns, the thought that one could get a seat with multiple votes and more to come when he becomes an Earl would be sickening.

"Finally, did you want to harm Hermione or Clearwater?"

"Hermione? Why would I want to hurt her? She was perhaps the only one in our House - my four brothers included - who didn't ignore me and tried to help me and all. The Diary said she was worthless, but I never believed it! Clearwater, though…"

"Oh?"

"I can see how someone might make something out of that…" Ginny began blushing. "Harry, you must promise me!" she said desperately.

"What?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone if I tell you this!"

"Is it bad?"

"No. Embarrassing, yes. But not bad, but please?"

"Okay, fine provided I have no good reason not to tell the others here."

"I guess that has to do," Ginny sighed. "Thanks. Anyway, remember how I said the Diary was somehow compelling me to find it?"

Harry nodded.

"It got worse once I returned from Christmas. I knew I was in trouble and needed to talk to someone. It would've been Hermione but…but I was afraid how she's take it seeing as she's a Muggle Born and she was in the Hospital Wing at the time - which is hardly private and I didn't want anyone else to know…"

"She was Cat Girl at the time," Harry said with a chuckle and added when Ginny looked at him, "and you can ask her about that later. Go on."

"Besides," Ginny said after a pause, "she'd either go to a teacher or tell me to. All that was left then were my brothers. Ron was right out. First of all, what could he do? Then there's also the fact he's Ron and would just say I was mental or something. Fred and George would make light of it and I knew this was very serious. That left Percy and he is the serious sort and a Prefect so I went looking for him one day. Someone told me they had seen him and Clearwater going into an unused classroom to study and which one it was so I went there."

Ginny then giggled.

"… And there was Perfect Percy - as Fred and George call him - pants down to his ankles and Clearwater knicker-less and skirt pulled and he was …"

"Having sex with her?"

Ginny nodded. "He saw me and when he did I ran but not far and he caught up with me still tucking in his shirt and told me not to tell anyone about it. I was too mortified to tell him anything then and before I could, I had the Diary back and…" Tears began to fall and she sniffled.

"Ginny, none of this is your fault," Harry said. "I mean how were you supposed to know and once that thing had you, well the fact you could resist it at all might be saying something. That thing took control of you…"

"But I still did those things!"

"Your body did those things, not you," Harry said. "However that thing worked _you _were not there, were you? That thing controlled your body, not you and you have no memory of it at all. It was not you. It was Tom Riddle - Voldemort - who did those things with a borrowed body that happened to be yours."

"You … you don't hate me then?" Ginny asked after a pause.

"No, not at all."

"Then why'd you make me your Concubine," she snapped. "That's hardly something you do to a girl you like!"

"This has nothing to do with you or anything you've done or what I think about you, Ginny. It's all about that Contract! Short of people dying, this was the only way out of it!"

"But I still don't understand, Harry. How are you out of it if you are still supposed to marry me anyway?"

"I explained it yesterday at Gringotts."

"I … well … there was this Contract and we had to get married but you were already married - four times over - and didn't want me at all and all that stuff about being made to have sex and me having baby after baby and not even being allowed to finish Hogwarts or do anything but have baby after baby and you were angry and I thought you hated me … and then that was it! I was Virginia Ellen Potter and your Concubine and … I guess I missed something or did I?"

"You missed the real reason. Yes I was annoyed, Ginny. It was another example of how abnormal my life was and I am getting tired of it but I'm now learning I'm a Potter which means what I thought of as a normal life was never in the cards for me even if my parents had lived. By the time I met with you and your parents about this, however, as annoyed as I was about having to marry you, I was accepting that. How could I not? Do you know when I found out I was betrothed to you and the others?"

Ginny shook her head.

"This past Monday. Since then we've spent hours and hours during Time Compression trying to figure all this out. Hermione's the only one of you I really knew at all before now. Luna's the only one I had ever really spoken with beyond school work, common polite pleasantries or - in your case - a lot of 'hi' where you'd then turn red and run away or our brief talk down in the Chamber. Hermione's a Muggle Born and betrothals and arranged marriages are very, very uncommon for them. It was the Soul Bond - or at least its potential - that got her parents to sign our contract. We were supposed to grow up together, you know. Hermione, Luna and I were supposed to grow up together and I wonder how things would turn out if that had been the case. I didn't have to ever marry either of them unless we began to bond. As for Daphne, unless I bonded with Hermione or Luna, we'd never be where we are now. And Hannah? I had to be in a valid Plural Marriage for her to become my wife by Line Continuation. I knew none of this a week ago but when I walked into that room yesterday, I was not opposed to you or marrying you one day nor were they. Kind of hypocritical to be so, seeing as I already went through with marrying the four of them because of my family contracts with theirs. Add to it, there were no conditions on our contract at all meaning there was no way out of it - the getting married bit - and here we are."

"Then why make me a Concubine."

"While I couldn't find a way out of the getting married bit - and we tried to find one even working with Goblin Soliciters - there were parts of the Contract that were far more objectionable that had to go. For one thing, there's all that bit about potions and babies. If we decide to consummate the marriage in time and make it permanent and if we decide to have children, it will be our choice and not the result of potions stealing our free will."

"But you said I had to! That's why I'm a Concubine!"

"No Ginny. It's why you might be one for a while after you attain Bonding Age. Even then, it will be my choice and not a potion induced haze that causes it to happen and it will be for all of our sakes as these Wards protect all of us and not just for me or in spite of you." He then explained the Wards and particularly the controlling one tied to his Aunt that would fail when the youngest member of his mother's family turned seventeen. "Right now, that's you Ginny," he finished.

"But I'm not part of that family, am I? Not by blood."

"No, not by blood. But apparently the wards recognize magical bonds as well. For their purposes you, Hermione, Luna and I are my mother's family and any of my children by any of you would be as well. Now, as for why we decided to make you a Concubine first - and it was we and not I - that has to do with the Vassalage Clause." He then explained that clause and what it generally meant.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Ginny began.

"By becoming a Vassal you become a kind of servant to your Lord. This does not mean you clean his House or such, but you owe him loyalty, obedience and fealty in return his job is to protect you. This is no longer done in the Muggle World but it's still in play in ours and perfectly legal. It is also legal for a child to be made a vassal by their parent or guardian whether or not it is the parent or guardian's choice. A person can choose to become a vassal - in the Muggle World this was how you became a knight for example - or they can be compelled to. In our world, vassalage can be used to pay a debt whether it's money that cannot be repaid or a life debt or honor debt. While there are instances of a Head of an Ancient and Noble House or his heir choosing or being made vassal to another to pay a debt, there has never been a case where an heir was made vassal by parent, regent or guardian to a lesser House without there being a debt to that House. There's no law against it, it just never has been done. So, by custom, there should be a debt between House Potter and Weasley to justify making me a vassal and even then, by custom, that vassalage would not be tied to some future event such as an eventual marriage between the Houses. Again, this is not illegal, it just has never happened before.

"Another thing, assuming my Grandfather - who died of Dragon Pox in 1979 - or my father owed you family anything, a claim for vassalage based upon the debt must be enforced during the life of the potential Lord and Vassal. If one dies before the vassalage is claimed, it does not pass to their heirs and that is the law. Still, while that clause is legal on its face, it is highly unusual and has no precedent I believe the word is. Any debt my family owed to yours would have died with the debtor and even if the debtor was a vassal before death, in our world vassalage is between people. Although it binds the families of the two, it is between people and it too does not survive the death of either the Lord or the Vassal. And how could I have incurred a debt on my own? I was fifteen months old! The only way would've been if your father saved my life that night but if that was the case, I'd never have become this Boy-Who-Lived thing. And if Dumbledore had saved it, not only that, but he can't use that to make me anyone elses vassal.

"The Goblins suspected something and - fortunately - they were the ones to draw up the contract. Dumbledore wanted to bind my House (not just me which would me vassalage could pass to my heirs) to your House and not just your father. 'Upon the marriage of bride and bridegroom, said bridegroom shall become Vassal to the Head of the Bride's Family.' That's what the contract says. This means that I would remain a Vassal so long as your father, any of your brothers or their future sons live. Not only that, they gain control over House Potter property; not total control, but enough that they can demand stuff and we'd have to cough it up or suffer a penalty."

"My Dad would never…"

"Probably not. But your Dad is the Vassal of Albus Dumbledore. He became such during the War. So while he may not make such demands, what's to stop Dumbledore from making demands on him that only his Vassal House Potter can meet?"

"Why would Daddy want…?"

"I don't think he did or would've agreed to it. There are limits to Vassalage and that contract is outside of those limits. I believe your parents when they say that they have no memory of the Contract or signing it and the Goblins who say they signed under their own free will. I think Dumbledore tricked them into signing it. Oh, it's just a routine Betrothal Contract, nothing fancy and if you sign your kids can go to Hogwarts. Your parents could not afford to send anyone at the time and Hogwarts only allows two hardship scholarships per family. Seeing as magicals usually have small families, for most this would be enough. But there were seven of you so five of you would have to go somewhere else. They probably didn't think anything of it that day and signed 'cause it meant you all could go. I think later they read it and knew what it truly meant and confronted Dumbledore about it and vassal or not, they wanted out of it and … poof … he obliviated them."

"Why would he do that? He's the Leader of the Light!"

"Who made the Grangers and Lovegoods forget all about me and each other and their promises to raise the three of us together as well and at about the same time," Harry replied. "This wasn't about Light versus Dark, Ginny. We believe it was all about politics in the long term."

"Politics?"

"Dumbledore took his family seat on the Wizengamot in 1891 shortly after his twenty-first birthday. He was active, but by no means a leader of any kind for a long time. By 1915 he was a leader of a minority faction we'll call the Liberals; one of four factions at the time. The others were the Radicals, the Traditionalists (including all Pureblood Supremacists) and the Moderates.

"According to everyone else, the Radicals wanted to Mugglize Wizarding Britain. They were the smallest of the group both in numbers and votes, but they were the most vocal. They wanted membership in the Wizengamot, the Minister for Magic and Heads of Ministry to have to stand for election and to allow all Wizarding citizens to vote to include Muggle Borns, their parents, siblings and such; any other Muggles with a Wizarding connection and Squibs. Moreover, if you could vote, you could be elected. They wanted far more than that, seems their leaders were enamored by the ideas of some Muggles named Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin - but voting was the big one.

"The Traditionalists opposed any changes unless they granted more power and authority to Purebloods who they felt were the only true ruling class. Given their way, if you weren't a Pureblood you could not be a part of government except as a clerk of some kind if then. In terms of numbers they were the second largest but had about the same number of votes as the Liberals - about a quarter of the votes.

"The Liberals wanted gradual reform and an end to any distinction based upon blood status but would not extend citizenship to Muggles or Squibs. In terms of numbers, they hold the most seats, but only hold about a quarter of the votes. What they did want, in the end, was their own kind of ruling elite. It would not be based upon bloodlines or heritage or popularity but accomplishment. It would be made up of the best and brightest and most accomplished witches and wizards in our world who accepted the responsibility. The Ministry would answer to them and if there was to still be a wizengamot that made laws, those laws would be advisory only. Naturally, the Liberals and Traditionalists disagreed on almost everything. The Liberals also sided against the Radicals on all but one thing: they agreed there should be an end to the tiered voting structure within the Wizengamot immediately."

"The tiered what?" Ginny asked. "I mean I know what the Wizengamot is and does, everyone does…"

"Hermione and I did not, not 'til this week," Harry countered.

"Okay, young Muggle Borns and my brother Ron aside and maybe some others who could care less, then; but I also don't know about its votes or things except from what Mum or Dad has said after reading something in the Daily Prophet."

Harry sighed. "This week's been an education for me on a lot of things. The original Wizengamot had fifty-four members all heads of magical clans throughout the British Isles and all as heads were Lords. Many, however, were also members of the Muggle Nobility having inherited titles from their fathers or having gained them themselves from one of the many recognized muggle Kings - and there were several of those. All members had one vote, but the nobles had more than one and how many depended upon how high up in the Muggle nobility they were. These seats were and remain hereditary passing from father to son or to a legitimate male heir of that family. When the first line died out - meaning there were no living male heirs - a commoner from an old family was appointed to the vacancy. As such, he was given his one vote and a hereditary seat, the remaining Lords were given more votes and so on and so forth. Today, when sitting as a court of any composition it is one member, one vote. But for passing laws, while each member has one vote, a Lord gets two more, a Baron three, a Viscount five, an Earl seven, a Marquis nine and a Duke eleven - although there's never been a Marquis and the last Duke died over four hundred years ago. The Minister gets twelve which he can either keep to himself or parse out to trusted associates where it's understood that they vote with the Minister on things he considers important. Finally, there are twenty-six lifetime seats. These are not hereditary and are appointed by the Wizengamot whenever there's a vacancy. They get one vote - more if they have a noble title. Understand?"

"A little. Enough I hope," Ginny replied.

"Okay, last are the Moderates. They have fewer members than any other group except the Radicals but more votes than any of the other groups thanks to tiered voting. They hold about forty percent of the votes and have for a long time. They would support limited elections. Twenty-six seats on the Wizengamot are life appointments but not hereditary and they'd do away with the appointments and have those seats elected for a term of years. They'd consider expanding that number as well and would support popular election of the Minister. They do not support ruling elites or granting Purebloods more power at the expense of the rest of us. Only about fifteen percent of the Wizarding World is Pureblood. They would also support laws abolishing rights and privileges based upon blood status. On those things, they fall in either with the Radicals or the Liberals. But on tiered voting and certain other traditions not related to blood status, they fall in with the Traditionalists. Since it takes the majority of votes to pass a law, you can see that not one faction controls without support from another.

"Now, for close to two hundred years, the Traditionalist were led by the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black…"

"That's a dark family!" Ginny gasped.

"Some are," Harry agreed, "but all?"

"That's what I've been told!"

"Really? Am I dark? Do you think I will be?"

"Of course not! But you're not a Black!"

"My grandmother was and I am in the line of succession."

She gaped at him.

"You know Katie Bell? Is she a dark witch now or becoming one?"

"Sure I know her - well not really. She's on the Quidditch Team. But she's a halfblood, not a Black! And not Dark either!"

"Her Great-Great Grandfather was a Black and not just any Black but Head of House. What about Luna? Is she Dark?"

"Not hardly," Ginny said less sure of herself.

"Her Great-Grandfather was a Black. And Daphne?"

"She is a Slytherin," Ginny begin.

"Ambitious and certainly cunning," Harry agreed. "She's third in our year which is more Ravenclaw then Slytherin as most of them are not terribly bright. But is she dark?"

"I … I don't think so."

"Her grandfather on her mother's side and great-grandfather on her father's side were Blacks. And what about you and your family?"

"We're not Blacks!"

"Your Great-grandmother was."

"You sure? Which one? No one's told me that!"

"She married Septimius Weasley. He's your grandfather, right?"

Ginny nodded.

"She was disinherited by the then Head of House Black for that. The Weasley's have always opposed the Traditionalists. That might be why it's not mentioned, but that's a guess."

"Next thing, you'll say Hermione's a Black too…"

"Except she isn't."

"So we're all cousins - aside from Hermione I mean."

"Luna and Daphne are Second Cousins. They're your Third Cousins and you all are my Second Cousins once removed. That means one of my Great Grandfather Blacks brothers was your Great-Grandfathers. Our common ancestor was Phineas Nigellus Black."

"I've heard that name, or read it," Ginny said.

Harry nodded. "In addition to being Head of House Black and Leader of the Traditionalists where, it seems, he makes Malfoy look tolerant of Muggles and Muggle Borns, he was Headmaster of Hogwarts where he makes Snape look nicer and more reasonable than McGonagall."

"That's a horrid thought," Ginny said. "Might explain why my family ignores that part of our history."

Harry nodded. "Traditionalist have been around for a long, long time although the Pureblood Supremacy and Elitist thing was not part of their positions until about a hundred or so years ago. The Moderates in one form or another - but generally opposed to a lot of Traditionalist ideas, have also been around for a long time. The Radicals and Liberals did not exist in any form before this Century. Of those two, the Radicals are the older. They came into being when their leader was appointed to one of those twenty-six lifetime seats I mentioned. It's founder was Phineas Black."

"I thought you said he was head of the Traditionalists!" Ginny protested.

"That was his father. This younger Phineas was pure Slytherin - cunning and ambition wise. Played the dyed-in-the-wool Pureblood Supremacist for Years until Daddy had him appointed to one of those lifetime seats. He had an older brother who would take his father's seat in time so it was his only way onto the Wizengamot. Once in, he turned on his Dad and everything his Dad stood for. Daddy disowned him and all his descendants for being a Blood Traitor - which includes Luna and Daphne. He didn't care 'cause that had no effect on his seat in the Wizengamot. Death Eaters killed him in '78.

"Okay. The Liberals truly came into being about 1915. Most had been Moderates but broke over the issue of the Great Muggle War of that time. From the beginning, their leader has been Albus Dumbledore.

"For centuries, the Moderates have been led by one of two families. Each has more votes than any other. Before the Liberals came about, the moderated controlled a majority of the seats and votes, but have never held either majority since. For a long time, they've been led either by the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom or the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Right now, it's Neville's Gran. House Longbottom has held the House Potter votes in proxy since my Grandfather died since my father never lived to assume his seat."

"How do those houses have more votes than any other?" Ginny asked.

"Made no sense to me either at first," Harry replied. "I know the Head of House Potter is and Earl and that's eight votes - seven plus the seat. House Longbottom's and Earl too and we're not the only ones. House Bones - also a Moderate - is another Earldom. Hermione's said when we found out that it all makes sense if you first realize that the Wizarding World and logic are usually mutually exclusive concepts. You see, I'm not just one Earl but four and a Baron and a Lord - being head of one of the original fifty-four clans even if my clan was only one person until this week. That's thirty-four votes right there. House Longbottom is a Lord, two Barons and Three Earls plus their seat: thirty votes. House Bones, two Earls, a Lord, a Baron and a seat: twenty votes. House Abbott is more typical: seat, Lord and just one Baron or six votes. They're historically and currently Moderates too."

"What does this have to do with the Contract and my being a Concubine?"

"Getting there," Harry said. "Okay. Let's see if I can remember. Today, the Moderates hold sixteen of the eighty permanent seats (Minister and who he appoints for his twelve votes are not permanent seats) and 119 votes - forty-one percent of the votes. The Traditionalist have twenty-four seats and seventy-five votes and the Liberals have thirty-three seats and seventy-three votes (including the Ministers House seat and single hereditary vote, but not his twelve Ministry votes although they've been voted Liberal.) The Radicals have seven seats and twenty-three votes. Now, while these number change a little one way or another, it's been about like that since 1920. Since Liberals and Traditionalists almost always vote against each other on principal and the Radicals have no friends, this means that for the most part it's the Moderates that have held a coalition majority since then. Depending on the issue, the Moderates side with Liberals or Traditionalists and on their own issues (with the exception of voting rights - the only thing those two groups will agree on since they both want some form of ruling elite and not 'mob rule' as some put it) all they need is either the support or opposition of one side to win."

"But if one side opposes…," Ginny began.

"Then the other, which might have opposed otherwise, will vote the other way. The Liberals led by Dumbledore have been annoyed - to say the least - since the beginning. They have twice as many seats on the Wizengamot than the Moderates and almost a third as many as the Traditionalists and yet the Moderates effectively control. Now if a significant number of Moderate votes - say thirty-four - were suddenly to become controlled by the Liberals, well it wouldn't give them a majority but it would make them the largest voting block and if some other moderates followed the Potter seat and votes into the Liberal camp, it could make them a majority. By making me a vassal of his vassal, Dumbledore eliminates the leading family in the Moderates and gets thirty-four of their votes. Turns out, at the time of the Contract and today, he also stands to eliminate the traditional leading family of the Traditionalists and pick up another twenty votes. That's something I didn't bring up yesterday."

"Okay, how does he do that?"

"Remember when I said I was in the line of succession to become a Head of House Black?"

Ginny nodded.

"In November 1981 - when that contract was signed - I was second in line and now I'm first, assuming the current Head has no children which seems to be a safe bet."

"How?"

"In 1981, the Head of House Black was Arcturus Black, Grandson of Phineas Nigelus. He had a son and daughter. The son - Orion - died in the dragon pox outbreak in 1979, same year and same way as my grandparents. Orion had two sons, one was a Death Eater who died in the War and the other, the older one, is named Sirius Black."

"I've heard that name for some reason."

"Sirius Black was arrested two days after my parents death for killing another wizard and thirteen Muggles in a Muggle market. He confessed to that as well as betraying my parents to Voldemort. Based on that confession, the then head of Magical Law Enforcement chucked him in prison without a trial. The Head of Law enforcement was Bart-something Crouch and was next in line for Head of House Black after this Sirius guy. The Head demanded a trial and Crouch refused and was disinherited. Apparently the confession was legally enough to avoid a trial, but Lord Black saw the refusal as an attempt to take over. Phineas Nigelus was both my and Crouches Great, Great Grandfather. But I'm descended from the youngest son and Crouch an older brother of that son that and he was an adult and I just a baby. But with him disinherited and scores of other wizards being from disinherited or disqualified lines and I'm next after Sirius Black."

"Disqualified?"

"Sisters of a Head and their descendants are disqualified if the Head has a son. Daughters of a Head and theirs are disqualified if they have a brother. Daughters of a cadet line can't become head, but their sons are not disqualified but the children of a daughter of a daughter of a brother of the Head are. It's confusing but disqualification and disinheritance eliminated just about every other wizard. Based upon those rules, the only one in line after me is Draco Malfoy."

Ginny's eyebrows rose.

"My Great Grandfather was Cygnus Black, younger brother of Sirius Black (a different one) who was Head of House after Phineas Nigellus and just as nasty. Cygnus is Draco's Great, Great Grandfather. My grandmother was the youngest in her generation and didn't have my father until she was forty. I am the youngest Great, Great Grandson of Phineas Nigelus. The next youngest is your brother Ron, but he's from a disinherited line as I told you. Of the Great-great grandsons and there were thirty-one of those: seventeen are in disinherited lines, six are disqualified, seven are dead and aside from the current Head of House in prison, I'm the only one who remains eligible. As for Great-Great-Great Grandsons, there are twenty-two. Ten are from disinherited lines and eleven from disqualified ones. Only Draco is eligible to be an heir."

"So this was all about votes in the Wizengamot and taking down powerful political enemies or at least those Houses?"

Harry nodded.

"Why didn't he just take over those votes on his own as your Magical Guardian or make you his Vassal? Why'd he drag my family into this?"

"'Cause those options are illegal. I don't have any of those votes. Neville's Gran has them per written request of the last Head of House and no one can get them away except the next Head of House. I can't change proxy's until I'm seventeen. We originally thought Dumbledore had them as my Guardian, but we now know he can't and found out yesterday or so who did have them. Dumbledore has no legal authority to take over my family seat. Moreover, as my guardian, he cannot personally benefit from that at my expense or the expense of my Estate."

"But if my Dad's his Vassal and you're to be my Dad's, isn't that the same?"

"Not legally and no it makes no sense to me either. Daphne seems to understand such subtleties. The rest of us think it's all mental or such. Or, as Hannah said, such meaningless distinctions in reality are why lawyers have jobs. That contract, while very unusual is legal - barely. A lot but not all that Dumbledore did to control me and my seat was legal although he certainly came as close to crossing the line as you can get. The memory caps and obliviations probably crossed the line, although we think if confronted he'll wiggle his way out some way. We also think his guardianship over me crossed the line."

"Why?"

"As Chief Warlock he approves magical guardianships for declared magical orphans and he could, of course, assume that responsibility himself. The question is, was I truly a magical orphan?"

"But your parents were dead and you had no other family…"

"That's not entirely true, is it? True, the Malfoys are like Second Cousins and I don't think anyone aside from a Death Eater would want them to have anything to do with me. But remember, your family are also cousins, as are the Greengrasses and Lovegoods. Add to it I was betrothed to Hermione and Hannah as well. Any one of those families, including yours, had the right to raise me if my parents died and they had not named someone else. Betrothals aside, there were twenty-one families that could make a claim, provided they did so before I was declared an orphan, which happened within a couple of days. And we know my parents had designated the Grangers as the family I was supposed to go to for it is in the betrothal contract between Hermione and me. Given that my father was Lord Potter at that time, we doubt that there was no Will, but apparently that's what Dumbledore claimed. Actually, we know there is one and there's a copy at Gringotts. I'll be seeing it later this summer. And if there's a Will there, there should've been a copy at the Ministry too. Curious it went missing, isn't it?"

"Couldn't you have adopted me or something, Harry? Was there any way to get out of that vassal what'sit without making me a concubine?"

"We thought of that and it wouldn't have worked."

"Why not?"

"There are many reasons, but the best one is that I can't adopt anyone before I turn twenty-one and by then it would be too late."

"Oh. What if this past year never happened? What if there was no life debt."

"I can't answer that. Everything that led to your being here today happened after the Chamber of Secrets and after there was a life debt I could claim. But here's the thing, Ginny. We can keep your status a secret for now. We're doing that with the marriages because the Goblins are under no obligation to notify anyone about them until we return to school. Neither I, nor your parents nor the goblins are required to ever reveal your being a concubine and we don't intend to do so until after you are my wife. That's when Dumbledore will find out his devious little plan failed. Of course, he might force the issue…"

"Oh?"

"Remember, I said we'd prefer to put off your marriage just in case?"

Ginny nodded.

"Dumbledore's going to find out about the others and my other marriages probably while we're on the Hogwarts Express. He may then try and force the issue. He can't do anything to undo my marriages, but he can use those marriages as an excuse to force me to marry you as soon as possible after your bonding age. If he does, we'll probably act reluctant and try and delay, but you already know that we will marry one day and I don't have a problem with that."

"Why even bother with a delay?"

"'Cause I don't want that man to think I'm ever just going to accept his way again."


	20. Chapter 20: The Dursleys

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N:

**CHAPTER TWENTY: THE DURSLEYS**

**Saturday, June 26, 1993**

The addition of bicycles and brooms made the explorations of the "estate" within the trunk far easier. Over the previous time compressions, they had been limited by how far they could walk in a couple of hours and had limited their explorations to the Flower Garden and what they now knew was a small portion of the Fruit Gardens. They knew there were roads of a sort on the Estate. These were paved for wheeled vehicles of some sort but, until the bicycles, there had not been any such things. Their walked had been across the grass and such that covered the earth in the Fruit Gardens where there were no vines or berry bushes. Now, they had taken to the roads It was on their first day with the bicycles that they had first used the paved roads and it was along just such a road that they discovered Lake Hannah.

In the evenings, Hermione had taken to drawing a map of sorts now that they were able to move about much more easily. She conceded it was not to scale, although she tried to approximate such things. The first thing she drew was a rectangle that represented the House itself. The House did have an exterior, although they all knew it was not a true representation of the floors on the inside. The Main Floor and Training Floor and possible the Ground Floor were the largest, and it was the largest of these that defined the exterior footprint. But the House's exterior was uniform in size from Ground level (of which only the side facing the Flower Garden was visible) to the upper most level which currently did not exist at all in the interior. They knew that some of the windows corresponded to the ones on the inside, but not all yet all the interior windows were on the exterior as well.

There were several roads throughout the Estate, some ran north to south (as they called it) and others east to west. "South" was the direction looking from the House out across the Flower Garden and the other directions were based off of that line. None of the roads were strait lines as they all curved around land features and landscaping. On Hermione's map, they were unnamed for now. The North-South Roads were given odd numbers with Road 1 being the one furthest to the west and Road 11 being the furthest to the east. The East-West roads had even numbers with Road 2 being the furthest to the north and Road 12 the furthest to the South.

Road 1 ran from the northern wall of the trunk to the southern one and was generally within a half a mile or so of the western most wall. It passed through the full length of the Fruit Gardens and entered the western most portion of the Vegetable Gardens. Road two ran east from the westernmost wall and was between a half mile and mile of the northern wall. It passed through the width of the Fruit Garden and ended when it intersected the north-south Road 7 in the Magical Herb Garden. (As long as they stuck to the roads, they did not need and escort.) Road 7 began at the northern wall of the Magical Herb Garden and ran to the southern wall in the Vegetable Garden passing through the Herb and Spice Gardens and the tea plantation. Road 4 ran east from Road 1, it passed the very front of the House itself where there was a large door opening into the Entry Hall and continued east, across Road 7 and ended on the banks of the Great Lake which was where all the water in the trunk drained. Road three began at an intersection with Road 2 and ended when it intersected Road 12 in the far south. This road passed Hermione's Lake and the eastern part of Lake Hannah and it was on this road that the lake had been found. Roads 4, 5 and 6 were the shortest roads. Both Roads 4 and 6 were entirely within the Herb and Spice Gardens beginning in the West from Road 7 and ending in the East at Road 11. Road 5 ran south from just beyond the flower Garden and all the way to the southern wall entirely within the Vegetable Garden. Road 10 went from West to East from Road 3 in the Fruit Garden just east of Lake Hannah to Road 11. Roads 8 and 12 ran West to east from one side of the trunk to the other. Road 8 passed between Hermione's Lake and Lake Hannah and crossed through the Fruit, Vegetable and Herb gardens at some point. Road 12 was entirely within the Vegetable Gardens. Finally, there was road 11 in the far west of the trunk. This ran north from the southern wall in the Vegetable Gardens and ended on the south shore of the Great Lake at the northern edge of the Herb and Spice Garden.

Aside from Harry and Hermione, in the afternoons after their swim, the other girls went off on their brooms to explore. Harry and Hermione spent those afternoons in the broad lawns of the Formal Garden north of the main House where Harry was teaching Hermione to fly her broom. Harry explained that brooms were not unlike bicycles or horses for that matter. Muggles were known to do crazy things on both, but that did not mean one had to. By the end of the week, Hermione was becoming far more comfortable on her touring broom.

The other girls continued their explorations from the air. While the roads helped them get around on the ground, most of the estate was off the roads altogether. There were walking trails, but thus far Hermione had not included many of them on her map. From the air, the girls discovered additional features of the land that were now on Hermione's map and had names. There were two rivers that drained the estate into the Great Lake. The largest and longest, fed by streams and the other two lakes flowed out of the Fruit Garden, through the Vegetable Gardens and then turned North through the Herb Gardens and plantations draining most of the estate. They named this river the River Potter. The second large river was named Hermione's River. It was in the north starting in the northwest portion of the Fruit Gardens and flowing into the Magical Herb Garden draining it as well before ending in the Great Lake. It got its name from the first to see it for it passed through the formal gardens. There was a third river which was a tributary of the River Potter and drained the Herb and Spice gardens in the west. It was named the River Daphne not because she was the first to see it, but because she discovered its most unique feature: a forty meter high waterfall plunging into a green gorge with a clear, warm pool at the bottom - a beautiful place for an outdoor swim and picnic. They were now known as Daphne's Falls and Daphne's Grotto. Luna discovered a tall hill in the West that bordered both the Vegetable Gardens and the Coffee Plantation in the Herb Gardens. Atop the hill was an oak tree and the hill - the highest point in the trunk - had a spectacular view of the estate. This was Luna's Hill. Finally, Ginny discovered a mile and a half stretch of white water rapids where the River Potter plunged into a valley in the Herb Gardens. This was now called Ginny's Drop.

The evenings after dinner had been spent in the Library. The "family" goal was to complete their summer assignments before the trip to France. None of them wanted that worry although Harry was certain that Hermione and maybe some of the others might revisit their work after the trip was over. Hannah finished her assignments the first evening. Ginny had not even begun hers before her trip to Gringotts and it was soon apparent that while she was very smart, her First Year had been a disaster. Everyone pitched in to help her through her assignments and now, they planned to use the summer to get her caught up to where she should have been had that Diary never consumed her life. Ginny finished her assignments on the final night in time compression.

Saturday morning found the new family dressed at breakfast as they were expecting guests for the day. As had been the case every such morning since the first of the girl's arrived, this was also when they read their mail and perused that day's copy of the Daily Prophet. For Harry, all his mail had been from Gringotts. Hermione had received two letters from her parents, the later arriving in this morning's post. Luna received a letter from her father earlier and a letter from her Great-Grandparents this morning telling her that they would be visiting today and assuring her this would not be the last time. Hannah had also received a letter from her mother and Daphne had letters from her parents and all of her sisters, even little Michelle who was just beginning to learn to write.

Harry had another letter from Gringotts that he read without expression or comment.

"It isn't about yesterday's meeting, is it Harry?" Daphne asked.

"No, it's not. I would've been surprised if it was," Harry began.

"Yesterday's meeting?" Ginny interrupted. "You mean when you …?"

"I had two meetings yesterday, Ginny. The one Daphne meant was before the one with you and your parents and, while I won't lie and say I was upset with that Contract and to some extent your parents, I was a lot angrier when we met than I planned to be after the earlier meeting. It seems everyone's trying to steal from my family," Harry finished without elaboration.

"What's that mean?" Ginny asked.

"We'll tell you later," Hermione replied. "You still intend to go through with it today? I mean you don't have to, Harry."

"I know. But I'd rather not leave this to later. Daphne says its good to have leverage and I really do want to see them squirm."

"You're not going alone, are you?"

"Well, none of you are coming," Harry said. "But Dobby will be there. I'm not about to go in there without some kind of protection."

"What did Dobby do, anyway?" Hannah asked having heard the tale.

"No idea and don't really care," Harry replied. "But he can do it again if need be and I won't get in any trouble for it. In fact, when I spoke with him about this last night he seemed eager to do it again given the chance."

"So what is the letter about?" Luna asked.

"Apparently, my parents left certain items of property with Gringotts before they went into hiding that were to be given to me upon my marriage if they weren't around to do so themselves."

"Wedding presents?" Hannah asked.

"Looks like it."

"What items?" Hermione asked.

"Doesn't say."

"Not surprising," Daphne said. "They're probably valuable or something and passed outside of any Will, missing or not. Gringotts seldom says anything about what's in their vaults in letters in case the letter should go astray. So when do they want you to get them?"

"I or my elf can pick them up anytime at my convenience," Harry replied.

"You must've made an impression, Harry. The Goblins usually are not so accommodating. This impression could be useful down the road. So, are you going to wait?"

"Once I'm done with this morning's business, I'll probably send Dobby over to find out what this stuff is and bring it back if he can."

"When are you going to deal with this?" Hermione asked.

"One thing 'bout my relatives," Harry said looking at his watch, "you can set a watch by them. It's Saturday, so they're probably having their usual later than weekday breakfast which they should be sitting down to in about twenty-five minutes."

"We do have guests coming," Hannah said.

"They're due to start arriving 'round ten," Hannah added.

"And they are coming primarily to see you lot, not me," Harry replied. "I'm sure they'd like to see me too, but if this business runs a little longer than expected, they should not be too offended. Still, if I'm not back when your guests arrive, please offer my apologies."

Twenty minutes later Harry stood in his old room for only the third time this summer. He was last here the evening before for the rest of the world when Dobby brought Ginny and him back from Diagon Alley. Before that, it was the day he returned from Hogwarts, a week ago for the rest of the world.

"Nasty muggleses thinkings theys be smarts," Dobby said. "Theys be lockings the lockings on other side of Great Harry Potter Sir's door. They's not be thinkings," he added as he snapped his fingers. "Locks now bes brokens."

"I thought you said you had wards up."

"To keeps Muggleses outside. Locks bes outside and easy to breaks if theys needs breakings. But we's nots be needing nasty locking door so Dobby nots be dealings with its before."

Harry nodded. "They up here?" he asked.

"No, Harry Potter Sirs. They's bes in theys tiny eating room."

"Let's go then," Harry replied reaching for the door.

They had no sooner stepped out into the corridor when Harry heard his Uncle yelling. As it was not directed at him and no one seemed to be responding to it, Harry assumed he was yelling at someone on the phone. Sure enough, after a rude ending to the call, Harry heard the phone slam as his Uncle hung up and then another loud noise he did not recognize.

"BUGGER IT ALL!" his Uncle yelled. "Look what the damned Freaks made me do Petunia! I swear I take the cost of the wall and a new phone out of that Boy's hide! I swear it! I will not have such unnaturalness in MY house! BOY! BOY? YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME I'LL GIVE YOU THE HIDING I'VE BEEN PROMISING ALL THESE YEARS!"

"Showtime, Dobby," Harry whispered with a bit of a smirk, but he was afraid as well. Years of Uncle Vernon would do that to you.

Harry stepped into the kitchen, saw movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively ducked as what he soon realized was a broken telephone flew by. Uncle Vernon must really be mad, Harry thought. When he was really mad at Harry, he threw things. To the best of Harry's recollection, he had never once hit Harry that way. Harry always wondered whether it was because the man couldn't throw straight, deliberately missed or whether it was because Harry always ducked. Harry was not about to not duck to determine whether the man was trying to hit him or not. He looked at his Uncle whose red face was turning more towards purple.

"DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE, BOY?" the man raged for a second and then seemed to go pale in the blink of an eye. Harry saw that Dobby was now standing between them. "I will not have this unnaturalness," Vernon Dursley began in a much softer voice filled with fear and uncertainty. Harry's Aunt Petunia looked like she was in the presence of Death himself.

"Dobby, please invite our hosts to have a seat," Harry said as calmly as he could. Uncle Vernon was still intimidating from Harry's point of view.

Aunt Petunia, who was standing before her chair sat immediately. Uncle Vernon was not so lucky has he was away from his usual seat, probably to answer the phone. Dobby's invitation was swift and violent as the huge man was thrown far more accurately than was the telephone right into his chair and, it was immediately clear to Harry, he had been immobilized.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Vernon protested. "YOUR FREAKY WORLD WILL DO YOU FOR THAT! WE HEARD THE NOTE LAST YEAR!"

"Do you see a wand in my hand?" Harry began gaining a little confidence. "I didn't do it. Dobby did. My Freaky world may be able to detect my … you know what. But Dobby's a House Elf or did he not explain that last time? They can't detect him unless he wants them to. That means he can do whatever he wants and nothing and no one will complain or come to help you or question me. Understand?"

Aunt Petunia nodded vigorously. Uncle Vernon merely glared at him.

"Now," Harry continued, "why is it you wish to see me?"

"I will not have this unnaturalness, Boy! You hear me?"

"That explains nothing…," Harry began.

"And I WILL NOT have your cheek! I swear I'm going to hide you but good when I get the chance!"

"I think not," Harry said. "Now, do you mind explaining why you're yelling and why you threw the phone at me?"

"I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING, FREAK!"

Harry shrugged. "Still…," he began.

"ONE OF YOUR FREAKY LITTLE FRIENDS RANG US UP, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT!"

Harry was tempted to remind his Uncle that he was not standing. He knew it was not Hermione who called. There was no telephone in the trunk and besides, she was there with him this whole time.

"I see," Harry said as calmly as he could manage. "And how do you know this?"

"Because the idiot clearly didn't know how to use the thing! He was yelling all the time as if he had to or I was deaf! Add to it he didn't know what it was called. Called it a Felly something…"

"Did he leave a message?"

"Don't give me your cheek, Boy! And I'm not your bloody message taker!"

"A name, perhaps?"

"Ron something. It was something Freaky. I won't have this."

So Ron had tried to call him. Harry wondered why. But that was for later. "I'll deal with this later, Uncle Vernon."

"You'll deal with this unnaturalness now, Boy!"

"I see," Harry said in as Snape-ish a manner as he could muster under the circumstances. "You assume I came down here because you called? Interesting. And you are mistaken in that. I have other business with you and Aunt Petunia at this time and this telephone nonsense is not part of it. I will deal with that later," he added somewhat forcefully.

"What business?" his relatives asked in unison.

Harry sat at the table placing a thick file folder in front of him. He would not have done so had Dobby not taken care of his Uncle and Aunt.

"We didn't invite you to sit, Boy! And if you think you're going to get any of this, you're mistaken!"

"I just had a very nice and filling breakfast with some truly pleasant company, thank you very much. I'm really not hungry - certainly not for what you call 'breakfast'," Harry added looking at the food. "As for sitting, I didn't ask for an invitation, did I?"

"Pleasant company?" Vernon began. "If I find out there's freaks in MY House…! That and your cheek will be the end of you!"

"I think not," Harry said. "What you think and what you want are none of my concern, _Uncle, _and I use that term loosely seeing as you're barely human much less polite…"

"Why you little…"

"SILENCE!" Harry said and with that and a snap of Dobby's fingers, Vernon Dursley could not speak. He could barely even open his mouth. "For as long as I can remember you and your wife were all about being proper. All an act, isn't it? Grew up in the gutter, didn't you? Sounds like you did. Before I begin, let me tell you something _Dursley! _My name and my title is not Freak or Boy and never have been! That stops now! You may not call me Harry, certainly not in that tone and if you choose 'Potter,' I expect a proper title before it. In my case, it's Lord Potter and Milord or Your Grace otherwise. Am I clear?"

He didn't expect a reaction beyond the glare he got from his Uncle. His Aunt, however, was not silenced. "What are you on about?" she asked.

"As the last Potter and sole heir to the Potter Estates, I am an Earl," Harry said. "Actually, I have four Earldoms and a Baronetcy, but only two of those are recognized as part of the modern Peerage: Hereford and Finchley. I've been told that the College of Heralds at Windsor Castle can confirm this and maybe I'll look into it later this summer. I've had an interesting week, if you must know. Spent a fair amount of time with my family estates' Accounts Manager, Solicitors and Accountants going over a variety of things including this bit; none of which I was aware of before this past Monday. I can see by your beady eyes, Uncle Vernon, you're now thinking there's money out there and are trying to figure a way to get your hands on it. Well, you can stop right now. Yes, there is a fair bit out there. You can't touch it. There's a Treaty between your government and the Freaks which says neither they nor their citizens can lay claim to Freak money or estates.

"I can see by that smug look upon your face, Uncle, you don't think I know what I'm talking about. Guess again. What you think you know is an exception that proves the rule; but it is also an exception you 'normal' people are well advised not to mess with."

"What do you mean?" Petunia asked nervously. Vernon just glared, then again he could not speak.

Harry opened the thick file folder before him and handed a three page document to his Aunt.

"This is a letter dated 6 November 1981 to you and your husband from the Firm of Golblatt, Creswell & Dirk, Solicitors. I'm told if you are familiar with that profession then you would know it is one of the highest regarded firms in Britain and - Uncle - while many of them may be what you consider 'Freaks,' they work on your side of the fence as it were, not on the Freak side. They have a very exclusive clientele including the National Trust, members of the Royal Family and many of their charities. In other words, they are very well connected on this side of things.

"The letter states that they've been advised that you're now my - um…" Harry looked at a sheet of paper. He called it his 'big word' sheet as it had many words he needed to know for this and other things but that he never had to use before. "… custodial guardians and that the Potter Estate has set aside some money for my care. It says a lot more than that, although you either forgot the rest or figured nothing would come of it."

Harry handed his Aunt another document. "These are the Guardianship papers which detail the …," he looked at his Big Word sheet again, "… amount and nature of your stipend and its conditions. Again, it seems you lot ignored the latter bit."

He passed over the third document. "This is a legal paper the two of you signed. By signing it, you get the stipend but you also promised to abide by the conditions in those other papers and the laws about such things."

He passed over a fourth document. "This is a statement of…," he looked at his sheet again, "… disbursements made to you beginning 15 November 1981 through this past 15 June. The first column are the dates of the disbursements, the second the check numbers and the third the amounts. I know what you're thinking, Uncle - or at least I suspect it. You're thinking that those were bank checks and not personal account checks and they came from a reputable 'normal' bank and not some Freak bank, right?"

Vernon nodded this time but continued to glare.

"That was to cover the source. No need to let others even suspect there's people like me out there, it there? Each of those checks came from my families Estate Accounts which can be proven quite easily.

"From 15 November '81 to 15 August '91 you lot received a monthly check in the amount of fifteen hundred quid. I'll admit I don't know much about money, but the accountants I've been dealing with do and they say it's far more than was probably necessary for my care. When I started Hog… my Secondary School, your monthly check was reduced to 750 Quid. Considering my tuition was prepaid long ago and there was a separate fund to pay for my uniforms, books, supplies and the rest and considering since then I've only been back for about six weeks, that's a lot of money. Nine thousand a year, to be exact. I doubt it costs anywhere near that to see to my needs now. To date, you've received 193,500 quid. Even I know that's a lot."

Aunt Petunia looked shocked. Uncle Vernon just glared.

"Now, if you bothered to read those papers, you'd know this money was not without conditions. It was to be used for my care! A certain amount - well less than half - could be used for my share of the common family expenses such as this house, food, vacations - assuming I went along and with the exception of last summer when you were trying to keep me away from my school letters - that was never the case. I always stayed with Mrs. Figg when you lot went on holiday. It could also be used for my fair share of the cost of a car provided that buying the car was necessary and reasonable. I'm told that buying a car just so you have a better one than any of the neighbors does not count. The rest of that money was to be used for me and only me directly. That meant for clothes, education, toys I suppose, health expenses that were necessary and not covered by…," Harry looked at his sheet for a moment, "… National Health Insurance. You could've sent me to an Independent Primary School rather than the local. Anything that was not spent on me directly was to be placed in an interest bearing account under my name which you could not draw from - except by Court Order and then only for me - and which would be mine upon my eighteenth birthday. Did you do as you were supposed to, Uncle?"

Vernon's glare was less intense.

"The law required you to. Did you? The answer is no, you did not. This remaining big stack of papers is from my family's estate accountants. Thought no one was paying attention, didn't you Uncle? Wrong again. They've been keeping an eye on you - or more accurately your money - practically from the beginning. You were getting £18,000 a year to put up with me from '81 to '91 and £9,000 since then for less than two months inconvenience. Until a few years ago, you weren't making £18,000 a year from your real job, were you? £18,000 is more than a lot of people make, isn't it? Certainly was back in '81 or so, wasn't it?

"So, for a long time over half the money you stuck in the bank came from my family's estate, didn't it? And what did you do with it? According to this stack of papers, my accounts estimate that my fair share of your family's monthly expenses has averaged £250 a month or £3000 a year and that is giving you lot the benefit of the doubt and ignores the last couple of years altogether. That's a total of £34,750 since I was placed on your doorstep. Again, giving you the benefit of a great doubt, they estimate that over that same time you've spent £1,300 on me directly. That's for three pairs of eyeglasses, including the ones I'm wearing and my primary school uniforms which, like the glasses, it not something you could pass down from Dudley. That assumes you bought decent glasses and new uniforms. I know you spent as little as you could for glasses and aside from my school shoes, the uniforms were second hand anyway. Still, giving you lot the benefit of the doubt - which I'm told is not what you can truly expect to get - that means £35,950 was spent the way it was supposed to be spent. So, if you were doing what those papers and the law says you were supposed to do, that means £157,550 plus its interest should be sitting in an account somewhere under my name, shouldn't it? Except you know there is no such account! Your total accounts combined come to a little over £6,000 after the last deposit and there is no account in your world in my name, is there? So what happened to the other £151,000 or more?

"And don't act like you have no idea, Uncle! Since you started getting those checks you've been living well beyond your means. Not beyond the money you stick in your bank, but well beyond what you could do without the money from my family's estate. You paid off the mortgage on this house a few years ago and years early. Now if that had been your only mistake, it might be overlooked. But it was hardly the only one, was it? Every two to three years since that first check you buy a new car. Yes, a car is necessary. But a new car every two to three years is not! It seems every time a neighbor buys a new car, you have to buy one as well to maintain appearances or whatever. Well, my family's money was not sent to you for that reason, was it? Then there's all the stuff you've bought Dudley over the years, most of which he tires of in days or breaks or something and altogether the lot was beyond your means if I hadn't shown up with all that money. Then there're the holidays you've taken - without me I might add - and with your deadbeat sister. Yes, I said deadbeat! You've always told me my parents were lay about drunks. Guess what, Uncle? That description fits your sister! She's a lay about, useless drunk who's been on a dole that you so hate since early 1982. Since then, you've been paying her Mortgage and expenses and providing her an allowance for her which, no doubt, she drinks most of. It may not be the government dole, but it's a dole nonetheless, isn't it? Had I never showed up here, you could never afford that, or the cars, or the yearly vacations or all the stuff Dudley demanded. Tightening your belt, you might've been able to prepay his Smeltings tuition and probably could pay year-by-year on what you make, but the rest of your spending could not have happened, could it?

"My family's estate solicitors are urging me to let them drag you into your court and demand an accounting. You know what that is?"

Vernon's glare had disappeared. He was pale and sweating. He slowly shook his head.

"You will have to prove - convincingly, I'm told - that you did nothing wrong. Good luck on that since you will need piles of papers showing clearly every penny that's come into this house and your accounts since that first check and every one that's gone out. Now, I suppose you could find some crooked, low life lawyer and accountant to make something up for a price, but it won't work. That stack of papers is a summary of your finances since that first check. My solicitors have copies of all of your bank statements, credit card statements, every check you've written, every withdrawal you've made since then. And, if you wonder how they got it, take a good look at the paper you signed back then. It authorized them to receive copies of all of that and more from that day to today.

"My solicitors won't say their case against you is a sure thing. They've told me they never make a promise like that even if it is. But they do say that it's as good as and, more importantly, that the Crown probably won't give you any benefit of the doubt. You know what that means?"

Vernon slowly shook his head again.

"It means you'll be…," Harry looked at his big word sheet again, "… personally liable not for £151,000 or so, but the full £193,500 plus interest. They estimate that could be as much as…," Harry again looked at his notes, "… £369,445 and change in interest alone in addition to the rest as of two weeks ago."

"We don't have that!" Petunia protested.

Harry ignored the outburst. "And that interest is growing at over £62,000 per year right now."

"We don't have that!" Petunia insisted again.

"I know," Harry said. "The accountants think that if they…," Harry checked his sheet again, "… liquidate everything you own - the house, everything in it of any value, your car, bank accounts, your pension, your sisters house and stuff, the unused portion of Dudley's tuition, even your life insurance policies - and yes they have copies of those as well - you might be able to scrape together £150,000."

"That's almost what you say we owe you!"

"If the courts are not involved at all," Harry nodded. "But the courts do not look kindly on this sort of thing. If the courts get involved you could be on the hook for over £560,000 all told; £410,000 after you lose everything including, most likely, your job."

"Why would Vernon lose his job?" Petunia asked.

"He stole or, more accurately…," Harry checked his sheet again, "… embezzled over £150,000 giving him the benefit of a very big doubt. That means he had legal access to handle that money but took it for himself illegally. You think Grunnings would keep him once word gets out and, if this goes to court it will? You think their customers would trust their money to a company with someone like that having access to any of the money? Uncle Vernon might think it's altogether different stealing from a kid and stealing from his company. My solicitors say the company probably won't see a difference at all and even if they find that he's done nothing of the sort with their money, they're not about to take the risk. Bad for business, you know. And all of this assumes the Crown doesn't get involved."

"The Crown? What's the Queen got to do with this?"

"I mean the criminal courts. If this was £50 or so, they probably wouldn't waste their time with it. But it's not, is it? With that amount of money, they'd probably bring him up on charges and with our evidence he'd probably get convicted. That means you and his sister living in Public Housing on the dole he so hates, your son in the local Comprehensive and not Smeltings, while he spends a few years or more in prison. And this assumes my types don't get involved and they could.

"Your husband stole from a freak family. That gives my types and our courts the right to go after him as well. True, that treaty I mentioned prevents them from getting at your money and such, but not from trying him as a thief. The evidence that will probably ruin your family in your world will certainly convict him in ours. They don't look to kindly at people like you who harm people like me. He would be convicted and chucked into our prison, which makes the worst of yours look like a luxurious health spa. Few people survive that place. Most become incurably insane - catatonic - or die within a couple of years. Then there's that bank to consider."

"What can a bank do that your solicitors cannot?"

"Remember I said it was owned and managed by my world?"

Petunia nodded.

"Have you ever heard of Gringotts?"

"I've been there when Lily was in school. That's the place run by those nasty creatures, right? That's where we had to go to exchange our money for those coins, right?"

Harry nodded. "Those creatures are goblins and nasty barely begins to describe what they can be when angry. They own the bank that issues your checks and manage the accounts from which those checks are drawn. They don't look kindly on thieves and stealing from them, from any account they manage or from their customers makes you a thief in their eyes. Gringotts is a global business. They got branches all over the world and trackers and bounty hunters on call to hunt down thieves and we have a treaty with them that allows them to do that. If I set my solicitors on you, there's a chance they will want a piece of your husband, specifically his head."

"What do you mean?" Petunia said as she paled.

"If the Goblins get involved, your husband can expect a short, sharp shock, as someone put it. The punishment for stealing from them, their accounts or customers is decapitation. They don't know the meaning of words like appeal," Harry looked at his sheet again, "clemency, extenuating circumstances, mercy, excuse, ignorance or anything like that."

"Why are you telling us this?" Petunia asked after a pause. "You could've just set those solicitors on us and be done with it! This is about the way we treated you, isn't it?"

"As I understand it, if I set my solicitors on you as you say and if that came out, it'd probably go worse for you all. The reason I'm telling you this is not so petty. Yes, I am angry you've robbed me blind. But this isn't about the money. That £560,000 my solicitors think they can get really doesn't mean all that much to me."

"Not all that much?" Petunia almost shrieked.

"I don't know how much the Potter Estate is worth and under my kinds law, I won't find out 'til I'm seventeen. But I do have a trust fund that was set up when I was born. This fund is in addition to the money you've received over the years and in addition to my pre-paid tuition to my school. This fund is for my use only. You can't touch it or demand anything from it, nor can anyone else! It is a tiny fraction of the total. That I do know. My fiscal year runs from August 1st to my following birthday. At the current exchange rate from pounds to my kind's 'freaky' money, £67,500 is added to the Principal of the trust each birthday. Now, I can't touch any of that for any reason 'til I'm seventeen and can't touch the full Estate until I'm twenty-one. But that account's been earning interest at nine percent a year since I was born." Harry noticed Vernon's jaw drop. "I can spend the interest the account's earned. The fiscal year ending this summer, I've estimated I would have earned about £156,000 in interest since my last birthday give or take £2000 or so or less."

"That's almost as much as you say we stole from you!"

"Giving you a generous benefit of the doubt," Harry agreed. "I estimate the total amount of interest - the money I can spend right now - will be about £671,000 give or take a couple thousand, which is more than my solicitors could possible get from you assuming you had what they say they can get, which you don't. Add to it the Principal I can't touch and that account will have close to £1.9 Million come my birthday. Financially, the money you took really doesn't matter. That you took it is another matter and is why my solicitors want me to set them loose. However, you should know there's far more at stake here than that money, Aunt Petunia, and what is truly at stake is worth the £157,000 or so that can't be accounted for."

"The wards!" Petunia whispered. Vernon looked confused.

"Yes, the wards. No idea what she's talking about?" Harry added looking at his Uncle. The man shook his head.

"That's one of those 'M' word things, Uncle. Some of that unnaturalness you're on about."

Vernon frowned.

"Wards are like a "M" word wall or fence or force field - which is probably a better example. I don't know much about them except what they are in general. We aren't taught that yet and not for a few more years really assuming I'm taking the right courses (which I am, by the way). They are designed to keep people you don't want to deal with away from your property and, in some cases, from you. Most freaks like me have wards on their homes when they grow up. The most common keeps normal people like you from stopping by unless we let them. But there're loads of others and some can be quite nasty if you try to force your way through them - there're some that can even kill you were you to try, although I think those type are illegal.

"Do you know how my parents died?"

"They were killed by your kind," Petunia said.

"Do you know why?"

Petunia shook her head.

"Your husband here has stated for years they were no good layabouts. I've told you today they were quite comfortable, enough so that they did not need to be employed. But they were. They were law enforcement officers in our world. They were part of what you could call a Counter-terrorism Force, our equivalent of your MI-5, I'm told. And they and their team were very good at their job. At the time, there was a large group of terrorists in our world trying to take over. These were the absolute worst of our lot and probably make the 'normal' terrorists in your world look tame. Over a ten year or longer war they killed thousands in our world; THOUSANDS! Given there're about 65,000 of us in Britain now, that's our equivalent of suffering through one of the World Wars, I'm told. Would've been bad enough, but these freaks crossed over into your world and raped, tortured and murdered your types for kicks. It was often blamed on your own terrorists. A friend of mine wonders whether there really would be the problems there are in Northern Ireland had those freak terrorists stayed on our side of the fence as it were.

"My parents were very good at stopping the bad guys, even their leader who was the most powerful, dangerous and psychotic of the lot and since you'd have to be a nutter to be one of them, well he makes the worst of your sort look nice. What my parents did during the War made them targets of those terrorists. I learned this summer from stuff I got that they had a bounty on their heads.

"But, while they were at risk, that's not why they were attacked that night. They were attacked by the psycho terrorist leader himself. Somehow, he got it into his twisted head that I was the biggest threat to him that ever existed."

"That's just crazy!"

"He's crazy. He believed it was his destiny to rule the entire world. Not just my world, the entire world. He probably thought he either was some kind of god or if not should have been. From what I've learned he may well have been a genius, one of the most powerful of my kind alive and totally mental - a very, very bad combination. So he gets this notion that there's a baby out there that can kill him when no adult has managed to do so. He killed my parents 'cause they tried to stop him. We don't really know what happened next, only that somehow he blew himself up. I doubt it was on purpose.

"So the big, bad wolf was gone. Unfortunately, he led a pack of bad wolves and they were not. Some of them went on a rampage when word got out that their invincible leader proved not to be so invincible. They killed a lot of people trying to find out what happened before they were rounded up and chucked into prison. Had I not been placed here, had the wards on this house never been set up; you, your husband and son might well have been among those final victims."

"Why us? We wouldn't've known anything!"

"They wouldn't've cared. Most of them are dumber than rocks, but not all. Most of them know nothing about your world but some know quite a bit. They would've figured out you were my Mum's sister and they would've found you. They would've tortured the lot of you to find out what you knew and would've killed the lot of you regardless of what you knew or didn't know. That's what they did. They killed people like you for sport, remember? They wouldn't think twice about it.

"The wards on this House protect my Mum's surviving family from them - and there are still some who managed to avoid capture - and from the rest of my world as well. So long as you and I live here, those wards remain. The only contact you'll have with my world is the contact the wizard who set the wards allows or the contact I allow."

"So we're in danger?"

"Not really. Not now. You were for a time. There might be a few out there who'd try something. Then again, maybe not. But the danger aside, this place would be crawling with my freaky kind if those wards fail. There'd be a queue outside the door, in all probability. You wouldn't be able to get the paper or put out the rubbish without freaky cameras flashing in your face or photographers following you about…"

"Paparazzi?"

Harry nodded. "The vast majority of the 'freaks' in my world believe that baby Harry Potter killed the psycho that night. I was famous within days. I bloody well now know what the Royal Family must feel like! Can't walk down a bloody street in my world without almost everyone staring at me and pointing and loads of them coming up to shake my hand, ask for an autograph or a picture or a picture of me with them. It's annoying to say the least. I know how Uncle Vernon hates our owls. Well, without the wards what happened two summers ago when my school tried to send me a letter would probably be an everyday sort of thing."

"But if we're in no danger, why do these wards matter more than your money, what we did to you or any of that?"

"You're in no danger right now. Didn't say I wasn't, did I? Nor will I say you will never be in danger from evil, psycho freaks again. That psycho killer who killed my parents while trying to kill me may have blown his body to bits that night, but he didn't truly die."

"WHAT? What are you talking about? How can he be blown to pieces and not die? That's impossible!"

"For people like you, you're correct. I'd say for me as well. But for someone who is truly evil and will delve into the most evil of unnaturalness, it is possible. There are very, very dark 'M' word stuff out there. There are ways to avoid crossing over when your body dies, but it requires absolute evil mind and intent to do. He did something like that. I don't know what. But I do know I've dealt with two versions of him in the last two years both trying to regain physical form to kill me and resume his quest for world rule. My first year, whatever he is now took possession of a professor at my school. I had to kill him at the end of the year. This past year, something else of him tried to come back as well and I had to destroy it as well. I wouldn't have believed it either had I not faced it myself. He's not dead. He's trying to come back. I don't know how he'll do it or even if he can, but he is trying and if he succeeds, then the war that ended soon after that night will resume. I said many of his followers evaded justice and are still out there. There are people who were too young back then who might well follow him as well. If he comes back, without these wards we're in mortal peril! That's why I need them 'cause I'm his top target and the top target of his followers and they will kill you if they think there's any chance it might possibly lead them to me. They'd probably kill you just because I lived here for a time. So we need those wards until the lot of them are well and truly locked away for life or six feet under."

"How long until he comes back?"

"No idea. Could be tomorrow, although I doubt that. Might not be for years and years."

"What do you want from us?"

"You will need to live in this house until I tell you it's safe, Aunt Petunia. The wards protect your son, but will fail if you move away. That bedroom upstairs is mine. So long as you live here, I will use it for a month or so every year to recharge the wards and keep them up. You will continue to receive £750 per month until I turn eighteen. After that - and this is non-negotiable - it will be £250 which for one month's use of that tiny room per year and no requirement for food, water or anything is still far more than you could expect from a boarder. You, your son and especially this fat lump thieving bastard you call a husband will not try to bother me when I'm here. If I need to contact you, I will. Finally, his lay-about drunk of a sister is not allowed in this house for any reason when I am in residence. That's not negotiable. I would suggest that he cuts the bitch off without a penny. But that's his choice. If you move out, if you do anything that causes the wards to fail, I'll set my solicitors and the goblins after you. True, there may come a time when too much time has passed for my solicitors to haul you into court, but the only way to avoid Goblin justice is to die before they cut off heads."

"What if we need to talk to you about something?"

"Don't see why that'll be necessary, but fine. If you need to speak to me about something while I'm in residence, slide a note through that cat flap. It might be a day or two before I respond and don't ask why 'cause I won't say. If your husband or son do the same, they will be ignored and if I have reason to believe they put you up to it, you will be ignored, understand?"

Petunia nodded.

Harry then looked at Uncle Vernon. "And yes, I will try to keep freakiness and unnaturalness out of the rest of the house. But don't expect me to bend over backwards for it Uncle Vernon. Oh, and if you threaten me, hit me, yell at me again or even think of trying to get more money out of me, _I will ruin you! _Understand?"

Vernon nodded.

"Good! Well, I think that covers it all. You won't see me again until the wards are set and I leave for the year. And Uncle Vernon?"

He looked at Harry.

"Don't think you can sneak a visit in with your sister just 'cause I won't be sociable. If she sets one foot in this house, I will know and what Dobby does to her and her so called dog may make what he did to you look like child's play. Good day."

And with that, Harry got up and headed back up the stairs.

**A/N: In 2010, the per capita income in the U.K. was between $35,000 and $36,000 depending upon which source you consult. This is approximately £23,600. I couldn't find these numbers for either 1981 or 1993, but it's fair to say the income was less (inflation, increases in cost of living and such come into play over time) and the Pound may have been worth more compared to the dollar back then.**


	21. Chapter 21: Dinner At The Potters'

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Never really liked bits where Harry goes all mideivile on the Dursleys even it they might deserve it. They don't suffer near as long as they should.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: DINNER AT THE POTTERS'**

**Saturday, June 26, 1993**

Harry stepped back into the Entry Hall. Dobby had left for Gringotts immediately after they had entered Harry's room, closed the door and Dobby had reapplied the room's wards. Two of the girls were waiting when he entered: Daphne and Ginny.

"How'd it go?" Daphne asked.

"I guess it could've gone much worse to be honest," Harry said. "When Dobby and I left the room, we could hear Uncle Vernon yelling at someone. He was really mad and when he finished yelling at whoever it was he wanted to yell at me for some reason. Soon as I entered the kitchen, he threw the phone at me."

"What's a phone?" Ginny asked.

"What did he do that for?" Daphne added.

"A phone's a Muggle communication device," Harry said. "I heard about something called Floo calls? I guess it's something similar. He threw it at me 'cause he was furious about the call and caller and tore the thing off the wall when the conversation was over. Took a chunk out of the wall when he did and he blamed me for it. Apparently, one of my 'freaky' friends called and was a little too obvious that he was not a Muggle."

"Did he hit you?" Ginny asked.

"Does he do that sort of thing often?" Daphne added.

"Who used that phone thing to call you?" Ginny asked again.

"First," Harry said, "no he missed. When he's really, really angry he throws stuff - usually at me even if he's not angry with me. Hasn't hit me yet, then again I always duck and that thing would've hurt if it hit me. As for who got him that way…," he looked at Ginny, "… it was your brother Ron."

"He can be thick," Ginny snorted. "Doubt he's even seen one of those phone things before much less used one. I wonder how he got hold of one. You know why he tried to talk to you?"

"No. I'll write him a letter and tell him that perhaps he shouldn't try to contact me that way again."

"Don't be so - um - uncertain. 'Perhaps' doesn't mean 'don't' to him or the twins. Maybe he did that to avoid writing?"

Harry shrugged. "So anyway," he continued, "it got off to a bad start. Dobby took care of things and I laid it all out for them. Don't know how Vernon took it 'cause he was being … difficult, so I had Dobby shut him up for the rest of the meeting."

"Did they get the point?" Ginny asked.

"My Aunt did for certain. Don't thing my Uncle got the point 'bout the wards or how important they are, but my Aunt did and they both got the point about the money."

"So they know about us then," Daphne asked.

"Managed to avoid that bit. Didn't tell them how long the wards will last, only that they are tied to me and Aunt Petunia and if they collapse that family is in serious danger. She seemed to understand that even if her husband did not or doesn't want to. Still, we'll see."

"I thought they understood," Ginny said.

"I know my Aunt did. To be honest, she might be the only one in that house with half a brain, but she's always been a doormat. Muggle term. Her husband walks all over her - not literally - and she rarely if ever stands up to him. Hopefully the real threat of losing everything - including his head - will keep that fat idiot from doing anything stupid. So, where're the others?"

"You ran a little over, Harry," Daphne said. "The Grangers, Luna's Great-Grands and Hannah's Mum all arrived right at ten - fifteen minutes ago - so they're off upstairs getting the tour."

"And your folks?"

Daphne shrugged. "Four kids - _daughters._ Takes time to get them going and such. They should be along soon. I take it you'll be in the kitchen?"

Harry nodded. "I was about to head there…"

"May want to wait for my Mum. We love whatever you make, but my younger three sisters can be a little fussy. She might give you some ideas."

"Harry?" Ginny asked. "Can … can I help you or at least watch?"

"Um … sure? Why?"

"Don't want to spend the day alone," she said sadly. "I don't feel right about being with the other families and … and while I know why my family's not here - I understand - I haven't been alone since I got here aside from when I was asleep. Please?"

"Sure."

"Thanks Harry!" Ginny said with a smile.

"I think I hear them now," Daphne said a moment later and there was noise of some sort coming from the door that led to the Greengrass access trunk. The door opened and a little girl ran straight at Daphne calling her name. Daphne knelt down to hug her sister.

"Where you been, Daphne?" the girl asked. "You've been gone days and days!"

"Now Michelle," Daphne said, "it's only been three days…"

"Day, day, day," the girl said counting on her fingers, "days and days! Where you been?"

"I've been here."

The girl looked around at the huge room and all the tapestries. "Wow! Is this Hogwarts?"

Daphne laughed. "No Michelle, it's not Hogwarts."

"Mummy said you's married. Is that true?"

"It is, in a way."

"But I wasn't there! How can you be?"

"I've already promised Mummy and Daddy that when I'm older, I'll have a proper wedding so you all can be there, okay?"

"Kay. Is that him?" she said pointing.

"You shouldn't point."

"But is it?"

"Michelle, you should wait for a proper introduction," a voice said. Harry looked and saw that Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass had entered behind three other girls, all seeming to resemble in some ways their mother and older sister.

"Mum is correct, Michelle," Daphne said. "Harry, this is my family. You've already met my parents…"

"It is good to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass," Harry said.

"And this little one is my youngest sister Michelle. She's four."

"Am not!" Michelle snapped. "I'm almost five!"

"She'll be five in August. And this is the next youngest Cynthia. She's six and will be seven in December. This is Jenna who'll be ten in September. And finally, this is Astoria who's eleven and will be starting Hogwarts this Fall Term. Everyone, this is my Husband Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Heir Apparent to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, Earl of Finchley, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca and Baron of Loch Sheen."

"Harry Potter?" Cynthia asked. "You mean like the Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"This is the real one," Daphne said. "The one in the books is made up."

"Oh."

"Next to him is his Betrothed, Ginny."

"Wait a tick," Jenna said, "how can he have a betrothed if you're his Wife, Daphne?"

"Actually, he has four wives and a betrothed," Daphne replied.

"Four wives?" Jenna and Astoria asked.

"I'll tell you all a little later. Do you want to see my rooms?"

"Yeah!" Michelle said.

"You live here?" Cynthia asked.

"Yes, we live here, Cyn," Daphne replied, "and now it's time to show you around. Come on."

"I'll catch up in a bit," Mrs. Greengrass said as the others followed Daphne to the stairs. She looked around at the Entry Hall. "Very impressive, if a bit Spartan. Is the rest of this house as empty?"

"No Ma'am," Harry said. "This is just the Entry Hall."

"Looks more like a Ballroom, if you ask me."

"Okay, I knew this place was missing something," Harry chuckled. "I guess this could do that as well. I take it you wish to speak with me?"

"Um … Well, Daphne's letter said we'd be having dinner here and I was wondering if I could have a few words with the cook."

"Okay."

After a long pause, Mrs. Greengrass gave him a slight glare which Ginny saw and had to suppress a chuckle.

"Perhaps you could call your cook?"

"I am the cook for tonight," Harry said.

"Share duties with the others, do you? I suppose the lot of you clean and dust as well? Don't tell me you have no staff."

"I do have one and no, we don't clean or dust or take care of the gardens. There's eight elves in the Primary House Staff who do that and another six on call from the Garden Staff to take care of guests in residence. There's an additional ninety-one working the grounds…"

"Ninety-one?" Mrs. Greengrass all but shrieked. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"For forty or so square miles of land, most of which is farms?" Harry replied. "It's about one-and-a-half elves per square mile, not including the twenty-eight working maintenance and processing what we grow here full time, and they are augmented by the farmhands. Labor wise, I'm told it's the bare minimum for an estate this size."

Mrs. Greengrass did not know how to respond.

"So, what is it you wished to ask?" Harry continued. "Any allergies or such I need to be aware of?"

She shook her head as if clearing it. "Um … well, that's unexpected," she said. "No, no allergies or any of that. Are you planning to serve the same thing to all of us?"

"It was the plan," Harry said. "I can change it within reason."

"Now Daphne's old enough to know better, I should assume. You've cooked for her?"

Harry nodded.

"And it was whatever?"

"Got a full pantry, but yes," Harry said.

"And Astoria's about to start Hogwarts," Mrs. Greengrass continued, "and needs to accept that she can't always eat what she wants or what one of our elves will make. But I'd rather not deal with the other three that way - especially the younger two. I don't expect you to understand, but…"

And for the next few minutes, they discussed the kids menu. In the end, while Mrs. Greengrass had never heard of many of Harry's suggestions - and he had cooked for his cousin who's list of things not to be eaten was rather large which was amusing considering the boy's girth - she was satisfied with the selections.

"Um," she finished. "Er - where can I find my family?"

"Seeing as they haven't come down," Harry said, "your daughter's room is at the top of the stairs there, second door on the left. If they aren't there, they're probably in my rooms - at the end of the corridor."

"Thank you," she said as she turned for the stairs.

"Well," Harry said turning to Ginny, "I guess we have our marching orders."

"But you never really said what you'd make," she protested. "And aside from cutting up stuff, Mum never showed me how to do anything!"

"First, I know what we're going to make," Harry said, "and second, you will help. Between the two of us and Burt - he's the full time cook - and Summer and she's his primary assistant, we'll make them drool!"

Harry was busy working on his dinner menu and helping Ginny who he had placed in charge of the "kid's dinner." She may have worked with her mother in the kitchen, but in Harry's opinion, she was a long way from being a true cook. Still, she took direction nicely and Harry was nice about it, something she commented upon for her mother was all this and that and if it wasn't this or that she didn't explain it too well to the girl. Ginny liked this approach. She didn't understand a lot of what Harry was asking her to do, but he was patient and did his best to explain the whys and such. She was doing her best for Harry and Harry was not overly critical and she liked helping this way.

"Milord Potter, Sir!" a voice called - fortunately not at a critical time for either of the humans present.

Harry looked up from what he was doing.

"Higgins?" he asked.

"Milord," the elf replied. "The other ladies are wishing to know whether we might entreat their families to a few days of Time Compression, Sir. They've not told me why, Sir. But one can imagine that to show this estate to its fullest extent might well take more than an afternoon in real time, Sir."

Harry nodded. "Is Dobby back yet?"

"No Sir," Higgins replied.

"When he returns, set it up. Have the ladies' elves bring changes of clothing for their families and such. Dobby can see to the Time Compression programming, unless I'm truly needed."

"Milord!" Higgins said with a bow.

"Did you find out what the wedding presents were?" Harry asked some time later.

"Oh yes, Great Harry Potter Sir. Dobby be learnings stills, but Dobby be's brinings thems back from Goblins Place, Sir!"

"And what are they?"

"Trunkes, Sir! Trunkses like this ones is, Sir! Well, not justs likes, but likes, Sir! If Great Harry Potter bes understandings, Sir."

"More than one?" Harry asked. He was busy with what he was doing.

"Far mores," Dobby replied. "Sevenses actually. Fours beings developses. They's got alls plantings and such and scoreses and scoreses of Elveses to bes takings cares of thems. Threes beings new. Twos new ones being trunkes your Granfathers be buyings afore he be gettings sicks and dyings 'cause he's be needings mores for his Elves. Twos Oldies ones be wedding presents for Great Harry Potter's Mums and Dads ands be really pretty. Ones be for Harry Potter, Sirs. Lasts being Harry Potter's present for his owns, Sir."

"How much land?"

"Sir! 40,000 acres each total. 120,000 bes developses already. Rest being ready to be developses, Sir."

"Um… How much total?"

"Ifs wes be makings this trunks its full sizes Sir, and wes be adding the three new ones what beings undeveloped, Sir; it bes 500 squares mileses, Sir!"

"What can I do with so many trunks?" Harry mused to himself.

"Sir?"

"I mean it's not like they're interconnected or something," Harry continued.

"No Sir, its not being that ways yet, Sir," Dobby replied. "But theys cans be. Harry Potter's Mum's and Dad's two trunks be one trunks or one place 'cause theys be connecteds that way as does Harry Potter's grandfather's trunkses. Dobby bes pretty sure all eight can become one big estate."

"Guess that explains why some of the roads here go to the wall," Harry said.

"That what Dobby be thinkings too Sir."

"Give me a report and a plan - especially a plan if we can make them all into one estate. Not today, Dobby. Take your time. I'm in no rush…"

"Of course, Harry Potters Sirs! Dobby be seeings its dones, Sir!" They spoke for several more minutes about what Dobby had discovered.

"Did Higgins see you," Harry said changing the topic.

"Higgins beings good Elf, Sir. He sees Dobby whens Dobby bes comings back from Goblinses, Sir. He be askings ifs we cans do some Time Compressions for guests, Sir."

"Can we? I only had ninety-two hours after this past week."

"Not includings recharges, Sir! Magics something powerful here, Sir. You's may have spent 840 hours this weeks, Sir and had only ninety-twos in Charge when yous begins as afters, buts yous have over 270 hours yous cans use, Sir. Theys onlys be wantings 96. Yous be earnings 90 minutes for every hour yous no beings dischargings Time Compression, Sir."

"Four days is all they want?"

"Dobby talks to thems. Ladies Elves be brinings theirs things. Four dayses, Sir."

"Can you set it up? I'm a little busy right now."

"Dobby cans be doings it, Sir!"

The dinner had been a success, although to Harry and the five young ladies who now lived with him this was not much of a surprise. He had worked up two separate meals actually following his talk with Mrs. Greengrass. The adult meal, which was served to everyone but the youngest three guests, was seafood. The appetizer featured Muscles. The soup was a stew made with oysters and clams. The salad had langoustines, a relative of lobster. The main course had a filet of sole and crab cakes. Only the desert was without some kind of seafood. Harry made it a point to tell the guests that the seafood would be about the only food item he would ever have to buy once the "farm" was fully up and running. For the three girls, Harry had chosen certain Italian dishes he had cooked for the Durlseys – although improved versions of them. He was certain these were dishes children liked for, as portly or whale like as his cousin was, the boy was a surprisingly picky eater. There was ravioli – which allowed him to sneak in certain vegetables that Mrs. Greengrass wanted her daughters to eat but which it was always a losing battle to get them to eat. The girls were oblivious to the trick and were not told what was in the ravioli until they asked for seconds. Surprising their mother, they still wanted seconds. There was also spaghetti and meatballs and pizza and a few other dishes that disappeared. Needless to say, when Mrs. Greengrass inquired as to the ingredients she was pleasantly surprised. Ginny had helped Harry prepare the dinner and she had done most the work on the girls' meals so when Mrs. Greengrass asked for the recipes, it was Ginny who provided most of it even though she was only following Harry's directions.

Following the dinner and the dessert (which was the work of the Head Elf Chef Burt) and as the younger two Greengrass girls tried without success not to nod off, Harry explained the Time Compression to the guests. He explained that while a couple of days (in Hannah's case) or slightly more may have passed for them, he had been at the Manor for forty-three days, Hermione and Luna for forty-one, Daphne for twenty-four, Hannah for sixteen and Ginny for eight. He explained that he cooked dinner and breakfast for each of his "girls" on the evening of their arrival and the next morning as he had the previous real Monday evening when the Grangers visited but the rest of the meals were cooked by the elves. He then outlined how they had used their time: the mornings exploring their new "home" and getting to know each other, afternoons training (swimming, practicing spells and such) and late afternoons finishing their summer assignments, studying bonds and wizarding marital contracts, Potter family matters and other interests. He left out more prurient details such as his "girls" chosen attire and any discussion of sleeping arrangements and intimacy.

"So," Mr. Granger asked, "have you figured out how this trunk thing works?"

Harry nodded. "It was one of my evening projects once we were clear on a plan about the Weasley Contract – although while our plan was sound, events didn't unfold the way we had thought they would."

"Oh?" a few of the adults asked.

"Oh yes," Ginny all but sighed. "Much better, really."

Harry then explained the meeting with the Weasleys and the revised plan he came up with once he learned the Weasleys too were victims of a plot.

"So what is her status?" Mr. Greengrass asked in a disapproving tone.

"As far as we're concerned, Sir, it is that of a betrothed – period. She's not yet reached bonding age so that is the most she can be in any event. But, whether I marry her soon after she reaches her bonding age or sometime later, she will become my wife one day if she wants to. I am aware of the general attitude to her magical status as a concubine, Sir. I am also aware that by declaring her as my betrothed – as I have done in my contract with her parents – she loses much of that stigma and, more important, she comes under my House protection. Should anyone think otherwise, they will learn that I have learned what my status truly means."

Mr. Greengrass nodded and then looked at Ginny. "Is that your understanding?" he asked.

She nodded. "Not at first, of course," she said softly. "Even when Harry first explained it. But now? The only true difference between my place in this family and that of my new sisters is I am not yet of bonding age. As for keeping me betrothed and not married beyond that point, that is…"

"A cover story more than anything," Harry said. "Dumbledore will find out about all of this come September and we need to keep him from messing with it. We don't know what Dumbledore's reaction to all this will be, but we are not about to give him any chance to mess with what has happened. My new contract with her parents says I must marry her by the time she is sixteen and I intend to do so, but the boons Dumbledore was to get from that have been destroyed by taking her as a concubine now rather than later. It was merely a way to get her out from his control and keep her safe from his plans. We all don't want to think what he would have done otherwise…"

"Hold on," Mr. Granger said, "I thought her parents were in on this? Why are you granting them anything?"

"They weren't it turns out," Harry said. "They signed a betrothal contract that would see to it their seven children could attend Hogwarts. They were unaware of the rest of it and apparently trusted the man so much they never bothered to read the rest of it before signing their daughter away. A few days later or so, they were obliviated. When I confronted them, they had no memory of that contract or the betrothal. Since they have no memory and were not lying about that, then they are as much victims of that man's schemes as the rest of us as was Ginny. We could not find a complete way out for us so I will have to marry her in time. But, seeing as I had those other contracts I could not get out of, that was not the issue. This new arrangement removes the real issue and punishes the schemer and not his victims – or so we hope."

It was clear that the adults – especially the magical ones – were very concerned about Ginny's new status as a concubine. Harry carefully explained the contract that led to it and the plan they came up with to defeat the worst aspects of that contract. He described his meeting with the Weasleys where it was clear that they were not truly party to the scheme and how they ultimately agreed to this arrangement and assured them that aside from just how Ginny became a part of his family, she really was not in a different situation. She would become his wife one day and that marriage would be finalized only if and when they both agreed, otherwise it could be annulled when they were twenty-one.

"Annulment is not something I'm planning on with any of them," Harry continued. "I hope this works for all of us in the end. I hope fifty years from now we are all still together watching our grandkids and such. I never had a family before – or at least I don't remember my true family. Before Hogwarts, I never had any friends. What has happened has given me a true chance at both and I don't want to lose that just because the circumstances that made it happen are not what I – or any of us really – would have expected."

"Still," Mrs. Abbott asked, "if she's a Concubine, that's different than the others, right?"

"Well said," Mr. Greengrass replied.

"It can be," Harry agreed. "It's not in our case. First off, I have a valid and enforceable marriage contract with the Weasleys now, one I signed on my own behalf as an emancipated Heir of an Ancient and Noble House. I am bound by that promise. Moreover, she will be receiving one of my titles that will pass to her first born son or, if she only has daughters, first born grandson. This is the same situation that Hermione, Luna and Daphne have. The Potter family has many titles, each having its own rights to its seat on the Wizengamot. Without a plural marriage, all of those estates pass to the eldest born son. This includes situations where there was more than one wife, but the latter marriages followed the death of the earlier wife. In a Plural marriage, I can divide the titles amongst my sons of different mothers since they are designated as a wife with a specific title. Hermione is the Countess of Finchley. Luna is Countess of Hwicca and Daphne is Countess of Abengale. Ginny will be either Countess of Hereford or Baroness of Loch Sheen when we marry."

"That leaves one other," Mr. Greengrass noted.

"I have no plans on taking another wife for the vacant title. My plan is that title will pass to my first born son by any of the House Potter wives. All I ever wanted to be was normal, whatever that is. It seems that for reasons beyond my control and since I was born, what I thought was normal was never in the cards for me. Still, as close to normal as possible under the circumstances would do nicely…"

"So," Mr. Granger continued changing the topic, "just how does this trunk work?"

Harry relaxed for this was a less nerve wracking topic. He understood the concepts behind this trunk if not the details.

"Okay," he said. "Basically, as I understand it, the trunk has two parts to it. The cloakroom is the result of a fairly basic expansion charm…"

"We'll learn how to do that before we finish school," Hermione added.

"… but the doors are a form of portal," Harry continued. "The rest of the trunk, while quite real in many ways, is … well I guess the best explanation is it is its own reality or little world connected to our world by the portal. It exists and yet it does not exist at the same time. The only ways in or out are through the trunk, a floo connection or a special … well it's called a shunt that allows for post to arrive and can be keyed to allow for authorized portkeys or apparition – forms of magical travel…"

"Kind of like magical teleportation or transporters," Hermione added for her father's benefit. "We'll be taught one of those as well when we're older."

"And what if someone or something destroys the trunk?" Mr. Granger asked.

"The trunk is destroyed," Harry replied. "This place, however, is not. Basically, I'd lose that way of access and nothing else."

"And your control room?" Daphne asked.

"It's part of this reality, not part of the expansion charm. If my trunk were destroyed, my door into it would open directly into the control room."

"So this place is indestructible?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I don't know that for certain," Harry replied. "But once it's set up its existence is not tied to the existence of the trunk itself. According to the manual or whatever that book is, so long as I could hook into the floo network or knew how to apparate, I could still come and go. What I'd lose is mobility…"

"Explain that."

"Well, the trunk can be moved, right? If it were destroyed – and assuming there were no other access trunks – if I wanted to apparate in I'd have to go to the place in the outside world where the trunk had been to do so or at least I'd have to have some idea where that was. But I'm not too worried about that."

"Why not?"

"First of all, 'cause I have the other access trunks. To totally cut off that method of access they all would have to be destroyed. Then there's the fact that that's easier said than done. Those trunks are all heavily warded to prevent damage or destruction. I guess a nuclear blast would do it, but not much else."

"So this is like its own world, separate and apart from the world outside?" Astoria asked.

"That's pretty much it in a way, although it has limitations…"

"Such as?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Gravity for one," Harry said. "While I doubt anyone's experimented, the gravity in here is tied to that outside. While up is always up here and down is always down regardless of how the trunk is sitting outside, the gravity that makes up and down is tied to the outside world. The air in here comes from outside and is replenished from the outside on a regular basis. Same's true with water, although we don't replenish it nearly as much. Without air or water outside, there can't be air or water inside so I guess this wouldn't work at all in space or on the moon or something like that. To that extent, this world is dependent upon the outside world to exist – or at least to exist in a way that we can live in here. But, since I doubt Earth's about to lose all its water and air, no worries there for now."

"It's like your own little world," Mrs. Granger observed.

"Surprised I've never heard of these," Mr. Greengrass added. "If there was ever a way to hide our world from the Muggle one, this is it. Is it new?"

"The magic to create this – er – world has been – well known about I guess for two hundred years or more. Well, the theory has at any rate. The trunks themselves were invented about fifty years ago but they're expensive and as I understand it there's no real good way to make them less so. This trunk can have up to forty thousand acres which is about the maximum amount. Much larger than that and the magic becomes all but impossible for some reason and least for one trunk or whatever. I learned today it's possible to connect two such trunks to create a larger world but there seems to be a limit to each – um – trunk part or whatever. Volume is another limitation. More than fifteen hundred meters top to bottom and you also hit a magical wall. This one's nowhere near that high but once you set the limits as to area and volume, it's set and can't be expanded beyond it. Right now, this 'world' is not at its designed limits so I can expand to those limits but not beyond it.

"As I understand it, the theory that led to these trunks was made by a wizard who thought that this would be a great way to hide magic from the Muggles. It took a long time for someone to figure out how to make it practical at all and few can afford even a basic trunk. This alternate world is not cheap. To create a world just the size of this house would run about ten thousand and to expand it to the limits of this trunk is another twenty-five. Don't ask me why, but it is. Add to it that it's not in the real world and there're few of them out there. For some reason, even those who can afford these don't seem terribly interested. The guy who made the first of these has made a total of twenty and has only sold fourteen of those since 1952. They take close to three years to make. The trunk shop had this one, but I'm told it had been there for years. Maybe there'd be more of these but given how difficult they are to make, their cost and the fact that it's not real world land … well …. Course, I don't mind this at all and knowing that I have seven more…"

"Seven more?" several people asked.

Harry nodded. "Apparently my grandfather bought two. I know there're full sized in terms of area and developed but what that means I don't know. Guessing farms, but I can't say. Dobby's checking into it. My parents had two as well again developed but can't say more than that. And no, I have no idea why they were not living there when they were killed. From what I've read, Voldemort could never have gotten to them had they been in one of these."

"That's only four," Hermione noted after a moment.

"My grandfather bought two more, but they're not developed. Apparently he never got 'round to it before he died. The last one was for me when I got older apparently. They apparently can be interconnected somehow but don't ask me how that works 'cause I don't know yet."

"So if they were interconnected," Mr. Granger began, "how much land are we talking about?"

"A little less than what House Potter owns on the outside," Harry said. "Five hundred square miles…"

"FIVE HUNDRED?" a few voices asked.

"Is that trunk or outside?" Mr. Greengrass added.

"Five hundred in the trunks," Harry replied. "House Potter owns more real land than that apparently. About another sixty square miles … although that land's all scattered about in much smaller parcels and aside from a few hundred acres here and there at the outside residences, most of that land is leased out to others. House Potter makes most of its money as a landlord."

"As do many old wizarding families," Mr. Greengrass said. "This is especially the case where the land has not been in a family since before the Treaty of Separation."

"Treaty of Separation?" Harry and the Grangers asked.

"It's a treaty between the Crown and the Wizengamot dating from the thirteenth century. In many ways it was a precursor to the International Statute of Secrecy in that it separated the wizarding world from the Muggle one permanently – at least on those lands owned by wizarding families as of the date of the treaty. We are free to manage our own affairs on those lands without interference and the Crown cannot tax those lands directly. Diagon Alley is such property as is Hogsmeade valley and some large tracts of properties near Tinworth, Godric's Hollow, Little Hangleton, Ottery St. Catchpole, Colne, Getworth Common, Arden Moor, Brenton Heath and a few other places. Those places tend to have large wizarding populations although they do rent lands to Muggles there as well. Most of the land owned in our Britain is Treaty Land, as it's called. Unless its owner chooses to lease to Muggles, it can be warded against them such that they'd find it undesirable. Still, if trunks like these had been in use back then we might've used them instead."

"And now?" Mr. Granger asked. "It seems like an ideal situation for hiding magic and there are far, far more people in Britain today than then."

Mr. Greengrass nodded. "Harry says there's only twenty of these in Britain and I have no reason to doubt him. Don't think they'd be marketable to tell the truth."

"Why not?"

"It's not real land. True, it's harder and harder to get a decent parcel. Warding Treaty Land is not a problem as most Muggles are unaware that it ever existed. But there are also far more witches and wizards than there were when the treaty was signed and the land rich families tend to try and keep their land rather than sell it or divide it up among their children. Having real land is a status symbol and Treaty Land is a greater symbol than non-treaty land. To a witch or wizard, a trunk like this lacks that status 'cause it is not an ancient family property nor is it cleverly hidden from Muggles in plain view as non-Treaty properties are.

"Cost is another. Thirty-five thousand is ten years pay for the average witch or wizard. You'd have to have that kind of money to spend 'cause I don't think there's anyone who'd lend you money to buy one. It's a load of money and that cost doesn't include the cost of obtaining elves to maintain it. Unbonded elves can run as much as five hundred a piece," Mr. Greengrass added as if it was no big deal.

"You buy elves?" all three Grangers asked in shock.

"Harry, don't tell me you bought our elves," Hermione began clearly upset with the notions.

"I didn't," he began.

"Potter elves then," Mr. Greengrass said.

"No, not Potter elves either," Harry replied. "Well, they are now but not when they came to join us. Yes it's true that to get an elf if you don't have one you usually have to pay for it. Elves are not property, however. You're paying its wizarding family for the loss of the elf's services since otherwise the elf would serve the family it was born into for life. Grown up elves must be bonded to a witch or wizard because without such a bond their magic will fade and they will die. Young elves don't have this problem. It sets in around the age of twenty or so and don't ask me why 'cause neither they nor I know. So, if your elf has children and you can't employ them – and they need work as well for some reason – you have to find it a suitable family. By custom that family pays for the elf although there's no reason to believe it couldn't have gone the other way. Anyway, the reason they're expensive is 'surplus' elves are not common. Most elves only have enough children to replace themselves when they're older so that most households with elves are served by their elf families."

"So, if you didn't pay for them how'd you get them?" Ginny asked. The truth was Harry had not told them how he had got the elves aside from Dobby. Dobby had told him later in the day when he had bonded with them but it didn't seem important and none of his ladies had asked.

"Well, you all know how I got Dobby," he said as the girls nodded and he then explained what had happened to his guests. "Dobby was the one who got the others." This is what the girls had understood but now it seemed there was more to this story. "As I said, until an elf is around twenty or so it does not need to be bonded to a witch or wizard, right?"

There were nods in agreement.

"But elves are considered grown up in their families when they are twelve. At that age they know enough to work and if they are not bonded at that age they work anyway as a kind of apprentice with older, bonded elves. Between their coming of age as an elf and their bonding age, however, they are capable of leaving their families of their own free will. Most do not 'cause there's no guarantee they'll find another wizarding family to bond with them. But that's not to say that all young elves want to stay with the families they were born into. After all, can you imagine Dobby or any elf wanting to stay with the Malfoys if they could leave and bond with another family?" No one could. "Some of these elves came from Hogwarts and a couple of other places where the ambient magic is high enough to sustain them without a bond. Hogwarts also uses family elves who are younger and who will take over for their parents in time but for whom there's not enough work to sustain them with their families. Most, however, are young ones who ordinarily would've stayed with their wizarding family or been sold at some point before their bonding age. The younger ones are all under bonding age and left their families given the opportunity. All Dobby did was somehow put the word out and they all showed up within hours. According to Dobby, well over half the young elves in Britain are now Potter Elves and he guesses the others are working for decent families who have more than enough work to ensure that they'll be kept on when they're older. The word's still out there too."

"What's that mean?" Hermione asked.

"It means that if there's a young elf who's about to come of age in elf society and does not want to stay with their wizarding family and does not want to trust to fate that their wizarding family with let them bond with a decent witch or wizard, they'll show up here eventually."

"Interesting," Mr. Greengrass said.

"How so?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"It's interesting in a few ways. First off, it skirts around some laws and customs. By custom you're supposed to compensate and elf's witch or wizard for the loss of potential service. By law, to take an elf that is bonded or is expected to bond is more than theft but less than kidnapping. But law and custom does not prevent an un-bonded elf from absconding of their own volition and to bond with such an elf violates neither custom nor law. The thing is it rarely ever happens. Elves don't run off even if they can 'cause they have to have somewhere to run off to. True, most witches and wizards do not have elves and would probably love to have one – and would probably treat their elves with respect. Most of those who have elves and treat them such that they would consider absconding go to great lengths to prevent those elves from seeing it as an option. Unbonded elves are not permitted to interact with witches and wizards outside of the family nor to leave the family estates so that they could learn of other opportunities and bonded elves are ordered not to tell their young about such things – orders which their magic compels them to obey. That being said, there's nothing a witch or wizard can really do to prevent an un-bonded elf from leaving aside from making sure they can't learn of that option. And, I should add, most witches and wizards with elves order them not to 'put the word' out as Harry called it. Since Dobby had no such orders from Harry and Harry had need for elves, well the word got out and it's fair to say that any elf old enough to understand – say older than three or four – now knows this is an option. Once they turn twelve, unless they like their circumstances it's a fair bet they'll turn up here looking for a family. Naturally, the effect on the families that couldn't keep them will be a loss of service and with so many elves 'gone missing,' getting new elves will be even more expensive. Some families may soon find themselves having to hire humans for staff – humans who won't tolerate the more harsh working conditions – or do without; most likely do without. It won't happen overnight, but in time those wizarding families who treat their elves poorly will find they can't get new help at all unless they change their ways – and many won't which means no new elves for them and a marked decline in their standard of living."

"So they lose a few elves," Mr. Granger said. "So?"

"The families that have enough elves to have young ones need such a staff to maintain their homes and livelihoods," Mr. Greengrass said. "If they lose the children of those elves, there are no easy replacements. The families whose treatment results in a young elf absconding are the worst sort: they are frightfully wealthy and arrogant to a fault – and they are lazy. Take away their labor – free labor mind you – and it's not as if they can make a go of it themselves. In time, they'll be ruined. True, it will take years, but the elves that came to Harry basically have ended any chance of replacements for the families that effectively drove them away."

"Families like the Malfoys," Hermione added. Her parents had heard a fair bit about that family and had encountered Lucius Malfoy once. With people like the Malfoys at the top of society, revolution was a natural consequence and sooner or later most such movements succeeded much to the chagrin of the previous powers that had been.

Mr. Granger nodded. "Couldn't happen to a nicer group," he said sarcastically. "People like that always wind up the first with their backs against the wall when the revolution finally comes," he added. "Back to the topic, you said a trunk like this is not marketable due to the cost and the fact it's not real land in the outside world, is that saying it has no purpose?"

"I left out the third reason why this marvel may not be marketable," Mr. Greengrass said. "It's not well known. I for one have never heard of a trunk of this – er – magnitude. But its greatest failing is its novelty."

"So unlike our world," Mr. Granger said. "Something new, novel and expensive tends to attract buyers if for no other reason than to later be able to claim they were among the first or few to have such a thing. There are people buy the newest electronic gadget more to say they have one rather than because it really is any good. Those who have the money and must have the newest and the best typically find their new possession antiquated and 'yesterday's news' not long after purchase, so they get the next hot thing. Something like this? Those who have the money would seriously consider such a purchase not just for the novelty or scarcity but because of the potential uses of the land itself – assuming they're into land at all as more than just an investment."

"Your world looks forward, ours looks back," Mr. Greengrass said. "New and novel are not popular words and to attempt to sell something as that is a sure way to see it gather dust on a shelf. If one were to say it's an improvement of a tried and true existing idea, that's another thing altogether. But if it is something that never existed before, it can take years and even generations before it becomes accepted. I would say that those who purchased trunks like these are not representative of the typical mind set in our world. Harry asked for a comfortable way to spend his summer with his – as I understand – vile Muggle relations and accepted this place as such. I can't speak for his ancestors and from what I understand this trunk was acquired before he learned that his family owned others…"

"I only learned of the others this morning," Harry said. "According to Dobby, it seems my grandfather bought his to farm. I can't say more than that seeing as House Potter was land rich before he bought one. But as I said, House Potter rented out almost all of its land holdings. Perhaps he just wanted a farm of his own. I can't say. I don't know what my parents' trunks were for. What little Dobby could and did say about them suggests they're different somehow. My grandfather's other trunks seem to be expansions to his farm purchased when his elf staff grew too large to be fully employed in the original, but that's just a guess on my part. Well, Dobby seems to think the same way. He's checking them out and stuff and will tell me more when he knows more."

"So there more elves then?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded. "Don't know how many, though. 'Scores and scores' is all I know." He was silent for a moment. "I can't help but think what might've been if my parents had used their trunks or my grandfather's trunks as a place to live rather than where they were when it happened."

"Harry," Mrs. Granger began, "your parents impressed upon us the need for you, Hermione and Luna to be together at the time. That may've been why they were not hiding in a trunk."

"Besides," Luna added, "You-know-who was winning and might have won it all had he not been stopped by whatever happened that night. You and your family might have been safe in a trunk like this, but you can't hide the whole world from that madman and his followers, can you? It is one thing to try to be hidden as they were and another to simply run away as the world comes crashing down. It seems to me your parents chose to live the way they did 'cause they were not the types to run away. That being said, I also think the only reason they were hiding at all was to keep you safe. If it was just them, they would've fought."

"I suppose you're right," Harry said with a sigh.

"So, what are your plans for your estate?" Mr. Greengrass asked after a pause.

"With all of you we talked about the wards on my relatives' house," Harry began and aside from Astoria Greengrass, (the younger three had fallen asleep), the others nodded. "As discussed, I need to reside there so long as those wards remain – or I should say I should reside there. They protect me and my family from magical threats. True, it's not a total protection as my last two years at Hogwarts prove; but I should've probably died those two years and I did not. You can say I was lucky and I won't argue, but I think those wards may have been part of it as well and, well it would seem a good idea to keep them just in case they were. So, for now this trunk will remain at my relatives – as I made them a deal they'd be fools to ignore – and our home for the foreseeable future. Might well be our home even longer seeing as I can't access my family estates 'til I'm older anyway and who knows? We might not like them as much. But I'm not going to hide away from things outside either. This will be our home, but as large as it is and will be it is not the entire world for us."


	22. Chapter 22: History's Future

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: This posting is two for the price of one. This is partly because this chapter ends in the middle of something and also because I'm now twenty chapters ahead.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: HISTORY'S FUTURE**

**Saturday, June 26, 1993**

During the Time Compression Harry was able to spend time with the various families getting to know them as well. He did not spend all that much time with the Grangers seeing as he was about to spend a month or so with them in France. He was willing to, but Hermione and her parents suggested he used this time to get to know the others.

He learned that Hannah's mother was a Muggle Born witch. She had worked in the Ministry Archives, but stopped working after she became pregnant with Hannah and had not gone back to work until after Hannah started Hogwarts. The Abbott estate was comfortable enough that she did not have to work for money. The time off was to be with her daughter. He had already met the Tennysons, but spent time with them as well. After all, from what they had told him in their first meeting they were soon to become another couple. Harry noticed that Ginny was spending a fair amount of time with the Tennysons as well. He learned that Ginny and Luna had been friends when they were little and it seemed they were both trying to get that going again. He learned that the Lovegoods were also well off. Luna's Dad ran his paper and went on his expeditions to discover new magical creatures all on his own fortune. He had no paying occupation and few worries about money.

The Greengrasses were a little annoying. It was not the parents that were so, but three of Daphne's sisters. Michelle, the youngest, seemed to think Harry was the greatest things since sliced toast. Fortunately, she was too young to think of or truly understand Daphne's situation or that of Harry's unusual family. Unfortunately, the next two were old enough to think about that if still far too young to truly be serious about it. Cynthia and Jenna both wondered openly and often whether Harry might one day marry them as well. Astoria was the only one of the sisters who seemed aloof about Harry. She was personable enough. But she did not seem to think Harry was someone she needed to hang out with and play with all the time – like Michelle – or that he was a future husband – like the other two. He knew that Astoria would be starting Hogwarts in the fall and when she spoke to him it was either about her sister Daphne and this new life (although clearly with no interest in being a part of it herself) or Hogwarts. She wanted nothing to do with Slytherin from what Daphne had told her and was trying to learn as much as she could about the other three Houses.

Daphne's family was similar to Hermione's – aside from the number of children. There was not much in the way of any inheritance. They were comfortable as a result of their own efforts and not the largess of prior generations and they were quietly proud of that. Even so, they would probably need to take advantage of Hogwarts' Hardship Scholarships for legacy families to send all of their children through that school.

From Ginny, he also learned more about the Weasleys. Prior to Ginny joining them, all he knew about that family was either from Ron or from the time he spent there the previous summer. Ron would have one believe they were poor. They certainly were not rich in terms of money. But from Ginny he learned they would not be considered poor either. The Burrow had sixty acres of land for their personal use which was quite a bit in England by any standard. They owned another two hundred that was let out to a couple of Muggle farmers although Harry thought they probably were selling themselves short on the rents. Their "poverty" was more a question of necessary frugality. Seven children was a lot. Seven children in the magical world was almost unheard of. (Five was almost unheard of, to tell the truth.) The Weasleys were "middle class" by wizarding standards – perhaps towards the lower end, but middle class nonetheless. After all, that contract was about sending seven children through Hogwarts – the offensive parts aside – which would be a stretch for many families of some means. But Hogwarts tuitions aside, they were not poor.

Harry and Ginny were walking hand in hand through the Fruit Gardens the final morning of Time Compression. Since the first day, the mornings had become family time for the other girls and in a way Harry did not mind. True, Hermione would be spending the next month or so with her parents, but so would all the others so this was their true Granger time. While the other three would see more of their families than would be the case during school, they would be spending far more time this summer away from them so this was their time as well. From Harry's perspective this time was good for two reasons.

First, he knew Ginny needed to be with someone she trusted. This had become apparent her first night when the nighmares had driven her from her bed and her Elf had suggested joining the others. She spent very little time alone and even less if one did not count her morning shower and using the loo. She was not exactly clingy, but it was clear that the events of her First Year had seriously unnerved her and she needed to be with others. She needed acceptance. She needed to learn to be herself again. Harry and the others picked up on this (actually they did and told him) and as she was part of this family which meant they were going to help her sort through this as best they could.

The other reason Harry had grown to like the mornings over the past few days was because Daphne's three younger sisters would not leave him alone. The youngest, Michelle, was too young to understand such things as boyfriends, but she clearly thought he was fascinating for some reason. Jenna and Cynthia seemed to think he was some kind of fairytale type and had turned their big sister into a princess and seemed to hope that magic would somehow rub off on them. Only Astoria seemed comparatively disinterested. Then again, this was only because she seemed tongue tied compared to her three younger sisters who would talk his ears off if they were allowed.

This time with Ginny was his quiet time. True, they did talk and more than just a little. But the talks they had were meaningful at least to him and he hoped to Ginny as well. One topic had not come up – two if one included Quidditch and Harry was grateful for that. With Ginny's brother Ron, if conversation strayed from Quidditch, he had no interest or nothing to contribute it seemed. Truthfully, despite playing for two years Harry knew next to nothing about the game. After all, he was a Seeker. "Find Snitch, Chase Snitch, Catch Snitch:" what was there to know? But the one topic that had only come up once before was this past year at school. No one was pushing Ginny to talk about it and the other girls had told Harry not to. She would talk when she was ready and they needed to let her get there in her own time and let her know they were there for her when she was ready.

"Harry?" Ginny asked as they walked. "What do you think would've happened if … if V-voldemort hadn't … if your parents had not died?"

"Um…," Harry thought. He had such thoughts all of his life, but they lacked any true context he now knew. Until he learned about the existence of magic, he merely wished his parents had not died and were not the kind of people his Aunt and Uncle said they were. Deep down a part of him knew his relatives were lying and knew he had been loved once. Since he rejoined the wizarding world he still had such thoughts. But until the beginning of this summer he knew nothing about the family he had been a part of and lost nor had he known much about the times when they were lost. Since the summer began, however, he had learned a lot about his family and other things. Still, there was no easy answer to Ginny's question.

"Do you mean if my parents had somehow lived and everything else had been the same?" Harry replied. "'Cause if Voldemort had survived that night … he was winning, you know. Had that night not happened he may have won and that's something I'd rather not think about."

"Your parents live, he's dead," Ginny began.

"Don't think he's dead, not really, not as we understand it," Harry said.

"He's not?"

"I don't think so. Dumbledore doesn't think so either. I don't trust Dumbledore when it comes to me and my House, but I don't think he'd lie about something like that. He told me last year he didn't think Voldemort was dead. A centaur told me the same thing, although not as directly. I think what happened to you is somehow connected and could not have happened had Voldemort truly died. Had Voldemort been defeated that night and either or both of my parents had lived, things would be different but some things would probably been the same."

"How?"

"The compatible magic I share with Hermione and Luna has nothing to do with Voldemort at all. It would've been there had the berk never lived and so I could've wound up married to the two of them regardless. Mind you, I'm not complaining about that at all. But my life until now would've been different. Had either of my parents lived I'd've grown up knowing Hermione and Luna. We'd've been together for as long as we can remember. We'd've gone to school together and all of that. Even if we had no other friends growing up, we'd've had each other. That would've been nice I'd like to think."

"So all this would've happened anyway?"

Harry sighed. "It's not that simple. I wish it was. I wish this bond thing was something that would've happened regardless of anything else. But that's not how it works as you should know. Had I grown up with Hermione and Luna, it's possible I might have seen them as more like sisters than…" Harry shuddered at the thought. "Even without that, had things happened even a little differently in the week before we bonded it's possible we might never have bonded. I had no memories of Luna, you know. I had no memories of Hermione from when we were very little. I had and have feelings for her, but had she stayed in the Library I might have… Well, I might've thought her feelings were different and I'd rather have her as a friend than nothing at all. I couldn't risk losing her as a friend and wouldn't've seen her as … as a girlfriend. Luna found me sitting alone outside and we talked. Who's to say if that was meant to happen? I liked Luna from the start and it was from talking to her I that I learned what it was I was truly feeling about Hermione and realized she must have feelings for me. It was the feelings that awakened that week after what happened that allowed these bonds to form and had I not spent hours and hours talking with both of them, they might never have formed. I might not have thought I had those kind of feelings for them or that they could possibly have those kind of feelings for me. Had that week been different, we wouldn't be here today. And it was as a result of us being together that I learned about the contracts and such. So, even as things were, it was that week more than anything that happened before or since that brought us all together here. And what happened that week … well, it wasn't fate or anything like that. It happened. It could just as easily not have happened. Understand?"

"So this was not meant to be?"

"I refuse to believe in fate or destiny, Ginny. Nothing's meant to be until it happens and you know it's for the best. But until it happens, it's not meant to be. I refuse to believe that the future is as fixed as the past is. We can't change what has happened, but to think we can't do anything about what might happen? I refuse to believe that. As for this? I have no regrets. Now that this has happened, it's something I'm not willing to give up. But there's nothing that will convince me this had to happen, that there was no other future out there. Of course, most of those other futures are not ones I would like for me, you or the others. But they could've happened. They can't now, but they could've.

"I could've continued to see Hermione as just a friend. I could've been afraid to risk our friendship for the possibility that it might be more. I could've never become friends with Luna. I could've never bonded with either of them. Just 'cause we share compatible magic doesn't mean we'd ever bond. The bonding requires a closeness beyond casual friendship – although how close I don't know except it must be one that leads to a –um – romantic interest I guess. For all I know, had we grown up together we'd've seen each other more as siblings and the bond never would've happened or I could've bonded with one but not the other. Had what happened not happened, it could've been the same way. And without the bondings, Hannah and Daphne would not be here and neither would you. Without the bondings, I might have been trapped by that contract between your parents and Dumbledore and lost … lost my heritage."

"I'm sorry, Harry. It's…," Ginny said softly with pain in her voice.

"Not your fault," Harry finished. "How could it be? You were only a couple of months old. I don't really blame your parents either. I don't think they'd've agreed to that if they'd known the details and somebody did tamper with their memories. I'm glad you're here, although I wish it could've been for different reasons."

"I'm glad I'm here too," Ginny said.

"Really?" Harry asked. It sounded genuine and he was not expecting that.

"Please!" Ginny said with a sarcastic laugh in her voice, "can you imagine what this summer would be like for me at the Burrow?"

Harry did not know how to reply to that statement and chose not to.

"In a way, I was always an outsider," Ginny said. "I was the only girl you know. A fact some of my brothers were more than willing to remind me of for as long as I can remember. Bill and Charlie weren't too bad, I guess. But they're a lot older and had been away at school for as long as I can remember. I was a baby when Bill first left for Hogwarts and not much older when Charlie did. Percy's … well, he's Percy. Likes to be Mr. Perfect. He's got more of an ego than the rest of us combined, if you ask me, and looks at the rest of us as something he must suffer through for now. Fred and George? There's a rule that until you're of age you can't use a wand. You really want to set my Mum off? Get caught with a real wand _before_ going off to Hogwarts. Probably a smart thing with those two, although lack of a wand never slowed them down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I do like them. They can be serious when they need to be. But they also like to try out their new pranks and the rest of us at home are a captive audience. Ron – look I know he's your friend, but he'd probably rather have things that saw me in my room all the time or somewhere else. To him I'm a girl and he thinks the lot of us are mental. He and Percy are the reasons I had to practice flying at night. Percy would rat me out. Ron would have a fit about girls and Quidditch which is the same thing in the end. Compared to the Burrow, this place lacks the drama, among other things."

"Oh?"

"My family – or should I say my former family – tried to act as if the last year never happened. That's what my parents said they wanted. I guess they figured if things went back to normal everything would be okay. The lot of them failed miserably. True, I was only home two weeks before coming here, but it was obvious to me that things were not the way they had been. Mum wasn't acting herself. She spent a lot of time trying to make sure I was okay even if it meant ignoring the others. Dad went back to work as if nothing happened. Guess I can't blame him 'cause he'd have to take time off without pay otherwise. Percy? Well, if you ask me Percy has always acted a bit as if he was too good for our family. He seemed to be ashamed of what happened as if I had somehow shamed him. Never said anything to me. He basically was hiding in his room the whole time whereas before he was always keeping a close eye on Fred and George. Before, Ron either ignored me or insulted me. Now he just ignored me altogether. Fred and George were mostly themselves, but they seemed to go out of their way to make me laugh usually at Ron's expense. Everyone seemed to act as if one misstep and I'd hex them all into the next century. That's not the way things had been before and … and I don't think it was helping me at all.

"How can you ignore the last year or even act like you are trying to? I can't. I still have the nightmares. Something like that is bound to stay with you one way or another, don't you think? What I needed was my brother Bill, but he's off in Egypt and my parents weren't about to ask him to come home 'cause that would not be the way things were."

"Bill?"

Ginny nodded. "My favorite brother. Charlie's a close second. Maybe it's 'cause they're so much older, I don't know, but they're the only ones who … well who were always nice to me. Fred and George _usually _are, but all bets are off if they're in a pranking mood. Bill and Charlie were off at Hogwarts for as long as I can remember, you know. Bill started when I was a baby and Charlie not long after my third birthday. But when they were home it was like Christmas in a way. Bill used to read me stories every night before bed for as long as I can remember and even after I learned to read – he kind of taught me, you know. Well, I guess inspired is a better word. I was four or five when he said I should learn to read and write so he could send me letters from school and I could write to him and I learned pretty quick after that. Charlie was the one who'd ignored Aunt Muriel's girl ban on brooms and taught me to fly. Of all of them, I miss Bill the most but he's been gone since I was eight.

"Bill finished Hogwarts before my eighth birthday and spent the rest of that year here – well living at home – while he trained to become a curse breaker at Gringotts. He finished his training the next spring and he's been out of the country for the most part ever since. My life changed when he left for good. Only Ron was still at home and I had already lost my only other friend. Since Ron and I don't pal around at all and never have, I was all alone. Didn't like it but there's nothing I could do about it."

"Who was your friend?" Harry asked.

"Luna," Ginny replied. "She and I played together as far back as I can remember. It was nice to have a girl to play with, you know, seeing as I am one."

"How'd you lose her?"

"It happened while Bill was still at home training to be a curse breaker. I had a fight or argument with her and I was really, really upset with her and before I could get over it or anything her Mum died. For whatever reason we never saw each other again and I never said I was sorry about that argument – not 'til I came here. Then again, it wasn't until very recently that I realized how wrong I was. It seems so silly now…."

"Oh?"

Ginny sighed again. "We got into that tiff 'cause she said The-Boy-Who-Lived wasn't real and I knew she was wrong. Then again, I was only eight at the time. Mum had always told me that Harry Potter was a real person. Thinking back now, Mum never said The-Boy-Who-Lived – the one from all the books – was real, only that there really was a Harry Potter. I didn't see a difference then so when Luna said he was as make believe as Father Christmas, I was upset with her in part 'cause she was calling my mother a liar. There were other reasons, but that's the only one that is justifiable even now. Course, it seems I misunderstood what my Mum was telling me which makes it all seem so silly now. But it was that – believing in The-Boy-Who-Lived – and the fact that all my brothers were gone to school that … well that made that diary seem so important when I got it."

"But you got the diary just before starting school as well," Harry began.

"And I was a bit of a mess then," Ginny nodded. "If I had gotten it after starting school, if I had friends, maybe I'd've not been so keen to see it as a friend and maybe things would've been different. Can't say for certain. But instead of making new friends or being friends with Luna again, I turned to that diary. By the time I realized it was not what it appeared to be … well, it had already started and that thing had a hold on me."

Harry nodded. "Earlier, you thanked me for being here," he began.

"You and the others don't treat me like I'm … like I'm somehow damaged or different. I can't say that's how my family's been treating me, but it sure felt like it. You don't blame me for what happened this past year and you could've. Hermione especially could've seeing as she could've been killed you know. You also don't judge me for what happened. You neither ignore that it happened nor do you go on and on about it. You don't expect me to talk about it and when I do, you let me rather than try and … I don't know … interrogate me about it just 'cause I opened up. I talked about it once – when my parents came to take me home and it seemed like they spent the entire time scolding me for something I didn't understand – couldn't understand – and couldn't control. You and the others here don't do that and for that I'm grateful. It's healing in a way. Course at first it didn't seem that way."

"Oh?"

"As we discussed, it's not as if making me a concubine is considered a friendly thing to do," Ginny giggled. "I didn't understand why you did it 'til you told me so I thought it was about what happened this year. I now know had this year never happened the way it did, I would still be here. That was about that contract made when I was a baby and not about anything I did whether I knew I was doing it or not. Still… Harry? What would've happened if you hadn't saved my life? What if there hadn't been a life debt to make me a Potter before we married? I … I couldn't live with the idea that I was a part of destroying your family! Not now!"

"It would've been more difficult, but not impossible to get around or out of that contract," Harry said calmly. "The easiest way would've been to flee this country and hide until I was twenty-one and therefore untouchable that way. But that would be easier said than done. Where would I go, for example? I suppose with this trunk I could live okay, but I'd need someplace for it. Guess I could also hide out here until then. But what about the others? Can't trust Dumbledore not to have tried something unless they were here as well and if they're here what about their families? What about their educations? I can't take that away from them even if it's in my interests to do so. It' not right. We talked about that option and as tempting as it was, it's not right by them at all.

"The other options would be the Honor Debt. Knowingly or not, your parents did attempt Line Theft and that can create a magical debt that would've allowed me to bind you to me as a concubine in payment of that debt. But, also that's easier said than done. If they both conceded the debt – which we couldn't count on before I talked with them – then I could call it in. If they did not, I'd have to get the Wizengamot to declare them as Line Thieves. With Dumbledore as Chief Warlock that would've been very, very difficult but not absolutely impossible. The problem is not so much that Dumbledore could prevent it, but that he could delay it and delay it giving him time to … well …"

"Have us potioned-up, shagging like bunnies, getting preggers and hitched before you could fix things?"

"Exactly," Harry replied. "The Life Debt was the easiest way around a lot of less than ideal or effective possibilities."

"I'm glad I'm a Potter," Ginny said. "I'm happy it worked out this way."

That afternoon, Harry gathered everyone in the main room or Great Hall of the Manor. He made sure they were all comfortable and that drinks and snacks were available before he stood before them.

"Right then," he said getting their attention. "Tomorrow morning we return to real time and it will be Sunday morning, June 27th. There some things that Luna, Hermione and I want to tell you all before then. I don't like keeping secrets from family. This involves Hermione, Luna and me, so they know this too, but…"

"Harry?" George Tennyson (Nicholas Flamel) began.

"Yes?"

"While I'd agree you shouldn't keep secrets unless you have to, some need to be kept safe. Have you and the others begun studying Occlumency as we suggested?"

"Begun? Yes sir," Harry replied. "Reading the introduction and first chapter was what we all did once we concluded our research into the contracts and each of us completed our summer assignments. We began with basic meditation on what was Wednesday for you and have asked Daphne, Hannah and Ginny to do it with us once they joined us. But that's about it. Ginny read the introductory parts yesterday for us after her last paper was done."

"Mary and I have been talking," George continued nodding. "We still think you should continue to learn that art…"

"What this occamacy?" Rose Granger asked.

"It's occlumancy," Mary Tennyson said gently, "derived from the verb occlude. It is a technique that occludes or shields the mind from magical intrusion."

"It is also a difficult art to master," George continued after a more in depth description. "Yet even the novice and those who for whatever reason cannot master it to its fullest extent can gain benefits from it – such as a better memory and greater ease in learning. But after talking with Harry and Luna, Mary and I now think that while you should continue with such studies, certain of the things you have learned and will learned cannot wait for you to – hopefully – master the art. There is certain information that has been revealed to you three," he said indicating Harry, Hermione and Luna, "that you know cannot become known to certain individuals…"

"Dumbledore," Harry all but growled.

"Among others, yes," George/Nicholas agreed. "At the same time, to hide it from the rest of the family – especially as the Grangers are aware of it – is also not a wise course. But, even with your Time Compression, there is not enough time for you to master the art between now and your return to school. And more critically, even with that skill there remains the chance that regardless of your intentions you may let it slip. I'm not saying you'd do so on purpose, but we cannot allow for the possibility of any accidents."

"You're not going to obliviate us, are you?" Hermione asked remembering what Dumbledore had done about the contracts.

"That would hardly serve the purpose," George said. "Besides, that's a clumsy way to protect information, one might even say amateurish. You need to know this information to use it and your family should know it so they can offer help, advice and support, don't you think?"

The three nodded.

"There is another way," George/Nicholas continued. "It does not require that you master occlumency in a matter of a handful of months (which is all but impossible) or rely on a near paranoid caution thereafter to prevent any accidental revelations. Short of obliviations – which will not serve our purposes – it is as close to fool proof as possible and, we suspect, will not be suspected at all. Have any of you heard of something called the Fidelius Charm?"

"We have," Mr. Greengrass said, "but how can that be of use? It's used to hide locations not…"

"Indeed it is," George replied. "But it was originally designed to keep secrets – any kind of secrets. The fact that few bother to use it except to help hide a location from non-magicals and other wizards does not change the fact that the charm is not so limited. The reason it is not used for much more than that has to do with certain limitations on the charm."

"I never thought of using it that way," Mr. Greengrass conceded. "Then again, I don't know how to cast it. It's supposed to be incredibly hard to learn and cast."

Mr. Tennyson smiled. "That's what you're told and for the most part it's not inaccurate. Not completely, at any rate. The charm itself is actually fairly easy. Under the right circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if some of our young people could cast it today if my wife or I taught them how."

Hermione seemed particularly eager to learn and expressed her desire to do so.

"But," Mr. Tennyson continued, "the difficulties are not in the spell itself, but the conditions under which the spell is cast. The spell 'hides' a secret for lack of a more apt description. Specifically, the secret is hidden within the magic of a designated individual called the Secret Keeper. That person and only that person can reveal the secret to others. Anyone else who knows of the secret cannot once the spell is cast. They will remember it, but can't reveal it nor is there any known means to force it from them magically or otherwise. The difficulty is the nature of the secret and those who know of it before the secret is cast. The more complex the secret, the more difficult the spell is to cast. This is why it is most frequently used to hide a location. Locations are not abstract ideas or complex information. Likewise the more people who already know the secret the harder it becomes to cast unless everyone who knows of it is present at the casting.

"What will be revealed today is information and, to extent, rather abstract information and concepts. That will make this spell all but impossible for most witches and wizards to cast assuming they know the spell. Some of what will be revealed is known only to people in this room, so that will make this easier. But there is a bit known to two people who are not here. Sequestering information in another person's mind is never easy. Doing so without their presence or consent is much, much harder. Still, it's only two and one of whom no doubt would consent to this so I should be able to manage it.

"Right then. There's a lot to this secret or, should I say, these secrets. I'm not about to reveal it piece by piece and cast the spell after each sentence which is one way to do it. It's also too bloody hard. But there's an easy way. Whatever is revealed during this meeting after the spell is cast that is not already known to everyone in this room right now is the secret!" Mr. Tennyson then drew his wand and waived it and muttered a series of intricate incantations. When he finished there was a flash of magical light. "Easy enough," he said. "Would've been harder as a caster if I didn't know it already. Right then. We need a Secret Keeper, someone who can keep this quiet and who is not a part of this secret in their own right. That rules out myself, my wife Mary, Harry, Hermione and Luna."

"I'll do it," Mr. Greengrass began.

Mr. Tennyson smiled. "Ordinarily, I'd be more than willing to allow it. The same is true for your lovely wife or Mrs. Abbott. But there is one here who is a better choice."

"Who?" a few voices asked.

"All that's left are a bunch of kids," Astoria began.

"True, but there is one young person who is the ideal choice, best possible really."

"Who?" the others asked.

"Ginny."

"Me?" Ginny asked. "Why me? Not that I can't keep a secret if I want to but…?"

"You're Harry's Concubine, are you not?"

"For now," she replied somewhat indignantly. "I'll be his wife one day."

"Indeed you will," Mr. Tennyson continued. "And oh by the way, for you other young ones, her status as Harry's concubine is also part of the secret we infuse – that's the term of art – today. Why you, Ginny? Because should Harry order you to keep this secret, that order is binding on you until he releases the order. Some things or orders will not survive termination of your bond. But keeping your bonded's secrets learned during your bond survives the bond if you're ordered to keep such secrets. Even if he one day releases you as a concubine and takes you as his wife, that will not release an open ended order such as this. Harry?"

"Ginny," Harry said, "you are ordered to keep the secrets revealed to all here today until such time as I release you from this order. You may only reveal the secrets to those I tell you to, okay?"

Ginny nodded. With that, Mr. Tennyson cast another spell at Ginny. "There," he said. "She's now our Secret Keeper and it's time to tell the secrets. The first one will help explain the later ones. My wife and I were not born Mary and George nor were we ever Tennysons. That's a name I chose years ago. We married long ago under our original birth names. We are, in reality, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel."

"For real?" Daphne asked as some of those who had not already known this gasped.

"Indeed for real," Mrs. Tennyson replied. "We've rarely ever admitted to as much after the end of our first identity. We can also reveal that the only person in this room who is not one of our distant or, in Luna's case, not so distant descendants is Mrs. Abbott. George?"

He removed a small book from his robes and held it facing Harry. "Mary and I wrote this after our meeting with you last Monday. It's an abbreviated family tree of sorts that lists for each and every one of you your ancestors from us to you. It's not truly a secret, but we'd appreciate it if you kept it here."

"Thanks," Harry said meekly.

George then launched into the story. He told the others about their work in time magic which led to what Luna had called the "French Word Thing" and the "Life Flashy Thing."

"You're from the future?" Astoria asked.

"No," George laughed. "None of us are from there. Mary and I are arguably from the past. All of us here are in a way. But we all got here from that past the same way: one minute, one hour, one day and one year at a time. What we have – or I should say – what Harry, Hermione and Luna have, is information from a possible future. This is not a future any of us would wish for. It's dark; dark enough that avoiding it far outweighs any moral concerns about tampering with time."

"If it's only a possible future, then what's the big deal?" Mr. Greengrass asked. "Seems a bit much to tamper with time if you're dealing in mere possibilities."

"It's a possible future only that it has not yet come to pass and the future is by no means set from this point going forward. However, if nothing changes from that course of events, it will come to pass. The information that we have sent back is useless if it is not used to change events such that the future from which that information came can no longer be a possibility. The risk is not that we are hoping to destroy that future reality. Good riddance, if you ask me. The risk is that the more we depart from that sequence of events, the less useful information as to those events becomes. For now and probably for the next several years, most of the events will happen in one way or another regardless of anything we do. In some cases they have to happen in order for the worst possibilities to be eliminated. But, let me tell you about what will happen if things do not change.

"Neither my wife or I can tell you what these events in need of changing are. We were not a part of them and those alternate selves had no memory of them and it's only memories that can be sent back in the way that we've done it. Many of those memories belonged to Harry and Hermione. They lived the events that need to change. A few belong to Luna and what that Luna went through needs change as well. I advise you not to ask them what these events are. They don't know yet. Their memories will not awaken until the right time and even then only if the events begin to unfold as they did in that possible future. Something that happens regardless will trigger the awakening and until that happens they will know nothing about their futures.

"What I can tell you all now is an overview of the future that must not come to pass for my wife and I lived it. Don't ask me why, but our memories of that possible future awoke when we read an article in the Daily Prophet about a donation to St. Mungos. For whatever reason and as unrelated as that might seem to what might happen, it was a memory that we used as a trigger for our awakening.

"About three years from now, Voldemort will return…," he was interrupted by gasps from almost everyone not already in on the secret.

"But how can he?" Mrs. Abbott asked. "He's dead! Everyone knows this and not even magic can bring back the dead!"

"But magic can be used to cheat or avoid death," Mr. Tennyson continued. "Mary – or should I say Perenelle – and I used one form of such magic. Despite rumors to the contrary, we are not immortal, just very, very old. With what everyone else calls the Elixir of Life, the two of us have been able to skulk about for almost six hundred and seventy years. That being said, if or when we die, that will be it. Even with that Elixir, death can happen and when it does, it's final. But it's not the only way to avoid paying the Reaper his due. There are others and most of them are very, very dark and vile. Voldemort used one in particular that's about as dark and vile as you can get. It requires mutilation of the immortal soul. It also requires human sacrifice. Specifically, following a dark ritual it requires the person to mutilate their own soul and then kill another person for no reason other than to complete their magical task."

"Still doesn't explain how he's not dead," Mr. Greengrass said after a silence as what had been said settled in.

"The particular magic used does not prevent physical death," George / Nicholas continued. "Perhaps he thought it would. The references suggest it. Bit of a nasty shock if he thought that was the case. What that magic does do, however, is anchor the soul to this plane of existence in such a way that under the right circumstances it can recover a physical form. Should that happen he will be back. It has almost happened twice within the last two years, most recently down in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts. One way or another, it will happen and he will return. Once that happens, his Death Eaters will return to him – most of them anyway – and the war all thought had ended the night Harry's parents died will resume practically right from where it left off except this time most will not believe it is happening.

"About two years after he returns, the Ministry will fall to his minions. Thousands will perish in the aftermath. In that future, Harry kills him once and for all a little over nine months after the fall of the Ministry. Not that this helps the thousands who died in the time between his return and final demise. We're not sure how much of that future can or even should be prevented. Perhaps it can be, perhaps the suffering can at least be minimized, but should it be?"

"Seems rather obvious that it should," Mr. Greengrass said.

"Perhaps. And while that death is truly the end of Voldemort many would say the sooner the better. But what we can tell you is that while Voldemort's return and the war and rule of terror that followed were horrible and that his death ended that, it was not the worst. All things considered, that was a minor discomfort compared to what later followed.

"With Voldemort dead his followers went to ground. By then they occupied many positions within the Ministry and those were left vacant. They were replaced by many who had opposed their views. Things seemed to return to normal and there were reforms and such that many hoped would change things for the better. They were wrong in the end. Most everyone thought that Voldemort and his followers were a disease and with his death the disease had been cured. They were not the disease, merely a symptom. The disease remained and in time returned.

"Do you think Voldemort could have gained the followers he gained or nearly succeeded the way he did if he were the disease? The disease is bigotry. The disease is believing you are better than anyone else not because of your accomplishments but because of birth. Our society seems to believe you're lot in life is all but fixed at birth. Seats in the Wizengamot are mostly hereditary, but even to get an appointed seat you need to be from 'the right' family. Most positions in government of any significance require similar connections. Most magically raised witches and wizards believe they are better than Muggles and from that believe they are better than those of lesser birth however they define it. That attitude predated Voldemort and survived his demise intact. Meaningful reforms could not take root. Every attempt to open society up to Muggle Borns or others failed. Oh for certain laws were passed in that regard. But laws aren't worth the parchment they're written upon unless they are vigorously enforced. Token Muggle Borns were admitted into the government without regard to their connections. One such was Hermione. They even rose through the ranks, but never to the top and never to a seat in the Wizengamot in their own right.

"No effort was made to change the way witches and wizards thought. In time, Purebloods and others from ancient lines began to object to allowing their inferiors as they saw it such opportunities. Sooner or later, a leader would rise promising to undo the reforms and restore them to their rightful places. The fact that even today most of them are not in such places and cannot claim a recent or perhaps even a distant ancestor who ever held such a place never crossed their narrow minds. Every ten or twenty years these factions rose up often violently to oppress their lesser and try and take over. Eventually, one such rising caught the attention of the Muggles. The fools did not think much of the Muggles and did not consider them a threat. Society chose to forget the real reason for the Statute of Secrecy long ago. What you are taught in school is rubbish.

"We did not hide from them because they were making demands for us to use our magic for their benefit. We chose to forget that they considered magic – all magic – evil and the only way to purge such evil from a person was to kill them. For hundreds of years they tried. True, they focused almost entirely on witches, choosing to overlook the other half of our society and true, for the most part, the victims of their attacks were almost always muggles and not witches as all. For ages and ages, they could not kill a witch or wizard unless they either got very lucky or the witch or wizard was very unlucky. But that changed.

"We hid from the Muggles 'cause they invented means of destruction we could not defend against in the open. Compared to today, the means back then are both crude and inefficient. Muggle have become expert in the art of inflicting death and destruction and despite what's taught, our magic cannot protect us from them if they truly were to seek us out. A little over sixty years from now, if things don't change, they'll do just that. A Supremacist movement will go too far and awaken the Muggles to our world in a way that they will find intolerable. We will die in vast numbers, many never understanding how we could be so wrong or why. True, the Muggles will also suffer horribly. But there're far more of them than there are of us. We didn't stand a chance.

"It began with a foolish attack on Muggles. The perpetrators were caught by the Muggles and exposed our world. The Muggles retaliated. Not right away. They planned and prepared. Getting back at the handful of witches and wizards responsible for the attack was not enough for them. They wanted to send a message in no uncertain terms. One day, in less than one hour, every magical school in Britain was attacked. There were no survivors."

"Oh my word!" Mrs. Abbott said as the others gasped. "The children?"

"Any child at school at the time of the attack died that day. There were other attacks on other places we thought they could not find. They wanted us to know they could find us and kill us and were more than willing to do so and there was nothing we could do to stop them. Naturally, the Supremacisits thought otherwise. Those who did would've learned they were wrong, but the dead are beyond learning new things. However, the worst was yet to come. A handful of us saw the attacks as the beginning of a war we could not win and had little hope of surviving. Five of us here were then a part of that handful. We retreated to a place that no one could find and cut ourselves off from the outside almost completely. Our only contact, if you could call it that, was listening to the wireless and monitoring other communications. What followed after we went into hiding is what convinced us to try and change – to eliminate that future."

"What could be worse?"

"A virus," Mary / Perenelle replied. "Specifically, a genetically engineered virus. It was invented by a brilliant genetic engineer whose daughter had been killed by a wizard. It was released a couple of years or so after the Muggles sent their message. We don't think its release was part of a plan by any Muggle government. But it didn't matter. The virus was one that spread easily through any human population and we think well beyond it to other animals. The vast majority of humans would only get a cold. But they remained carriers long after the illness went away. If you were magical, however… For us, it was lethal. Fewer than ten percent survived the active infection which did not manifest itself until weeks after the initial infection. Those few who did lost their magic altogether and were generally rendered sterile. We don't know for certain when it was released. We do know that it spread through the world rapidly. From what we now know was the first case of it until it had run its course and all but exterminated magic took about a year. It wasn't just witches and wizards who died in that epidemic. Magical beings and creatures and even plants were wiped out because the virus specifically targeted and destroyed magic."

There was a long pause before Mr. Greengrass spoke. "Rather apocalyptic. How did you survive? I assume you and the others did."

"It helps not being around when sickness strikes," George said. "I believe I mentioned we and some others went into hiding well before?" After some nods he continued. "There's an island far from anywhere my wife and I discovered a long time ago. Over the centuries, we brought some people there and warded it heavily. It was uninhabited when we found it. No one's found it since."

"Well, no one who we didn't want at least," Mary / Perenelle added. "We left for that island not long after the Muggles struck the schools. We were there long before the virus and never left. The virus could only get there if we allowed an infected person to come to the island. Since most who we allowed to come over the centuries settled there and never left and since it's under a Fidelius Charm, no one came there after we moved there following the attack."

"Most who are brought there never leave," George continued. "We don't prevent them from leaving. They choose not to. Then again, in most cases if you leave you can never go back. Right now, of the two thousand who live there or know about the island, only three can truly leave and return at will: Mary, myself and the current Secret Keeper. We live off island and return from time to time, sometimes bringing others with us but mostly not. The current Secret Keeper was born there and has no interest in leaving. But I suppose we're off topic."

"Of course," Mr. Greengrass said. "My apologies. So – um – why send this information back at all? How can the five of you stave off that disaster?"

"It's not five anymore, is it?"

"So we're supposed to stop it?"

"Five has already become fifteen and that number is bound to grow over time. Small changes in the near future can become huge over time and time is what we do have right now. The apocalyptic future will occur in these children's lifetime and that of Mary and I, but not the Mary and George you now see. Among the children who died that day there were be great grandchildren and even a couple of great-great grandchildren of the children here today. Harry, Hermione and Luna knew what needs to be changed. They've already made some of those needed changes even if they did not know it yet."

"We have?" the three responded.

"Indeed," Mary said. "One change you felt was necessary was to ensure House Potter remained under Harry's control. It did not in that timeline and was not at the time you came back. Percy Weasley was acting as Regent over House Potter and held the votes or at least he was before the outbreak of the virus."

"So I married Harry then?" Ginny asked although she did not seemed pleased to learn this. "That contract…?"

"Yes, that contract," Mary replied. "It never got to the point of serious potions. You two became friends without such means and Dumbledore died before pushing such means. But you two did marry and as Mr. Weasley was bound by magic to enforce the vassalage clause. You and Harry did not find out about any of that until many years later when it was far too late to do anything about it. By then, Arthur Weasley was dead – killed in one of the later wars. You two were already grandparents, although your oldest grandchild was only six or seven. Hermione, on the other hand…"

"What about me?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean it never got to serious potions?" Ginny added. "And why Percy? Why not Bill or Charlie?"

"I'll answer your questions first. Hermione's may take longer. You and Harry did receive potions for about a year. They made you no more than more open to the idea of a relationship. You didn't truly get together because of them, but perhaps because of them you saw a relationship in your futures that you might not have seen without them. You did like each other without them. As for your brothers, they died in the same war that claimed your father. The two of you did love each other and under different circumstances, you might truly have been happy together. But remember, Harry shares compatible magic with two other witches and, while they were your friends, they never bonded. If they never had met things would've been different. If they never had become friends, things would've been different. But that was not the case. They had met and were friends and their magic called to each other, for lack of a better word. They would not have consciously been aware of any such call. But being close like that and yet apart they went through life feeling as if something was missing although not knowing what. It's hard to be truly happy like that.

"Were it not for Dumbledore, it seems to us that it was likely that Harry would have eventually bonded with Hermione and maybe even Luna. Beginning about a year from now, Harry and Hermione were potioned. It was not a love or lust potion as most people would recognize and it had no noticeable effects for some time, but gradually they would see one and only one person as their intended. In Harry's case it was you Ginny, thereby ensuring the contract came into force. In Hermione's case it was another boy, thus ensuring she would not bond with Harry. We think Dumbledore began the potions in their Fourth Year when it seemed likely they were getting closer than just casual friends and reaching and age where they might begin to consider romantic possibilities. We don't know that for certain, but the events the two described suggested that it began around that time. Ginny started getting dosed her Fifth Year when it seemed that while she was friendly with Harry and he with her, her romantic interests were elsewhere."

"Under the contract," George added, "such subtlety was no longer required and we don't know why more powerful potions were not employed. Perhaps they would've been but Dumbledore died not long thereafter. We also think he did something to Luna as well, but we have no idea what that might have been or when except we think it's safe to say it hasn't happened yet. Still, by then the damage was done. What has already happened in the here and now is that Harry, Hermione and Luna have bonded. That actually began before Mary and I met with them on Monday. We would've told them about their potential bonds and recommended seeing those contracts through. Fortunately, that proved unnecessary and we think their solution to the contract about Ginny was both masterful and arguably the best thing for Ginny as well. Those are, however, but minor and possibly insignificant changes towards that future we hope to avoid as major as they may seem to us personally. Still, gaining control of House Potter, protecting the bonds, and building the alliances the marriages entail will be important in the end."

Harry then took over explaining the politics as he had to Ginny earlier in the time compression. When asked for clarification on a few points, Daphne helped him. When she finished she turned to George and Mary Tennyson. "Do you know what happened to me in that timeline? Hannah?"

"No," George said. "It's possible we did not know. It's possible we did not think it important – at least in regards to what needs to be done to avoid it. I can tell you your contracts with Harry were never executed. That's all."

"I think what has happened since we've left Hogwarts may have been what we intended," Harry began.

"Is this one of those memory things?" Hannah asked.

"Don't think so. A gut feeling and it makes sense when you think about it. The bonds were what our parents wished for us or at least hoped for us. My marriage to you and Hannah was also something my parents wanted. This was what was intended. Now as to how it will help with the future, I can't say. But, the two of you have already been a huge help since you came here in sorting out what we do know and can find out. The biggest weapon we have against that future right now is the House Potter seat on the Wizengamot. With Hannah, we also gain the support of House Abbott. The way things were before is what led to the way things could become. We get a few more critical seats in our camp, and we can make sure that things change. That's years from now, but long before the really bad stuff happens."

"There's still You-Know-Who," Hannah began.

"Who won't come back tomorrow," George interrupted. "He must come back to be destroyed for good, but there are other things that should be done before then. What those things are I can't say. For now, they are locked deep within the magic of the five of us and will only be revealed as needed when needed. What I can be somewhat certain of is that when the information reveals itself, there will be time to prepare before something needs to happen. You won't know what the right course of action is, only what the wrong one is – the one most likely to lead to the futures you and the rest of us wish to avoid. I can't even tell you when information will be revealed except to say something will be soon. We sent our information back to us at this time so there would be time to tell Harry, Hermione and Luna about what was happening to them. But we also sent it back not long before the first events. My guess is something will happen this summer, although I could be wrong. We wanted it to be soon. Too long a wait and you might not see the memory for what it is. We also wanted to do so in a way that would allow you to think your way through the problem so don't expect to have a memory moments before you need to decide and act. But until a memory surfaces, our advice to you is to enjoy yourselves. This may seem like a lot. But our other selves knew this and planned things so you would grow into it, not be thrown in which is how things seem to have happened thus far."

"There is one final thing we need to reveal that is part of the overall secret," Mary said. "But I suggest we take a break for the time being so we can all be refreshed and, perhaps, so that one of us might finish her nap," she finished nodding towards little Michelle Greengrass who had fallen asleep.


	23. Chapter 23: The Future Is Now

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And here's part 2...

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE FUTURE IS NOW**

**SATURDAY, JUNE 26****th**** 1993**

They had reassembled in the main room of Harry's Manor after a break and some refreshments. George /Nicholas reminded them that what was to be discussed would also be covered under the Fidelius Charm he cast earlier and added something he had forgotten to tell them. Specifically, that they would be able to discuss all such secrets amongst themselves and with any others they allowed in on the secret, but they would be unable to discuss the secrets in any context where they might be overheard. For all practical purposes, this might well limit discussions to the Trunk but that was by no means absolutely certain.

"The final bit goes like this," George /Nicholas announced returning to the secrets. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord shall mark him as an equal but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."

"What is that? Poetry?" Hannah asked.

"If it is, it's rather awful," Mrs. Granger commented.

"No," George replied. "It's not poetry, or at least that was probably never the intent."

"A prophecy!" Luna all but exclaimed.

"Even more useless than bad poetry," Mr. Greengrass muttered although he was loud enough to be heard by everyone present.

George nodded. "It is purported to be a prophecy, if you're inclined to believe in those things."

"Purported?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Rubbish," Mr. Greengrass said. "Everyone knows it's rubbish."

"Now David," Mrs. Greengrass said in a correct tone, "just because you and I believe that to be the case does not make it so, nor does it give us leave to be condescending towards those who believe in that art."

"No proof to any of it," Mr. Greengrass groaned.

"That may be the case," George followed, "and for our purposes I do not expect any of you to accept any validity about or attach any significance in that prophecy simply because it was made. I tend to agree that Divination is mostly useless. I do not, however, discount the possibility that on occasion a prophetic statement might seem accurate. Then again, a broken clock is right twice a day. Divination attempts to clarify that which defies clarification. To accept it on its face is to assume the future can be as fixed and immutable as the past. While there are possible futures that can be discounted as so unlikely as to approach impossibility, there are futures that are all but certain. For example, were I to say that one of us will sneeze without more I dare say that prediction would be spot on. On the other hand, were I to declare that one of you will meet a bear today that would be nothing more than a baseless statement that cannot even qualify as speculation seeing as there are no bears here. There are no bears here, are there?"

"No," Harry said.

"I will not say Divination is absolute rubbish. There are a rare few who do catch something like a glimpse of a less than certain future event. But the best way to describe those with what appears to others as the gift is that they can see an obscure future event. Ssuch sight may not be of what will happen, only what could happen. Sometimes what could happen does happen. Far more often it does not. That being said, whether you believe there is any validity to that gift or not is not relevant to why I've brought it up. Sometimes the prediction of an event becomes far more important than whether the event ever comes to pass or not. The prophecy I stated is not important for what it could mean in the future, rather it's important for what it means right now and to explain that I ask you not to truly concern yourselves with some future event and interpretation."

"Prophecy is a dodgy thing which should not be relied upon," Mary / Perenelle said. "While there are those who can point to evidence to suggest that at least some prophecies come to pass, the truth is not so clear. Prophecies are always somewhat ambiguous and open to a variety of interpretations, even contradictory interpretations. Those that are said to come to pass are not recognized as being true until certain events happen that fit a possible interpretation. Even then it can be argued that the events and prophecy are unrelated and those who suggest the prophecy has been fulfilled are interpreting subsequent events to fit into the prophecy rather than showing there can be no other possibility other than a fulfillment of the prophecy."

"Even today," George continued, "we cannot say with any certainty whether this prophecy holds any current validity. While it seems to mention Voldemort, he is hardly the first wizard to have been labeled with the moniker of Dark Lord for that is a label that's been applied to many dark wizards who drew a following of vassals to them. Before Voldemort, there was Grindelwald for certain. Phineas Nigelus Black was called that – although not by his followers and certainly not to his face. Assuming there is any validity to that prophecy at all, all we can say was the Dark Lord mentioned was not a dead one. For all we know, he did not exist yet.

"We know even less about the One. Even if we assume the Dark Lord is Voldemort, the One is still an open question. It is somewhat easy to say that Harry here is the One, but as we said if this was a valid prophecy, its validity can only be determined after fulfillment and not before. Assuming it applies to Harry and Voldemort, it can be argued it has been fulfilled. After all, most believe that Voldemort died that night twelve years ago hence he was vanquished…"

"But the scar," Ginny said. "That's a mark, isn't it?"

"And Harry was born at the end of July," Hannah added.

"Two obvious facts, I concede," George said. "But there is the problem with them. Prophecies never state the obvious. 'Mark' may be a form of recognition. It may be the One is the Dark Lord's top Lieutenant or designated successor. The seventh month need not be July. It could be the seventh month following an event of significance that can't be defined until such event occurs or until after the prophecy is fulfilled. It could also mean the One was born premature or conceived before his parents married. There are plenty of completely plausible interpretations that suggest Harry cannot be the One. This is the problem with Prophecies. Until they are fulfilled, they can be interpreted in incalculable ways which is why they are kept secret."

"They are?" several asked.

"Indeed. Whenever the Department of Mysteries becomes aware of a Prophecy, it is secreted away. Usually, all memories of it are erased. It would not do to allow people to act on a Prophecy since there is no way of knowing what they are acting upon. Unfortunately, the Department of Mysteries dropped the ball on this one."

"Oh?"

"As often as not, the Seer who made the prophecy has no memory of it. This is especially true if his or her gift is that of what is known as an Oracle; one whose inspiration occurs while awake and is immediately spoken. There is another manifestation of the gift where the vision occurs in vivid dreams and these are usually remembered by the dreamer. This prophecy was made by an Oracle, and not a particularly prolific once apparently. It was spoken to another and that other eventually came to the attention of the Department of Mysteries. Normally, the Department would create a memory copy of the Prophecy and then place it under a Charm that makes the Fidelius look like a Tickling Charm. The whole country could know of the prophecy before, but once the spell was cast no one would.

"This case was different."

"How?"

"Because the Department did not do what it always does. While the Prophecy was duly recorded, the spell to prevent it from being used – to prevent people from acting upon what they believed it to mean – was never cast. The witness to the prophetic vision prevented sequestration of the knowledge, arguably so he could act upon what he believed it meant."

"Dumbledore," Harry growled.

"Exactly," George replied. "As Chief Warlock he prevented sequestration. It should be noted this was a couple of months before Harry was born. There was a war going on and the wrong side was winning. As Chief Warlock he somehow managed to convince the Department that the ordinary rules should not be applied and they weren't. One can argue that much of what has followed in regards to Harry flows from that point.

"Dumbledore obviously wanted to know who the One was. The One could be the ultimate weapon; the only way to finally defeat Voldemort. He arguably wanted control of that weapon. He wanted to develop it so that it could achieve its purpose without interfering with anything else; specifically without upsetting his plans for the Wizarding World. He needed to learn who the One was and then gain control over the One's life. At the end of July, 1981, two boys were born who appeared to fit the bill. Both were children of Aurors or Hit Wizards who had on at least three occasions thwarted Voldemort's followers and their plans. Both couples actually fought Voldemort on those occasions – six separate ones, three per couple, but one must guess whether that means 'defied'. 'Defied' suggest disobey as well. Those couples' could hardly have disobeyed the man, except that they lived and it's doubtful he wanted that. Kind of hard to be all that scary and all powerful if you can't kill the people you meant to kill. Both couples were loosely allied with Dumbledore. In ordinary times, they were political rivals on many issues. But they were tied to him because they all believed that Voldemort must be defeated at all cost and, whatever else he may be, Dumbledore is both a powerful and influential wizard and was seen as the only one who could stand toe to toe with Voldemort and not lose.

"At first, nothing happened as far as we know. Harry's family did not go into hiding immediately or at least not any more so than they were already. We know this because of those contracts. Harry's parents could not have set those up if they were truly hiding. So we know it was some months before they did. We're pretty sure we know why they went into hiding in the end…"

"But Lily came over every day," Mrs. Granger said. "She and Harry and Luna were at our house with Hermione the day it happened."

"As Muggles, you were off the radar as it were. Many witches and wizards disappeared into the Muggle World at that time because the enemy could not find them there – or at least it was far more difficult to do so. As long as they refrained from detectable forms of magic, a witch or wizard can hide from the magical world that way and most on this side of the fence would be unable to locate them. But by that time, things had changed and Harry's family was in hiding. The Potter estates, despite their protections, were known to many and one never knew at that time whether a trusted friend was working for the wrong side. They moved to a safe house several months before the end, but some months after Harry was born."

"Why?" Harry asked. "I mean, if we were safe before then, what changed?"

"Dumbledore learned he was not the only one who knew of the Prophecy. A spy of Voldemort's had overheard at least part of it and word eventually got back to Dumbledore that Voldemort was planning to deal with the situation. He was planning to wipe out the two families who might be the families of the One."

"Who was the other?" Harry asked.

"Neville Longbottom was born about three hours before you were, Harry," Mary said. "He was born just before midnight on July 30th, 1980 as the seventh month died as it were."

"So it could be Neville?"

"The information from the other timeline says it's you, Harry. In that timeline, you kill Voldemort eventually."

"About five years from now," George added. "Voldemort planned to kill you and Neville. He went after you first, although why he did so is anyone's guess."

"This doesn't explain my family," Ginny said. "Harry told me that contract was to gain control over his family's political stuff."

"Two birds with one stone?" Hermione suggested.

"A good analogy," George agreed. "Harry was the only survivor that night and at that time few knew what had happened. Few knew that House Potter had been all but wiped out and that the sole survivor was barely a toddler. Only five people knew this: Dumbledore, Peter Pettigrew who was a close friend of Harry's parents, Sirius Black who was another close friend of the family and is said to have also betrayed them to Voldemort, Severus Snape who was a Death Eater and a spy working for Dumbledore and Rubius Hagrid who was called in to remove Harry from the place. Black was involved in an incident a few days later, one which left a dozen Muggles dead and scores more injured and Pettigrew apparently blown to pieces. He was chucked into Azkaban Prison before you could say Quidditch. Snape said nothing as far as we know. Had Hagrid not been involved at all, it's a fair bet that the Wizarding World might well have believed Harry perished as well. But…"

"Hagrid can't keep secrets," Harry smirked.

"Exactly. We think Dumbledore placed Harry with his relatives in part to control the One and in part to control what would happen after the One succeeded. We think Dumbledore believes it highly likely that the One cannot survive the final battle. We believe he interprets the final clause of the prophecy to mean that the One will die killing the Dark Lord. We know from the other timeline this is not the case. But, we don't think Dumbledore is counting on that outcome.

"We believe he placed Harry with his relatives to keep him ignorant of this World as long as possible. He would've grown up knowing about the Potter Family. He did not. He grew up in a family where he learned a value in not being noticed and where he strove not to be noticed. We guess Dumbledore knew this – although perhaps not the details of Harry's former upbringing – and counted on that. He took advantage of circumstances to control what would happen after Voldemort was gone. The last thing he could possibly have wanted was the scion of his major political rival wanting to exercise his clout as the wizard who won the war if that scion was raised to become a true Potter.

"By hiding Harry away, Harry arrived with no family legacy. He was a Potter in name, but not upbringing thus Dumbledore could mold his political outlook to be similar to his own and not that of House Potter. But again, Dumbledore also thought Harry was likely to die in the end. The Line had to be preserved. Were it not, the Potter seats and votes would be parsed out to new holders – new hereditary lines and Dumbledore could not be certain that he could control who gained those votes. Were Harry to have a son before snuffing it – or even a daughter – the seat would remain Potter. With the marriage contract making Harry the Vassal of Dumbledore's Vassal, he would then be able to ensure his own ideas for the postwar world could not be effectively countered."

"So this is about politics?" Mr. Granger asked.

"It's always about politics in a way," George replied. "Voldemort wants to be emperor or some such. He certainly wants to rule the Wizarding World and possibly all the world. The rest of us would serve him in one capacity or another with Muggle Borns and Muggles at the bottom as little more than slaves. Dumbledore wants a ruling elite. He has no ambitions to enslave Muggle Borns, but does not trust Muggles not to ruin it for everyone. His ruling elite would be the best and brightest witches and wizards – provided they were raised from birth in the Wizarding World. He does not trust Muggle ideas at all. The rest of government would be open to anyone, but they would be merely administrators enforcing the will of the council of the wise. The Potters wanted a more inclusive government. Unlike the far left, they did not want to throw everything out and begin anew. They wanted something similar to the British government, without the hereditary monarchy. This meant that there would be an elected legislative body with broad powers. The current Wizengamot would survive, but with significantly reduced authority. Their definition of citizen would include Muggle Borns, Squibs – children born into magical families without magical ability – and people like you and your wife, Mr. Granger, Muggles with a clear connection to our world. Any citizen could stand for election to their equivalent House of Commons and serve in any position within the Ministry. As you can imagine, these three visions of government are mutually incompatible. Dumbledore and Voldemort wish to impose their vision upon us one way or another. The Potters and their faction would prefer it to be the will of the majority. If Harry were raised as a true Potter and then defeated Voldemort – and lived to tell the tale as it were – that faction would gain a huge political advantage. It would be more than enough to ensure Dumbeldore and his faction's ideas would be relegated to the dustbin of history. Dumbledore does not wish to be a historical footnote."

"If he can't have his vision," Mary said, "we believe he'd rather live with the status quo and leave it to his followers to move our world towards his vision. He wants Voldemort defeated and Voledmorts ideas reviled. He never wants that way of thinking to exist again. But, he wants far more than that. The death of Harry's parents gave him an opportunity to control the outcome of victory to advance his agenda at the expense of all others. In the other timeline, his plan ultimately failed. No effort was made to deal with the followers of Voldemort and their ideas. Dumbledore to this day feels that punishing them is counter-productive. He speaks of redemption and forgiveness forgetting these are personal things and should not be governmental policy. A victim can afford to forgive their attacker and survive, society cannot."

There was a long pause where no one spoke. It only broke when everyone heard a soft snore and saw that the two youngest Greengrass sisters were asleep.

"Let's define the secret so that I can complete the Charm," George stated. "First, it is secret that my wife and I are Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. Second, it is secret that we and Harry, Luna and Hermione have and will receive information from a future timeline with the intent that we will use this information to avoid that future. Third, the information from any future memory is part of the secret except to the extent it needs to be revealed to change things. The source of that information shall remain a part of the secret. Finally, our knowledge of the prophecy that has motivated the acts of Dumbledore and Voldemort is part of the secret. So mote it be!"

There was another pause. "Harry…?" George began.

"Oh right!" Harry said remembering something. "Ginny, as Secret Keeper you are not to reveal the secrets to anyone else without my expressed permission."

Ginny nodded and the conversation turned to other things.

**Wednesday, July 7****th****, 1993**

The morning following the Secret, six young people climbed the ladder of the Granger trunk and out into the foyer of the Granger home just outside Slough. Hermione led them around the house as they would be spending time here later in the summer. It was a large home for a family of three. It had a very welcoming feel to it, so unlike the Dursleys but was neat and uncluttered as well unlike the Burrow which were the only other two homes Harry had ever seen. While they were given the tour, the Grangers were finishing their packing and packing two Range Rovers. Their trunk was reconfigured in a way by one of the Potter elves to appear to be filled with girls clothes and soon packed into one of the vehicles. After all, it would look odd for a family on holiday to arrive in France without any luggage for the young people. There were also some suitcases with clothes as well. However, were they to pass through magical customs these clothes would revert to their true form. They were nothing more than rags or bolts of cloth magically transformed into what looked like attire. After all, the young people would be returning to the Manor every night and as such there was no reason to actually bring changes of real clothes with them.

They used two range rovers because neither was large enough to seat eight people comfortably. These were the Grangers personal vehicles and Mrs. Granger would drive one with three of the children and Mr. Granger the other with the rest. They had an early lunch and then piled into the two Range Rovers for the first day of their trip. Both vehicles drove past Windsor Castle on their way east even though it meant a detour south of the motorway. They did not have to do so, but the Grangers had decided to drive past it for no other reason than aside from their daughter none of the others had seen it. Hannah and Luna had never even been in a car before and Ginny only on the rare occasions when her dad decided to take out their old Ford Anglia, which now was puttering around the Forbidden Forest outside Hogwarts in Scotland. Their drive took them around London on the motorway and then further east to Dover. In both cars, the children were told about the "Chunnel" or Channel Tunnel that would soon connect England with France, but it was not open yet and besides they felt it better to ride a ferry to Calais rather than travel through a hole in the ground, at least for ones first trip to the Continent. They arrived in Calais late at night having had a supper of sorts on the ferry. The day after and they were in Rouen from which they would spend the first week or so of the trip driving around Normandy.

They had arrived in Paris three days ago in real time and would remain there for several more. Everyone was fining something about Paris they liked even if the people seemed a little rude. Yesterday had been the second "down" day of the trip where there were no plans to visit this place or that and Daphne and Hannah had spent the day back in England with their families thanks to the access trunks. This was with the clear understanding of the others that they would not see something new without them. Every night, the six people would say goodnight to the Grangers, head to their "room" wherever they were staying and climb down the trunk into the Manor. Sometimes they had breakfast there, but more often they had it with the Grangers wherever they were in France. Today was a day where they had planned to have breakfast in the Trunk. It seemed the Grangers appreciated their doing that from time to time allowing the adult a lie in – or whatever else they might do with the extra time. Thus far, these "Trunk" breakfasts were where they had time to glance at the magical papers and read whatever mail had arrived during their travels. Surprisingly, the one thing they had not done since leaving was activate Time Compression but no one was complaining.

Higgins handed Harry three copies of the Daily Prophet. Because they did not know what would uncap their future memories but knew it might be anything and might occur at any time and because they only had one subscription to the paper, their routine on these mornings was to pass the paper between Harry, Hermione and Luna first and then the others would share. So far, nothing had caught Harry's attention. He figured whatever it was would probably be a front page item as he never had much use for the paper. The truth was before Hogwarts he had never read any newspaper and the only reason he had even started was Ron lent him his own copies when the mail arrived. He seldom read more than the front page. Nothing in the first two papers caught his attention. He was not surprised because so far nothing had. He nearly spilled his tea when he looked below the fold of the third edition which would be this morning's edition.

It was a picture of the Weasley family. There was not much of an article. It mentioned who they were and how Mrs. Weasley had somehow won something called "The Daily Prophet Galleon Draw" and the family was using at least some of the proceeds to visit Bill who was working as a Grngotts curse breaker in Egypt. The family was standing with what was most likely a pyramid in the background and waving to the camera. It was not the recent windfall that had truly caught Harry's attention. Something told him this paper – or at least the front page of it – was important.

"Blimey!" he exclaimed.

"Something the matter, Harry?" Hannah asked. She was the only one not chewing on something at that particular moment.

"The – the paper," he began.

"Memory uncap?" Luna asked.

"N-no. Well, maybe. This is important for some reason, but I… Well aside from a slight flash of déjà vu and a strong feeling, I don't have any memories that weren't there before." He handed the paper to Hermione and she gasped when she saw the picture.

"It's important for some reason although I don't think it has anything to do with the article or whatnot," she said after a moment. She handed it to Luna.

"It's nice to see they're having a fun summer," she said.

"That's it?" Hermione asked.

Luna shrugged. "No French Word thing and it doesn't seem to trigger anything," she replied. "Maybe this is something that only you two experienced?"

"It's possible," Hermione said. "We don't know what or how we sent stuff back. Could be a warning or something?"

"I think it's part of whatever we're trying to tell ourselves," Harry said. "A piece to the puzzle, but not the whole puzzle. Since there's a missing bit, all we have is a strong feeling that this is important."

"Rather odd," Luna said. "Why would the Weasley's holiday be important at all?"

"Don't know," Harry said as Ginny exclaimed "What?" The paper was handed to Ginny and Hermione explained it for Hannah and Daphne's benefit.

After a few moments Daphne turned to Ginny. "Are you upset by this?" she asked cautiously.

"I don't see why this is important," Ginny said.

"No, I meant being here and not there."

"I'd've loved to see Bill," Ginny admitted. "But I doubt they're spending loads of time with him. He's there for work and not a holiday after all. I'm here in France with my new family and … well according to Bill, unless you're a curse breaker once you've seen one Egyptian tomb, you've seen them all mostly and there's not much else to do there. A few days and you've seen the magical Suk and then it's nothing but strange food, sand and flies. It's much nicer here, I think. Besides, last place I'd want to be is in and old tomb with mummies and Fred and George anywhere nearby. Who knows what they might try for a prank. What are we doing today?"

"Eifel Tower and stuff," Hannah said.

"As long as it's not raining, I'd rather be with you guys. I do miss Bill, though."

"What do you want to do with the paper?" Daphne asked Harry.

"It's going to our research table in the library. It might not mean much right now, but who knows. I'd rather not bin it."

**Thursday, July 22****nd**** 1993.**

The trip had taken them now to the coast of the Mediterranean. The Grangers had managed to let a small villa – or so they had been told, atop a rise on the coast. Below them was a beach, and beyond the sea. For all of them it had been a wonderful summer. They had seen a lot of France, spent days in Paris and visited all sorts of places before this final stop for a week or so of enjoying the coast. True, much of what they had seen had been of more interest to others than to Harry. Then again, he had never travelled much at all before and certainly not to see places or any such thing so he really had not thought about going to a place for the sights. He enjoyed this trip because it was a trip and more importantly because of the people he was with. He thought it odd that now that he had travelled for pleasure he had seen far more of France than any other place on Earth. He was English and barely knew his own country.

But, despite any such misgivings, and they were more musings than misgivings, he was enjoying himself. Hermione had picked up all sorts of travel guides including magical ones during the several days between her leaving school and meeting and bonding with Harry and it was her itinerary they had followed since arriving. This villa was her parent's idea, having crossed off many but by no means all of the places from her list. Fortunately, her enthusiasm for sights had not worn thin on the others but Harry sensed they were glad to be here and not off to see another chateau or seek out another obscure magical district or some such. None of them were really complaining. It was a wonderful trip and each had found things about it that they really would remember. For Harry, it was the trip itself and his growing collection of photographs with "his girls" in places he had never even known about before.

They had arrived at the Villa the night before and were hoping to spend the days on the beach. Well, everyone except Hermione was hoping for that. She seemed comparatively indifferent to the idea but not totally unenthusiastic. Luna seemed the most excited once she was told that the bathing attire could be limited to bottoms only. But their first day seemed dashed as they were told it was raining. They decided to gather in the Trunk for breakfast and would probably spend the day here rather than in real France as the Trunk weather was not as unpleasant at the moment. Hermione was eager for this chance as she was hinting she wanted to rewrite her summer paper for History of Magic to include some things she had learned on this trip.

As they were spending the morning in the Trunk, it was as good a time as any to read their mail and such. Harry had received a grand total of one letter – assuming one did not include a handful of business letters from Gringotts. Not long after the article in the Daily Prophet about the Weasley's windfall, he had received a short note from Ron about it. Hermione had received a similar note: too similar it seemed. She guessed he had written one note then copied it and changed the names. She would have felt insulted if it were not for the fact that it seemed so much like Ron to do it that way. Luna had received about two letters a week from her father and looked forward to them. Hannah got a short letter every other day when she could not visit her mother as she was always sending notes about what she was doing and seeing. For Daphne, it was mostly just letters from her sisters. Ginny had received two letters from Bill and that was it. She was not as disappointed as she thought she would be. She recalled that Harry had said there would be no letters from her parents until August and she was glad for her letters from Bill.

Harry picked up that morning's Daily Prophet and saw the headline and photograph when it happened. What he could only describe as memories of events that had never happened flooded into his mind. He had no idea how long the images, events and ideas took to emerge. It seemed it took hours and yet no time at all. But the looks on the other's faces when he finally looked away from the paper told him that whatever had just happened had not gone unnoticed.

"You okay, Harry?" Hannah asked.

"What happened?" Ginny added.

"Something happen?" Hermione asked. She had been going over some notes.

"It was a memory thing, wasn't it?" Luna observed.

"Guess I know what a memory uncapping is like," Harry said handing the paper to Hermione. This was only the second time anything had happened since that morning he first met the Flamels and this was far different from the first. As soon as Hermione looked at the paper Harry knew why the others were looking at him the way they were. Her eyes seemed to roll back in her head and while she did not fall over, she looked like she would at any second. She seemed to shiver for a minute or so and he could not tell if she was even breathing. Finally the fit or whatever t was ended and she looked at the others.

"My word," she said, "that was intense." The paper was handed to Luna.

"Well," she said without having such a fit, "I wonder if this means the Hobgoblins will get back together."

"Hobgoblins?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes," she said. "They were a very popular group. But their lead singer and main songwriter's been away for ages. Seems Stubby Boardman was in Azkaban for some reason and now that he's out maybe the group will reform."

"Stubby Boardman?" a few voices asked.

"You didn't have any new memories?" Harry asked.

"Why would I have new memories?" Luna replied. "Oh! You did?"

Harry nodded as did Hermione.

"Why would Stubby Boardman trigger such a thing?" Luna asked.

"It's not whoever that is," Hermione said trying not to huff but failing miserably, "it's Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black, Stubby Boardman, same thing," Luna said. "Daddy's pretty certain as they disappeared at the same time and it's not like there's a lot of wizards disappearing on any given day. Besides, they do look alike…"

"Sirius Black?" Hannah asked. "Wasn't he somehow involved in what happened with your parents?"

"Seem to recall the Flamels saying something like that," Daphne agreed. "What's the article?"

Luna laid the paper out in front of the others. The banner headline read: "Mass Murderer Escapes!"

"This can't be good," Ginny began.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

"The other paper," she practically finished and ran off in the direction of the Library.

"_In a shocking revelation," _Daphne read, _"Retired Master Auror Alistor "Madeye" Moody and special consultant to the Head of DMLE announced today that convicted mass Murderer Sirius Black is missing from Azkaban Prison. Black had been incarcerated for his commission of numerous heinous crimes and was serving a life sentence. Guards at the prison reported that they found his cell empty yesterday. It cannot be confirmed for certain when he was last accounted for although the Ministry has confirmed he was there as recently as a week ago. No prisoner has ever gone missing from that prison in the past and it is feared he has escaped and is now on the loose._

"'_Assuming he managed to get off the island," Moody said. "All wands accounted for and the floo was not used. Only way to the mainland would be to swim, and that would be a fool's errand. My guess is he's dead but without a body it's prudent to assume he somehow managed to abscond and is ashore somewhere."_

_An international manhunt has been ordered and sources speaking on condition of anonymity have suggested that the Muggle government has been informed of the escape of this infamous terrorist and follower of You-Know-Who._

_Black, believed to be one of You-Know-Who's top Lieutenants during that period of unpleasantness is known to be from one of the darkest of families (for details on House Black, see page 4). He is known to have conspired to murder and thereby eliminate House Potter in 1981, having failed only in that there was one survivor of You-Know-Who's attack that fateful night: The-Boy-Who-Lived. Whereas many of You-Know-Who's gave up with little resistance to authorities following his death, Black continued his predations until taken down by two of our Ministry's finest (For details on Aurors John Dawlish and Megan Stiltson see page 6.) Regretfully, their brave capture of the psychopath could not prevent the death of a dozen muggles and one brave wizard who tried to stop him: Peter Pettigrew…"_

Hermione returned with the other paper. "What a load of tripe," she said with disgust.

"Everyone knows," Hannah began.

"No, everyone believes," Harry corrected. "Everyone believes he killed all those people and was what the paper says he was. And everyone is wrong!"

"The memory?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded. "Sirius Orion Black is Heir Apparent to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, a fact I can assume they got right. Ginny told me how that family is considered darker than night. Bit of an exaggeration seeing as I'm next in line after him and of the six of us only Hannah and Hermione are not potential members of that clan. But, this proves nothing. Sirius was also my Godfather…"

Only Luna and Hermione did not gasp. One could argue that there was little that surprised Luna or that she never really reacted to surprises. Harry knew Hermione knew the truth.

"For real?" Hannah asked. "That's one of those memories?"

"For real," Harry said. "And as you know as a magical godfather…"

"He could not have betrayed your family," Daphne finished.

"Well, maybe he could," Hannah said. "The oath can be limited. But he could not take any action that could place his godson at risk and inviting You-Know-Who over would do just that. Surely someone knew this?"

"My memory does not have that information," Harry said.

"It's possible some have forgotten," Hermione conceded. "There are two who probably did know. One forgot just how powerful that oath is. If Sirius had betrayed Harry as people think, the betrayal would have killed him. And the other is the real traitor, who's picture is in this paper," she added placing the paper with the picture of the Weasley family on the table before them. "The real Traitor is right there!" she said pointing.

"Don't be daft!" Ginny exclaimed. "That's Ron! I admit he can be a bit thick, but he wasn't much older than Harry when that happened. Somehow I doubt Voldemort was recruiting wizards still in their nappies."

"I don't mean Ron," Hermione said. "Look more closely."

"But it's just Ron and Scabbers!"

"What's a Scabbers?" Hannah asked.

"That's Scabbers," Ginny added pointing at the picture of Ron. "It's his pet. Well, it was Percy's pet first but Percy gave it to Ron when Mum bought Percy a post owl for making Prefect…"

"Eeew!" Daphne exclaimed. "Your brothers has a pet rat? Do you have any idea how disgusting that is?"

"I do," Ginny said. "Thing gives me the creeps on top of doing its business wherever and whenever it wants. Hexed Ron but good last summer when I found Scabbers stuff in my bed…"

"That's so wrong!"

"Okay," Hannah said, "so what's a rat got to do with any of this?"

"It's not a rat," Harry began.

"Sure looks like one," Daphne countered.

"Looks can be deceiving," Hermione said cryptically. "How old is Scabbers Ginny?"

"Don't know," she replied. "He's been Percy's pet for as long as I can remember at least 'til he became Ron's pet."

"I think you will find it's been a pet since 1982 at the latest," Harry said.

"Okay, that's quite impossible," Luna said. "Rats don't live anywhere near half as long!" When everyone looked at her she continued. "What? My Daddy is a naturalist even if most think he's off a bit. Rats are common place so he taught me about them. They're lucky to live a couple of years in the wild before something eats them. In captivity, they might live more than four but not much more…"

"Could be a magical rat," Ginny suggested.

"I'm not aware of a magical rat-like creature," Luna replied. "Then again, despite his masterful work _'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_,' I doubt Newt Scamander truly cataloged every one there could be."

"Might explain why Ron and Percy were allowed to bring it to Hogwarts, if it was magical of course," Ginny added.

"Oh it's magical, alright," Harry said, "just not the way any of you are thinking. It's an animagus."

"I've never heard of such a creature," Luna began.

"It's a wizard?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded.

"An Animagus is a branch of transfiguration that when mastered allows a witch or wizard to assume the form of an animal at will and retain that form indefinitely," Hermione commented. "We all know of one…"

"McGonagall," Ginny gasped. "That explains the cat thing!"

Hermione nodded. "As I understand it, it's really hard to do and dangerous until you've mastered it."

"That and the Ministry requires you to register if you do," Hannah added. "But then how could it be one? Surely word would've gotten out about that form. Surely someone would've been suspicious."

"But you assume that everyone is law abiding," Harry said. "The memory that uncapped tells me of three who managed it who for whatever reason found the law … inconvenient."

"Who would find a law inconvenient?" Hannah asked.

"Those inclined to break it," Daphne said. "Or those who'd rather it be a secret for some reason or…"

"Okay, I get it. So who is it and why does it matter?"

"Okay," Harry said, "so answer this one: how could Sirius Black escape from Azkaban and the paper got that one right, he escaped and is somewhere in Britain as we speak."

"He can't! No one's escaped before! It's impossible," Hannah replied.

"Just 'cause it's never happened before doesn't make it impossible. Harry and I have had memories of this awaken or whatever. Sirius Black has escaped."

"I suppose if he had help it might be possible. One of the guards…"

"Plausible but unlikely," Hermione said. "Why now? Why after all these years?" When no one answered she continued. "He's been there for almost a dozen years. A dozen years with dementors tends to drive people a little crazy."

"More than a little," Harry snorted. "But all this assumes that there was a human in that cell the whole time."

"So you're saying he's been loose for ages? But how could they've missed that?" Hannah countered.

"They didn't miss a thing until very, very recently. Black was there, he just was not human most of the time…"

"Animagus!"

"Exactly. A big, black dog to be exact."

"But how come they didn't … he never registered?"

"And apparently no one thought to ask when he was brought in," Harry said. "As a dog, the dementors had little effect on him. Probably would've had none if his coat was shaggier. When humans were around – guards and the like – he was human but as soon as they left he was a dog. I won't say he's completely sane right now, but any mental instability cannot be blamed on the dememtors.

"From what I've read in that paper, it is what is commonly believed about Black and what happened back then. It's also wrong. We already said he's my Godfather so the fact that he lives at all shows he could not have betrayed me. The betrayal would've killed him regardless of the outcome so the fact I somehow survived that night is not important. We learned earlier that my parents were in a safe house under a Fidelius Charm when it happened and that only the Secret Keeper could reveal that information. Thus, the Secret Keeper had to have revealed my family to Voldemort. The paper probably reports that Black was our Secret Keeper. He wasn't. He was the most obvious choice, which is why he was not it. The Secret Keeper was another who also happened to be an unregistered animagus…"

"Scabbers?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded. "Known in his human form as Peter Pettigrew."

"But…," Hannah began. "Never mind."

"What?"

"He's said to have been killed."

"All they found was a finger," Harry agreed. "But that doesn't mean a thing. Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper. When Voldemort was defeated, he scampered. Black knew Pettigrew had betrayed my family and cornered him. Pettigrew cut off his finger – that was all they ever found of him – made a scene catching the attention of a couple of low level Aurors, cast a spell creating the explosion that killed all those muggles, changed into a rat during the chaos and scampered away. The Aurors thought it was Black and he wound up in prison."

"You've been dancing around, Harry," Luna said. "Just tell us the story."

Harry sighed. The truth was he was having a little fun and it was not as if there was anything else to do seeing as it was raining on the French coast. "Sirius Black is the last of the direct line of Blacks. His Grandfater Arcturus was the last Head of House and Arcturus Black's grandfather Phinean Nigelus is also my Great-Great grandfather and Daphne, Luna and Ginny's Great-great Great Grandfather. Enough of the family history. Sirius's parents were Pureblood supremacists who supported the rubbish Voldemort spouted. Sirius did not and left them for good when he was sixteen. He went to live with his best friend and his family. That best friend was my Dad.

"While at school, Sirius, their supposed friend Peter Pettigrew and my Dad learned to become Animagus. My dad was a stag. And before you ask, no. None of them ever registered their ability and I can't tell you why 'cause as far as I know I never asked in that other timeline. Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper back then and he was the reason my parents are dead. When Black learned of this, he went after Pettigrew and cornered him. Already told you how that turned out. He never was tried for anything. Supposedly, he confessed to it all but my guess is he did not."

"So he was imprisoned for nothing?" Hannah asked.

"Well, never convicted," Harry shrugged. "Everyone believes he did the terrible things it says in the paper. He never denied it at the time, but never was really given much of a chance to deny it either. Pettigrew went to the Weasleys. We learned he did this 'cause he figured if there was any news about Voldemort, he'd hear it there and he was certain his fellow Death Eaters would kill him if he ever revealed himself 'cause he got their Dark Lord killed. Sirius was in Azkaban until very recently. It seems it never crossed his mind to escape before and he apparently thought of no reason to do so. It's that first paper that set him off…"

"How?" Ginny asked.

"He saw Scabbers. He read the article and knew Ron was at Hogwarts and was my roommate…"

"Doesn't say that," Daphne noted.

"No. But it does say Ron's in Gryffindor with Harry Potter and Sirius would know what year I should be in. Seeing that picture motivated his escape."

"How'd he see it?" Hannah asked. "I doubt the prisoners take the paper."

"Fudge gave it to him," Harry replied.

"Fudge?" Daphne asked. "You mean the Minister for Magic Fudge?"

Harry nodded. "Fudge was at the prison for some reason probably within a day or so of that paper's publication. Sirius was in human form and asked for the paper so he could do the crossword and Fudge gave it to him."

"How'd he escape?"

"When?" Hannah asked.

"He didn't escape right away, but I think it was at least a few days ago," Hermione replied. "I don't think they went public with this until they were very, very certain he was gone."

"He escaped when the dementors were out," Harry continued. "They never bothered him nor noticed him when he was a dog so as a dog he somehow got out of his cell. Apparently, the humans are not out and about when the dementors are so it was easy for him to get out of the prison. How he crossed to the shore, I don't know. I guess he swam but it's just a guess."

"Why'd he escape," Hannah asked.

"Don't know if that article says so, but the common belief is or will be to find me and finished what he supposedly started. The real reason is Pettigrew. Pettigrew will be at Hogwarts this fall and he plans to get Pettigrew. In my memory, he fails." There was a sadness in his tone.

"Fudge is going mental about this," Hermione said. "Our school'll be surrounded by dementors this fall in the hopes of catching Black. Fudge is not interested in what happened. He wants Black caught and put to death – no trial, nothing. In my memory and Harry's as well, nothing will change his mind. If he gets Black, Black dies."

"And Black does die," Harry said. "Not 'cause of Fudge. He dies about three years from now fighting Death Eaters. His life is that of a fugitive running from a death sentence. He spends his time in hiding which is not much better than rotting in Azkaban. I know that haunted me for ages afterwards…"

"I wondered why this might be important," Luna said.

"Oh?" many asked.

"Well, at first this memory seems much ado about nothing, doesn't it? What does this have to do with why the memories were sent back? The man dies long, long before we have to really change anything, right? Yet it was important enough to send back. My guess is the death of Sirius Black affected Harry in such a way that he accepted certain things he should have questioned simply because it was too painful not to. If we can get Black and somehow keep him from that life and that death…"

"I can't say if that's it or not, Luna. But I think some of the messages are to change things we want changed not because they lead to the mess we're really trying to stop, but because they were senseless or something. But the problem remains. Black's not going to get any justice from Fudge and no one will believe that what's said in this paper is such a pack of lies to question it."

"So?" Ginny said. "Seems to me you catch Pettigrew and it would be hard for anyone to continue to believe the official version right? We know where Pettigrew is as well."

"We need both of them I should think," Daphne said. "Catching Pettigrew might bring question to why Black was in prison, but it won't do much else. There's still the issue of his escape and all."

"What good would it do to catch either of them?" Hannah asked. "The Ministry'll just take them away and do whatever it is they want. Something tells me that they won't care about the truth now. They're embarrassed by the escape and to then have it come out they've had the wrong man all along? Wouldn't put it past them to see the whole thing hushed up."

"If it's left to the Ministry, you're probably right," Daphne said but her smile said she was up to something. "However, the Ministry is bound by the Wizengamot Charter."

"Doubt the Wizengamot will be much better," Hermione said. "My memories don't know, but I doubt Dumbledore was totally ignorant of the truth. After all, if Black was Harry's Godfather…"

"Black would at the very least be Harry's magical Guardian even in the absence of a Will," Daphne agreed. "Being locked away prevented that allowing Dumbledore to do what he did. Freeing Black would undo everything. My guess is as Chief Warlock Dumbledore's as keen on seeing Sirius prevented from gaining his freedom as Fudge is. But the Wizengamot is also bound by the Charter and to violate certain provisions of the Charter … well, not even the Great Albus Dumbledore could avoid losing everything were he to try. There is a way. Granted, it hasn't been used in ages – maybe even in centuries – but I'm pretty sure it's something that'll work. We still need Black and Pettigrew – certainly Black – but…"

"Pettigrew may be easy," Ginny said. "You did say I might be able to visit my family later this summer."

"I did. Don't know how your family's trip affects that but…"

"Bill wrote me and said they'd be home by the 24th of August latest. I could visit then … and knick the rat. Ron hardly keeps that rat confined after all. He'd probably think the thing scampered and Mum's always on about it getting loose. Only reason Ron make any effort at all is Mum reminding him that outside the house there're plenty of things – owls, hawks and such – that see a rat as dinner. Doubt Ron'd even suspect the rat was nicked. Probably just think he didn't lock the cage or something and the rat got out and…"

"And how do we get Black?" Hannah asked. "Even if he's out to protect Harry, I doubt he's going to simply walk up and ask himself in for tea."

"There's a chance before school," Harry said. "It didn't seem important, but my memory includes something that happened later this summer. I had a real row with my relatives…"

"No surprise there," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "Well, I ran out on them. I was sitting in a play park not far from their place. It was after dark and I guess I was trying to figure where to go. I'm pretty sure I saw him."

"Black?"

Harry nodded.

"When's this going to happen?"

"Sometime after my birthday. No more than a week after. I seem to recall spending close to a month living at the Leaky Cauldron and that was after the play park. I don't think I need to re-enact the row with my relatives. I think I just need to be in that park just after dark and we might be able to grab him."

"How?"

"First, we need to know whatever this thing is that Daphne seems to think will keep the Ministry and Dumbledore from mucking things up. After that, I'm open to ideas."

"Better than sitting around all day seeing as it's raining," Daphne said.

"Might be a good idea for Hannah to see her Mum," Hermione thought.

"Why?" Hannah asked.

"You could go to the Ministry and see what you can find on Black. It might be nothing. Then again it might be useful."

Hannah nodded. "I'll see if she's available."

"Since I'm not going anywhere, do I have to wear clothes today?" Luna asked.


	24. Chapter 24: Birthday Surprise

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**TWENTY-FOUR: BIRTHDAY SURPRISE**

**Thursday, July 29****th**** 1993**

A week had passed since the uncapping of Harry and Hermione's memories. Aside from that day and the day that had followed, it had been sunny in the south of France and they had spent the days on the beach below their rented villa. Although the girls had talked about it before, Harry had not truly paid attention to discussions about appropriate beach attire. It was not until they first went to the beach that he realized that at least some women beach goers wore no tops whatsoever. He had been both stunned and somewhat disgusted and to the delight of the young ladies in his company, after getting over his initial shock he was not distracted by the others ladies. He preferred to ogle his ladies. Besides, for every half-way decent looking younger woman waking about nearly starkers there seemed to be several much, much older ladies doing so. He thought there should be a rule against women old enough to be his grandmother walking about like that in public and another about unattractive women doing so but he wisely decided not to voice this. He was certain that while his ladies would appreciate the fact that he preferred them, some of them (Hermione) might take offense at his notion of rules not because they disagreed per se but because it was shallow. He did not ask, but none of his ladies chose to dress that way for the beach. Deep down he was somewhat pleased. He was already thinking that was a privilege reserved for him alone.

There had been no new memories. Harry truly doubted there would be anytime soon. The papers contained news of the manhunt for Sirius Black and it was obvious to Harry and now the others that the people back home had no clue about anything really. His memories told him that the fools at the ministry would never get close to catching his Godfather. His worry was their changing of the timeline. They had come up with a plan and it seemed a good one, but it the plan fell apart… He'd rather not think about that. Besides, there was nothing to do right now. They figured the earliest that Black might be caught (by them) was August 2nd and the latest was August 6th based upon his memories and that was still days away. The earliest they could really put their plan in motion depended in large part upon catching Pettigrew which could not happen until near the end of the summer. Even then, their plan regarding the use of the Wizengamot Charter to thwart the Ministry and Dumbledore – assuming it worked – probably could not go forward until September at the earliest. He decided not to worry about such things for now.

This was another of their Trunk breakfasts. Again, there was nothing in the papers that triggered any additional memories. What surprised Harry, however, was the mail. There was a letter that from the addressing probably came from Neville Longbottom and this puzzled him.

"Something the matter?" Hermione asked noticing Harry looking at the envelope but not opening it.

"Um … well, something's different," he said.

"Oh?"

"Remember that letter I got from Ron earlier this summer?"

She and the others nodded. The others had taken some interest in this conversation.

"Well, although the place was very different, I got a sense of déjà vu about the letter and certainly had it when I read it."

"So did I. So what's the deal with that one?" Hermione asked.

"No such feeling," Harry said as he opened it cautiously.

"Perhaps this didn't happen that time," Luna suggested.

"Can't think of why Neville would write now when he didn't seem to do so last time," Harry said. "I have no idea what could've changed. Any of you lot write him?"

No one had.

"Could've been one of the adults," Ginny suggested.

"But why?" Harry asked. There was no answer.

"It's not going to bite you, Harry," Hermione said noticing he still had not opened it.

"Hermione's right," Ginny said. "Now if it was from Fred or George…"

"The elves would probably have taken it apart magically and physically," Daphne said. "I'm sure it's alright."

"Still," Harry began as he opened it.

_22 July 1993, Longbottom Manor_

_To: Lord Harry James Potter, Heir Apparent Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Earls of Hwicca, Abengale, Hereford and Finchley, Baron of Loch Sheen._

_Your Grace:_

_It has recently been brought to my attention that you have accepted your birthright. I too have only recently accepted mine under some rather unusual circumstances which I feel are better discussed in person and in private rather than in a letter. For generations, House Potter and House Longbottom have been allied and have strove as they might for the common betterment of our world. While we remain young, and therefore unable to fully marshal our full potential towards the goals of our respective Houses and families, I wish to offer the opportunity to reaffirm the alliance which has served both our families well for so long._

_I humbly request, Your Grace, that our Houses meet to discuss such matters. I would recommend the 30__th__ or 31__st__, wherein we might also celebrate our 13__th__ birthday, but can understand if your House has made other plans. Do not feel you need to change such plans for you House on my behalf. In any event, a meeting before this September 1__st__ would be most appreciated. I am looking forward to what I hope is a favorable reply to my request._

_Your Obedient Servant,_

_Lord Neville Algecyrus Longbottom, Heir Apparent Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Earls of Colne, Pendle and Martson; Barons of Tulhume and Halden Moor._

"Okay, this makes no sense," Harry said passing the letter to Hermione. Neither Hermione, Luna nor Ginny said much of anything about the letter.

"Rather formal," Daphne said. "Reminds me in a way of our meeting at Gringotts."

"I hope there is no relation or connection!" Harry protested.

"It's a formal request for a meeting between two Noble Houses," Hannah began after she read it.

"I got that bit," Harry said trying not to grumble with impatience. "And what's with the Your Grace and Obedient Servant stuff?"

"Those are common salutations in such letters, Harry," Hannah said. "It's a formal way of being polite. I wouldn't read anything into that one way or another. He wants to meet about old family alliances. What is odd, if you can call it odd, is he has claimed his birthright as well. You were only able to do so 'cause you got married…"

"Four times over," Daphne added.

"While I can't say if Neville had or did not have a betrothal contract," Hannah went on, "I doubt he had a magical bond to allow him to marry which means his guardian must have allowed him leave to assume his birthright and that is unusual. Then there's the fact that this invitation is to your House. That might be a mere formal convention, but whether he knows something or not, if you accept this it requires you to bring the five of us along. Ginny is, after all, a Potter now and we are your wives which makes the six of us House Potter."

"He's going to be in for a shock if we accept," Ginny sniggered.

"Just hope he doesn't pass out," Daphne said.

"I wouldn't sell Neville short," Hermione huffed. "He might be a little shy, but he's no coward."

"Snape seems to scare the piss out of him," Daphne offered.

"And this makes him different that most stdents because…?" Hannah asked.

"Point conceded," Daphne said.

"Should I reply?" Harry asked.

"It is expected," Hannah said. "And unless you really cannot meet him at all between now and September 1st, I suggest you accept the invitation."

They discussed the reply for a time and then, once breakfast was cleared away, they went to the library to write it.

_29 July 1993, Potter Farms_

_To: Lord Neville Algecyrus Longbottom, Heir Apparent Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Earls of Colne, Pendle and Martson; Barons of Tineswood Heath and Barstow._

_Your Grace:_

_I have received your letter of the 22__nd__. I am honored for your request and am eager to discuss matters of mutual interest. That being said and despite the above Heading, House Potter is currently on holiday in France and shall remain here on the Continent through the 2__nd__ of August. (My correspondence is being routed through the above location which may explain the delay in receipt as I received it only this morning in my post. I am sending this with Hedwig and shall ask that she await a reply so as to avoid any such delay on return post.) Certain other matters demand my attention and the attention of my House through the 8__th__ of the Month and I and my House have a social engagement previously scheduled for the 11__th__. Any other date in August is acceptable._

_Due to certain circumstances I shall not discuss in a letter, House Potter is not free at this time to offer its estates to host such a meeting. Please feel free to recommend a date, time and location for our meeting._

_Your Humble Servant:_

_Lord Harry James Potter, Heir Apparent Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Earls of Hwicca, Abengale, Hereford and Finchley, Baron of Loch Sheen._

**Saturday, July 31****st**** 1981**

Harry had climbed through the access trunk and walked through the Villa to the dining room. It's large windows looked out over the sea. Since they arrived here a little over a week ago, and aside from those three mornings where they had breakfast in the Trunk, they had all of their breakfasts here and a fair few of their other meals. They had also eaten at the local cafes and a couple of nice restaurants. But the one thing that had not happened in their time here was cooking. Harry could see no reason for Mrs. Granger to cook meals on her holiday even if she was willing and Harry now preferred his kitchen to any other should he decide to cook himself. He had done so a few times. He insisted doing to about once a week if for no other reason than he enjoyed doing to and wanted to keep up the practice. But most meals were prepared by Burt and his elf staff and served either in the Trunk or here.

He entered the dining room and saw that most of the travelers were already seated and eating. Only Ginny and Mrs. Granger were missing.

"Happy Birthday!" several cheerful voices said.

"Oh no!" Harry gasped. He couldn't believe it. "I totally forgot!"

"How could you forget your birthday," Hannah asked, although she seemed immediately ashamed at the question.

"It wasn't exactly a popular occasion at the Dursleys," Harry said trying not to sound glum. "My best ones were always the ones they forgot completely. But thank you. I really had forgotten. I hope you all haven't done anything special…"

"Well," Daphne said, "we may have bought you some gifts."

"Nothing too fancy, mind you," Luna added. "But that's for later."

"Tuck in," Hermione added. Harry did not need encouragement seeing all the food.

"Where's Ginny and your Mum?" he asked.

Hermione seemed to blush.

"Ginny wasn't feeling well this morning," Luna said. "Mrs. Granger's checking on her although we're all certain it's nothing to worry about."

"Um…," something told Harry not to ask. "Well, I hope she's not upset about it being my birthday and all, considering I would've forgotten…"

"She is a little," Luna said. "But it can't be helped."

Mrs. Granger then entered and sat down.

"Is it?" the other girls asked.

Mrs. Granger nodded. "It is. She's right put out about the timing, but she'll be right as rain in a couple of days. It's a pity it didn't happen sooner. There's a place here that would've been perfect…"

"What's going on?" Harry asked as it seemed everyone else knew something he didn't.

"She's going through menarche," Mrs. Granger said.

"Men… OOH!" Harry said with a blush. After a moment he added: "Why does a place make a difference?"

Hermione blushed as her mother chuckled. "Well, it's a girl thing Harry," Mrs. Granger said. "When Hermione went through it as soon as we could after she was through it I took her out for a day of pampering…"

"You don't want or need to know the details of that," Mr. Granger cautioned. "It's really a woman thing. Makes shopping look tame."

"Guess I don't need to know then," Harry agreed quickly.

"We can still do it when we get home, can't we?" Hermione asked.

"I don't see why not. We'll have a girl's day out."

"But won't that be different?" Mr. Granger asked. "I mean with all of you."

"Don't be silly," Mrs. Granger said. "I already talked to Ginny about it and she's fine with it, even if she doesn't know what I mean yet. She knows the day's about her. She even suggested we do it on the eleventh which is her birthday to kill two birds with one stone as it were. I was willing to argue the point, but she really doesn't want to be that much trouble considering…"

"Considering what?" Harry asked.

"That she feels so icky on your birthday. She was so looking forward to it."

"Well, she still can."

"It'll be a couple of days," Mrs. Granger said.

"Luna? You went through your monthlies first. Tell Mrs. Granger how it works in time compression."

"That's brilliant! She can still enjoy Harry's birthday then!" Hermione said.

"What are you talking about?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"We learned that while time compression does not change when monthlies begin," Luna replied, "if you enter time compression after they start, they end just as quickly. I mean, once it begins it ends in time compression time not outside time. Is that what you're thinking?"

"We've got close to a full charge right now," Harry said. "We haven't used it since the day before we left to come here so… After breakfast, we could head into the trunk and I could give us a week or so. When it's over, it'll only be later this morning."

"That sounds like a nice idea, Harry," Mrs. Granger said. "Bob and I were going for a walk. We could meet back here for lunch?"

"You sure you wouldn't want to join us?"

"It's not necessary. You lot have fun."

The last person Ginny expected to see sitting on her bed was Harry. She tried not to be mortified. He wasn't the only one there. The others were with him.

"I'm so sorry Harry," she said sadly. "I didn't mean to ruin your birthday!"

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked.

"'Cause it's your birthday and this had to happen."

"And it still will be my birthday when this is all done."

"But it can take days… Oh! Time Compression?"

Harry nodded.

"Harry, you didn't have to…"

"No. But what could be better than a week alone with my lovelies. You really feel like lying in bed?"

"I don't know. Maybe just 'til lunch?"

"It's my birthday. If that's what you want, that' fine with me."

"Harry, birthdays are supposed to be about what you want…"

"Since I never really had one before and since fate seems to think that what's normal for others isn't for me, why should this be different? We'll be about. Come down when you feel up to it."

He and the others left after he kissed her forehead. He paused at the door and turned the three cards around so they were all green. He turned and gave her a mischievous grin as he left her room.

It was like it had been before back when his girls were joining his family. They were seated at the edge of Hermione's Lake, one of the three lakes in the Trunk, and enjoying a picnic lunch. Harry kept his mouth shut about their chosen attire although he knew he should not have been surprised. He was pleased Ginny was feeling a little better. She was wearing only a pair of knickers given her current condition. His other four girls were dressed as they usually dressed when they were not expecting a visit as in not at all. He had thought of making some comment about their being in birthday suits for his birthday, but thought that was probably a little too cheeky. He decided it better to enjoy their company.

They were talking and enjoying the basket filled with sandwiches and other things when an odd noise caught his attention and then the attention of the others. The one thing about the trunk was the absence of noise. There were no birds as far as they had seen and no other animals or people and thus none of the noises one would associate with such things. Aside from a breeze rustling the leaves in the trees and the sound of their own voices, the place was always quiet and peaceful until now. They looked up to the road which seemed to be the direction of the strange noise and there was…

"A car?" Hermione asked. It certainly looked like one, although it looked like a really old fashioned one. Harry did not know much about cars, but he had never seen one like that before. It stopped and he heard a door close wondering what this was about. He then saw an elf coming around from the front and walking towards them. He recognized the elf almost immediately but said nothing. The elf stopped before them and bowed with a goofy grin on its face. He had gotten used to the Potter Elves and their bows, but Dobby always seemed to do so in a way that he had to try and not to laugh.

"Happy Birthday, Great Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby exclaimed.

"Thanks, Dobby. What's that?"

Dobby almost looked upset at the question. "It be one of Great Harry Potter Sirs presents. Does Harry Potter Sir not be likings it?"

"Um … I don't understand it. What is it?"

"It's beings an … an 'automotive carriage.' Also be calleds a velocipede and other nameses Sir. Muggles be havings them, yes?"

"But what's it doing here? How'd you get it?" Harry had loads of questions because he did not think you could get a car into the trunk.

"Oh, we be's makings it, Sir."

"You made it?"

"Yes sir! And others as well."

"But why?"

"Because it being Harry Potter Sirs birthday, Sir!"

"But a car? Why do I need a car? Can it go outside the trunk?"

"Can'ts be out of the trunkses Sir. It be becauses of trunkses magic. It be movings with trunkses magics. But it be drivings likes the muggleses ones. We be makings it and others because the trunkses be dones, Sir. Dobby be hopings that Harry Potter Sir and his ladies be wantings a ride about the trunkses. It beings too fars to walks and Harry Potter Sirs' Miss Hermione nots be likings to fly far. It beings too fars for bicycles to, Sir."

"But… but we were only adding fifteen thousand acres." Harry could not realize how ridiculous that sounded. The girls snorted or giggled.

"Yes Sir. That's be finished. But Harry Potter Sir be askings Dobby about connecting other trunkses and theys be connecteds and finished as well. Higgins cans be explainings betters, Sir."

"Higgins?"

With a slight pop, Higgins stood before him. "Happy Birthday, Milord," he said with a bow.

"Um… thanks. What's Dobby on about?"

"Dobby is excited and nervous, Sir. Regretfully, this leaves him tongue tied and he reverts to his old patterns of speech. That being said, Sir, he is worried he may have been presumptuous."

"How so?"

"He told you about the other trunks he picked up from Gringotts."

The truth was Harry had totally forgotten about that. "Um … well yes. Forgot about them."

"You asked some questions about them and he assumed they were suggestions as to what you wanted done with them. He assumed you wanted them all interconnected into a single estate once you were told that was possible and so that is what we have done while you and your ladies were enjoying your holiday. I hope this meets with your liking, Sir."

"Um… well, I hadn't really thought about it and to tell the truth I really have no idea what I would have wanted had I done so. I was probably going to leave it up to Dobby anyway seeing as we have discussed the extension to this trunk in some detail."

"Yes Sir, that was our understanding as well. Based upon those discussions and what your parents and grandparents trunks already had and what was already here, we like to think we've come close to what you would have wanted."

Higgins went on to explain. He began with the trunk Dobby had acquired at the beginning of the summer because Harry and the others were familiar with it. Each of these trunks had a total maximum "foot print" of forty thousand acres or sixty-two and a half square miles. When Harry and the others had first entered the gardens, Harry's trunk was less than that at only about twenty-five thousand acres, the rest of its potential being just that: potential. It was now expanded to its full size with the additional lands being pastures for dairy cattle, some grain fields and purely recreational lands including a tropical jungle like area and beach on a large lake lined with palm trees and two golf courses – that he had asked for because two of his fathers-in-law played and he wanted a place to practice to minimize embarrassment. Harry's trunk was typical in that at full size it was a square not quite eight miles on a side. The land could vary in height little more than one hundred meters from its highest point to its lowest which in the case of this first trunk was what they called the Great Lake into which all the water flowed. It had an additional fifty meters of "head room" about the highest point of ground.

The three undeveloped trunks he had received from Gringotts were identical in both maximum size and dimensions. They had been arranged and connected to Harry's trunk to create a two hundred and fifty square mile box not quite sixteen miles on a side. The center of the box was the greatly expanded Great Lake now over five times its previous size. The new trunks were modeled on the original in terms of land use. It was mostly farmlands with orchards, huge fields of vegetables, fields for grains, pasture lands, some small by this scale formal gardens and uncultivated recreational lands which now included a horse stable, riding trails and five additional golf courses. After all, if Mr. Granger and Mr. Greengrasses musings were true, one could never have too many golf courses. The Herb garden was now five times larger than before meaning more spices, herbs, tea and coffee and now cocoa. Harry's farm could now make its own chocolate. There was also a new vineyard. Harry's trunk was now the southwest quarter of this box.

Harry's grandfather's two trunks were the oldest. The first had been acquired about forty years earlier. The Potters owned plenty of real land, but most of it was leased to others. The amount of land for the exclusive use of House Potter in the "real world" was actually smaller than the great lawn and formal gardens here in the trunk that were but a fraction of the total lands in the original of Harry's trunk. Harry's grandfather placed almost all of the land in his first trunk under cultivation. His farm was less diversified. Although he had orchards and grew vegitables, this was but a small fraction of his farms. Most of the land was either pasture for cattle and sheep, fields of grains or vineyards. He produced beef, pork, poultry (with loads of chickens as well as some ducks, geese and turkeys) and flour from breads and such. But he also made wines, beer, ale and whiskey which were the major cash exports. Not long after Harry's father was born, his grandfather bought a second trunk and connected it to the first expanding his pastures, grain fields and vineyards. These two older trunks now extended some sixteen miles to the south of Harry's southern boundary connecting with both Harry's trunk and the new one to the east.

South of his grandfather's trunks were his parents' trunks. These were not the same. Combined they were fifteen miles long and eight and a third miles wide. The land dropped thirteen hundred meters from its highest accessible point to the lake at its lowest point. It was a mountain valley and was not under cultivation at all. Maybe some of it would have been at some point. But it had been set up primarily for recreation. It turned out Harry's father – in addition to liking Quidditch which could be played on the pitch in those trunks – also enjoyed hunting and fishing. The lake and river were stocked with fish and the trunk with deer, mountain goats and game birds such as quail and pheasant. His mother enjoyed hiking in the mountains, riding horses and skiing and apparently there were slopes for skiing when the winter came. The mountain valley extended south from where it now joined the southern boundary of Harry's grandfather's farms.

All told, Harry now had 360,000 acres, 170,598 of which was farmland of some description, 29,660 acres of pasture lands, eleven lakes covering over sixteen thousand acres (almost half of that being the Great Lake) and over eighty thousand acres designated recreation lands including formal gardens such as the flower garden and now nine golf courses as his father and Grandfather also played apparently. Harry's manor was one of eight "residences" in the trunks. Harry's parents had their mountain chalet and two guest houses close to either the lake or the skiing. Harry's grandfather had but a single manor in what was now the northern trunk of his farms. The remaining "residences" were guest houses – small hotels really – in the other three trunks. Harry's manor was the only residence in his original trunk. There were roads and trails throughout and because the new estate measured some sixteen miles east to west and forty-five miles north to south at the extremities, getting around it all by walking or bicycling was impractical. Given that few would fly that far even if they could and the elves came up with the car they now saw as well as some others.

It sounded wonderful to Harry and his ladies seemed gobsmacked at the idea. But Harry had done probably more than his fair share of gardening in life and knew how little it took in the way of neglect for a garden to get out of control. The gardens here appeared to be meticulously maintained just has they had appeared when he first saw them. That was when this was only twenty-five thousand acres and now he had more than ten times that amount. He had been told back then that his staff of a hundred and twenty elves could manage the full sized trunk, but additional staffing would have been ideal. He was not told, nor had he asked, what would be an ideal elf to acre ration, although he was not really thinking in such terms.

"How will we maintain all of this?" he asked almost rhetorically. "I mean, there're only a hundred and twenty elves and…"

"Oh, no Sir," Dobby said. "There's bes mores and mores."

"More? How? Where'd they come from? How'd they get here?"

"They be with Harry Potter Sirs parentses and grandparentses trunkses Sir and theys be more elves than theres be works for them, Sir."

"Okay," Harry said slowly, "and how did that come to pass?"

It was Higgins who answered for again Dobby seemed nervous about the way things were going. "The original trunk had a staff of around two hundred to start, Sir. That was back in 1951. The older Potters were not like many witches and wizards."

"Meaning?"

"Elves are not usually allowed to form families and have children, Sir. It is understandable. Muggles cannot know of Elves less the secret of magic become known and were elves to have families without restriction, there would be more elves than jobs."

Hermione snorted. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it's just that there are plenty of witches and wizards who would like to have elves but don't or can't because those who do have them keep them to themselves."

"I cannot speak to that, Miss," Higgins said. "You may be correct. But there is the added fact that the children of an Elf couple are bound at birth to the family of that couple. But that bond is not for life for it fades upon their twelfth summer solstice. When they reach such maturity at age twelve they can they seek another family if they so choose. Yet while their infant bond has weakened such that they can leave, many would choose not to. Many would choose to stay with their families if not the humans then the mother and father who bore them. Thus, to allow their elves to have families, the wizards must have work available for the young ones when they reach an age of apprenticeships at around twelve years. There may well be limits to how much extra work is available in a wizarding family, Miss.

"The original staff had children and there were few limitations placed upon their families by the Potters. Eventually, the second trunk was purchased to provide work for the young ones. Master Harry's parents' trunks were also purchased to provide work for more young ones. Two of the three new trunks were purchased in anticipation of needing to expand acreage so that there would be enough work. Including Master Harry's elves, there are 1,387 elves who have attained working age."

"Bloody hell," Harry gasped. The others were too stunned to correct his language.

"There are also, as of today, 828 elves who are not yet of apprenticeship age which they attain following their twelfth summer solstice. They will attain such age between next summer and the summer of 2005. In about five or so years it may be necessary to obtain an additional trunk, but for now we have just enough elves to handle the work load, Sir."

The two elves told Harry and the others that three quarters of the elves that lived and worked on the "older farms" had been born there. The remainder had been like Dobby, Higgins and the other elves now living and working Harry's estate. They had been born elsewhere to elves bound to other families. Many had been like Harry's elves. When they joined House Potter they were young, between the age when they could choose to leave their families and the age when their magic needed them to bond to a wizarding family or find a place to live with a very high level of ambient magic, and those places were few and far between even in the wizarding world. The young elves made up a majority of the "outside" elves that started Potter Farms, coincidently the name Harry's Grandfather had given to his trunk estate. The second trunk was "seeded" with similar elves as well as the older children of the Potter Elves from the first trunk. Harry's parents' trunk had a different demographic. They sought elves during the height of the Wizarding War and older elves were also in abundance. Many wizarding families had been wiped out leaving their surviving elves unbonded so many were collected and employed in House Potter.

"But it doesn't make sense," Daphne said. "My family has some elves and they have an elf child, just one. What you're saying and the numbers you've mentioned tell me that for every elf who came from somewhere else, three have been born on those estates. Elves don't … well, they don't have families like that!"

"In most cases, Lady Daphne," Higgins said. "It is not so much a question of what elves do not, rather it is one of what under the circumstances they cannot. Elves cannot have children if they are not married. Actually, that term does not aptly describe the bond the couple must have, but it is the closest word in your language. An elf couple cannot marry unless it is possible for them to have a child. This means their wizarding family must allow it, for once bound we are bound to follow their wishes in such matters. It also means there must be a reason for the child. There must be work for it when it comes of age either with its birth family or elsewhere. The high birthrate here has been because House Potter allowed it and had planned the expansion to support it."

"But how could it continue?" Daphne asked.

"What?" Harry responded.

"Higgins said there's over eight hundred young elves who have not yet seen their twelfth solstice! How? They're parents are not bonded! And how could there be so many? By what Higgins said it means the original elves had six children or so; three times as many elves have been born here than came here from somewhere else!"

"The youngest elves include grandchildren and great-grand children of the original elves, Lady Daphne. As for how…"

"Harry's parents died before any of those elves were born," Daphne added.

"While an elf bonds to an individual, the bond is not to that individual, but to that individual's family. The bond exists so long as the family exists. Thus the bond survived the deaths of Lord Harry's parents and grandparents because the family survived. Specifically, Harry survived. And now Harry is joined by the five of you. So long as one of you survives or, dare I say, any child of your family, they remain Potter elves and their child elves are born into House Potter."

"What would've happened if Harry had never – um – received those trunks?" Hermione asked.

"Sadness in time," Dobby said. "Elveses what be bondeds to House Potter, Elveses what be sharings their naming when theys be but babes, theys be bondeds to the House of the Great Harry Potter Sir. When theys betweens childs and fully growed, betweens theirs' twelveses and twenty-firsteds Solstice, theys can chooses to leaves and be trying to be finding new family for bonds. But fews tries that. Only unhappy elveses or unwanted ones will leave the family of their births. Most elveses here would nots be leaving and thens not be bondings. In time, after theys old enough to needs bondings, if they nots be havings one, their magic fades away and when it be gones, Elvses be passing on. Elveses here younger than theirs' fourteenth Solstice nots be having namings with a Potter; they nots be recognized as a Potter and when theys older if nots a Potter and nots another, theys not be bondeds and magic fades. Older elveses not fades, but in time there be no more young ones. Elves live a long time, but not forever and one day in distant future, there nots be enough elvses to keep trunks happy. The gardens turn brown, the rivers and rains stops and rich, green lands turn barren and trunks die and elvses die and it be over for them all, Milady."

There was a long silence as what Dobby had said seemed to sink in. Harry stood and started pacing back and forth, clearly agitated about something. "No!" he exclaimed. "Damn it!"

"Harry!" Hermione began.

"What's the matter?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing!" he said cryptically. His tone was not that of someone saying that nothing was the matter. Something was. "There's nothing!"

"Harry?" Luna asked.

"No déjà vu! Nothing even close. You?" he added looking at Hermione. She shook her head as did Luna.

"I seriously doubt this happened the first time," Daphne began.

"Don't you get it?" Harry said in frustration, although even Daphne realized he was not frustrated with her. "There's nothing! Had I known about the trunks, about those elves there would be something; some sense I was aware of it before even if it has nothing to do with what that other me is trying to tell me. I would have sensed I knew this before somehow! But there's nothing there! Don't you get it?"

The others shook their heads.

"We did whatever we did a long time from now! Eighty years maybe! Dobby? If no one from my family were to ever meet or bond with the elves from those trunks, how many would be left eighty years from now?" This question raised a gasp of understanding from the others.

"Dobby cannot knows such. Not certainsly. The young elves what not be named by a Potter or marrieds or called a Potter Elf, they's be gones long, long befores then. Even the ones not borns yet woulds be gone. Oldest elves may be as well. A thousand? Maybe mores?"

"A thousand and maybe more," Harry repeated. "I know I knew nothing of this! We don't know precisely what happened in that other time, but we do know of the five of you the only one I married was Ginny. That meant that contract was enforced, probably. Maybe I didn't care. Then again, if I didn't know what I was losing why would I? And we now know another result of what Dumbledore's trying to do. A thousand elves. Maybe more! A thousand lives lost 'cause I didn't know and couldn't do anything even if I did! All because that old man wants his dream and does not care what the rest of the world might think of it – unless of course they try to stop him! I can't let him win. I won't. Dobby? How many are fading?"

"It bes too soons, Harry Potter Sir. The ones which nots be bonding have years before theys be in danger."

"Well, I'm not waiting. Not a year, not a week! Can we gather all the elves today?"

The two elves looked at each other. "Dobby cants gathers them, Harry Potter Sir. Dobby be Harry Potter Sir's Head Elf and the elves Harry Potter be bondeds to Dobby cans call. But the others not being Harry Potter Sirs elves yet, Dobby cants be callings them. Harry Potter Sir must be meetings and bondings with the other Head Elves and there be two of thems. Ones be Harry Potter Sir's grandfather's Head Elf and the other Harry Potter Sirs father. We cans see them, but wes must goes to them, Sir. Dobby can drives you to them, Sir."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Um… Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yes?"

"If we're going to meet new elves, I think I and the others should be appropriately attired."

"Agreed," three other voices said.

"Oh pooh!" Luna added. But she did not seem serious.

They stood before a large house. They could not decide if it was a manor or just a large house at least not from the outside. It seemed somewhat smaller than the exterior projection of Harry's place but it was certainly larger looking than the Granger's home near Slough and Daphne and Hannah both agreed it was larger looking than where they lived. But, as they knew with Harry's place, what it looked like from the outside was not all that important here in the trunks.

Dobby told them this was the only residence in the two trunks that had belonged to Harry's grandparents. It was at the end of a long, circular drive amid trees, a closely manicured lawn and clearly formal gardens. They had ridden here from Hermione's Lake in that car like thing Dobby had brought. The roads took them through the gardens they were familiar with and into part of one of the new trunks which had an extension of the vegetable gardens that seemed to extend to the horizon to the east and then a left turn that brought them into the oldest of all the trunks. They passed though grain fields and pastures before entering the rolling hills and vineyard that was adjacent to the gardens and this house. Dobby had told them he chose the most direct route from where they had been to this place. It had given them some idea of just how large their world had become for, although they had no idea how fast Dobby was driving this open topped car, it was much faster than their bicycles and it had still taken a half an hour to get here. As a group and with Dobby, they walked to the front door.

"Should we just walk in?" Harry asked looking at Dobby and the others.

"Why not?" Ginny said. "It is your place too, isn't it?"

"Dobby bes thinkings yous should be knockings, Harry Potter Sir. It be your place, but it be polite for the elves what works here."

Harry chose to knock.

The door opened after a few moments. Before Harry stood a female elf wearing a dress not unlike the ones worn by the female house staff at his manor. The Potter crest was plainly visible about the left breast area. To Harry, this elf looked much older than the elves back "home." He knew he should not be surprised as there had been elves here for forty years or so.

"I'm sorry," the elf said formally. "Master Charlus and Mistress Dorea are no longer with us and the current Lord Potter is not in residence. Good day." She ended with a finality and the door closed.

"Well, that was rather rude," Hermione huffed.

"It was not out of character for House Staff," Hannah said. "It was odd, however. You'd think the elves would know this isn't the outside…"

"And that not just anyone can walk up to the door," Daphne said.

Harry looked at Dobby.

"Dobby can'ts be explaining strange elf. Ladies be rights. Great Harry Potter's staff nots be turnings away guests but be knowings that guests cants be comings and goings neither. Great Harry Potter's elves knows they lives in a trunk and what's nots in the trunks can't be there without Great Harry Potter sayings they cans be. But maybes these elves nots be knowings? Maybe peoples cans be comings and goings? Dobby not finding reasons to thinks peoples cans be comings and goings. Dobby be seeings control rooms of all trunks and whiles theys be differents in lookings from Great Harry Potter Sirs, they be the sames in whats they be doings and there be fews who's ever been allowed access to this trunks, Sir."

"We're here," Hermione noted.

"Trunks be connecteds now," Dobby replied. "Being ables to goes to and out of ones and you cans with all, Lady Hermione. Dobby be goings to talks with Head Elf here. His name is Albert and he'll sorts it. He is a bit … gruff…"

There was a pop and Dobby was gone. There was not much to do but wait and hope Dobby did manage to get it all sorted. None of them knew how to drive that magical car like thing and they all knew it was a long walk back. Several minutes later the door opened again and the same elf greeted them. She apologized claiming she was unaware of an appointment suggesting they had one to begin with. She led them in.

The house seemed very formal to Harry as they walked through a very wide corridor that seemed to run from the front of the house to the back. A wide stair led up one side to the floor about and off either side were various rooms, all of which were filled with stuffy looking furniture and things and while it all looked to be in good condition, it also looked old. He noticed Hermione looking into one of the rooms. When he looked too, he noted a disapproving look on her face and saw why. If he had to guess, that room was the library and while large by some standards it was a broom cupboard compared to the one back at their place. Dobby had claimed he had copied every book House Potter had and it held every book his girls had as well as a copy of any additional books House Abbott had. He did not know how many books they had all told and would only say it was an awful lot, but it was certainly more than there were in this place's library and theirs looked brighter and less stuffy as well.

There were paintings on the walls here. It seemed there were not nearly as many as there were in their home. If there was a noticeable difference, far more of these seemed to be of places rather than portraits. Aside from one sitting room where he recognized the portrait of his Great-grandparents Edward and Chastain Potter who he knew were murdered in 1976 during the war. The group was led to a small office at the back of the house. Inside, an elf was at a desk writing something with a quill.

"Not pleased with you, Lad," the elf growled not looking up. "Your father dead for over a decade and you take your sweet time to get to it and set a new Head Elf over us without such as a by your leave not to mention taking a few hundred acres of good pasture land out of production for an unnecessary lake and river system. You haven't been here in over a decade and… Then again, no one ever said James Potter did sensible…"

"James Potter?" Harry and at least three of his ladies said in unison at the elf who seemed more intent at whatever he was writing. "James Potter was killed almost twelve years ago," Harry said.

The elf looked up. There was a look of surprise on his face for a brief moment, and then it became stern again. "You resemble James Potter, but you sure aren't him. Too short! Too young! Way too young. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Harry Potter," Harry said trying to sound confident. "James was my father, 'though I have no memory of him or my Mum. You want the long or short story as to why I'm here?"

"Son? James Potter had a son? Blimey! Didn't even know the boy was married! Who's yer mum, Lad and where is she? You got business with this estate it should be your regent unless you're young looking for seventeen…"

"Mum's gone too," Harry said trying not to show emotion. "She was Lily Evans…"

"Ah yes. Remember her. James brought a load of friends from school 'round for a visit back the summer before his Seventh Year. Most were forgettable. He'd had that Black lad and Lupin around before. Lupin was the only decent one of that lot if you ask me, but Lord Charlus made plain they were just lads into lads' notions of fun. Mayhem's a better word. Evans … yes, she made an impression. Asked all sorts of interesting questions. To be honest, didn't see her marrying James. She seemed to be too smart, too level headed and too mature for that lot. You said she's dead too? And how old are you, Lad?"

"My parents were murdered Halloween of 1981…"

"Dark times then."

"I just turned thirteen."

"Right, then how'd you get here? Security is such that only the current Lord Potter could grant you access unless…"

"I am the current Lord?" Harry suggested.

"Ya ain't wearin' no Lord's ring…"

"Haven't picked it up yet…"

"And yer too young fer one anyway! Thirteen! Need to be emancipated to…"

"I am emancipated…"

"On what grounds?"

"By virtue of the fact that four of these lovely ladies with me are my wives. May I introduce Lady Hermione, Countess Designate of Finchley; Lady Luna, Countess Designate of Hwicca; Lady Daphne, Countess Designate of Abengale and Lady Hannah, Countess Designate of Godricston. Finally, there's my betrothed Miss Ginny who will become either Countess of Hereford or Baroness of Loch Sheen."

A brief look of surprise passed over the elf's face. After regaining his composure, he stood and bowed to them all. "That would do it. I apologize Sir. I am Albert, Head Elf of the Potter Farm. Been running the place practically since the beginning – over forty years, Sir and when Lord Charlus passed on… Well, I suppose I've let my responsibility for this Potter property get the better of me. I apologize. It was rude of me to think … well, to think this was yet another in a long series of tiring pranks of James Potter. Had I …?"

"How could you?"

"How indeed. What brings you to the Farm, Milord?"

Harry gave the elf a brief rundown of the trunks. "I asked my Head Elf Dobby to see that they were all interconnected."

"Explains why we're under Time Compression without my authorization. Thought the controls were dodgy. Also explains the lake, I guess. But that was good pasture."

"There's plenty more to the north."

"North?"

Harry pointed in the direction that they called north.

"The new lake be necessary for water flow from Great Harry Potter Sirs father's trunks," Dobby added. "Dobby woulds be askings you first, but the other elves not be telling me wheres to finds you and Harry Potter Sir be wanting this done…"

"You don't expect us to talk like that do you?" the older elf asked.

"No. I'm not Dobby's original family. Those slime expected such speech from their elves. I expect elves to sound as smart as they are, but it may take a while, I'm told, for Dobby to get over old habits. Now, as for why I'm here…" he then told Albert about what the elves had told him earlier in the day. "I would like to … well, I don't want elves who don't want to be here, but those who do or who want their children to be recognized, I'd like to get that done."

"Aye," the elf Albert said. "We're not yet in need of such things, you should know. All the older elves who reached adult bonding age since Lord Charlus passed away were born here and had the naming ceremony when they were little. As such, they remained House Potter elves upon attaining such age. Still, I'm sure they'd appreciate it even if magically unnecessary. But, Sir, you must realize there's over two hundred such elves here. There's more than that when you consider those who had not gone through their Naming Rites. Then there's the couples which we elves recognize as married, but House Potter has not … not yet. It'll take hours to go through them all proper. I'm sure the Farm would like to make a to do about it, given all involved. Not something I can see knocked together in an afternoon. Not if you want to do it right, Sir."

Harry nodded. "I'd like that … seeing it done right."

"There be many elveses in the others trunks what needs this too, Harry Potter Sir," Dobby said.

Harry nodded. "That means another Head Elf to talk to, yes?"

Dobby nodded.

"And, I think it would be prudent to allow our staff to be involved as well."

"It be a good idea as theys be Potter elves too, Sir."

They spend a couple of hours talking about the plan for the ceremonies, deciding to hold it at the old farm if for no other reason than it was the most centrally located, not that it really mattered to the Elves who could apparate within the system of Trunks. It was also the first of the Trunk lands which to Harry made it important in a way. They also talked about other things. The most important two were the redistribution of labor as the Old Farm had a significant surplus that could use more work and the other was the status of Albert going forward. It was decided he would become the head farmer with responsibility for all the farmlands with the exception of the Herb Garden which was left to Dobby as the old head had no experience with those crops. All that was left to decide was the date and Albert wanted at least a couple of days to make sure the work was up to speed so that all the elves could attend if they wanted to.

"Anything else we can discuss?" Harry asked.

"Um…," Albert began nervously. "Well, we're hard working elves, Sir. But even we need rest and sleep and with so many elves… The barracks are crowded, Sir."

"Barracks? Show me!"

He was led to the basement of the house and then to a series of doors. Behind each door was what could be described as a small, dark closet with shelves on one side, usually several, and robes hanging from hooks on the other. It reminded Harry of how he lived. It reminded him of the cupboard under the stairs at Privet Drive. It did not matter that this was only used for sleeping.

"NO! No, no, no, no, NO! Dobby?"

"Yes, Harry Potter Sir?"

"You and the others back at the Manor; you don't live like this, do you?"

Dobby's ears drooped hearing the displeasure from Harry. "We's not be havings so manys in each Sleepings Chamber, Sir…"

"But you do use something like this?"

"Yes Sir. Dobby being ashamed if Great Harry Potter is mad. But elves be livings this way for…"

"I don't care how other wizard bastards let or expect you to live! This is unacceptable! My damned Aunt and Uncle made me live this way for years and I'll be damned if I allow anyone to live this way! Do the elf families live this way too?"

Albert nodded.

"NO! This ends now!"

"And where would we sleep then, Sir?" Albert asked cautiously.

"I have five hundred square miles of lands! I'm sure I can afford to give up a few hundred acres or even more for a village. I want cottages. You can make them elf sized, but they must have bedrooms and a living area and a garden. Each family's to have their own cottage."

"And those elves who do not yet have a mate or young ones?"

"Blocks of flats," Harry said. "None of this rubbish!" he added waiving at the closet. "Proper elf sized beds and no more than two to a room with a living area. You can build those at the center of the village. Maybe over shops and stuff where elves can get their clothes or whatnot? And there should be a large … I don't know … meeting house? Church like place? Some place where the whole village can gather for naming ceremonies and such. Whatever, but no more cupboards! I want that village to be your top priority!"

The village would be built not far from where they were at a location where all of the "Processing" facilities for the old farm were located. That location had a meat packing plant, flour mill, dairy, a small cannery, a bakery, as well as the brewery, distillery and winery and Harry ordered that all such structure be relocated there as well. He put Albert in charge of the project adding that it was for all the elves of the combined Manors and would serve the entire estate. He wanted it done yesterday. He would soon learn just how quick a project this could be for a thousand or more eager elves. His ladies said nothing. Each in their own way understood this. If helping the elves helped Harry get over his past, it had to be a good thing.

Harry and the others went back to the car and Dobby drove them away. He did not turn towards their home, but in the opposite direction towards the mountains to the south. After almost a half an hour, they crested a rise and saw a second lake (the first apparently was the "bottom" of one of the farms' water system and the top of the others). The lake was longer than it was wide and they were at one end, the other end was flanked by towering mountains. They were entering what they could call the Valley – the southernmost trunks and the lands that had belonged to Harry's parents.


	25. Chapter 25: Past Becomes Present

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Seems time flies so to get through this next bit, another two for the price of one...

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: PAST BECOMES PRESENT**

**Saturday, July 31****st**** 1993**

If his life could become any less normal, Harry could not see how. He was standing in a bedroom in a cottage in the mountain valley that had been his parents' trunk. The Head Elf of these trunks had led them here as soon as the introductions were in order telling Harry that he was needed for there was something that needed to be done and he was the only person alive who could do it. What he saw could not be possible. Given what he had heard about his father both from Albert down at the farm and at Hogwarts, he thought this was a prank. But if it was, it was the cruelest prank ever and if it was not, well it had to be because the other possibilities were impossible.

The cottage was located high in the valley as far down the valley as one could go by road. It was in a meadow in the forest, for much of the valley and the mountain sides themselves were forest. There were meadows here and there from the lake down below to where the cottage was located. At the lake, there had been a four story building that Dobby explained was a guest house. It had thirty guest rooms on the upper three floors and lounges and a large dining room on the ground floor. There had been some small docks with boats – obviously for boating – and across the road from the lake was the Quidditch Pitch and what looked like a golf course at the edge of the Valley forest. From that guest house, the road followed the river up the valley. They would learn that this river dropped some two hundred and fifty meters in the seven miles from the head of the valley to the lake so it was mostly rapids and waterfalls. What everyone did agree upon was that the valley was very pretty and the river gave it a wilderness feel.

At the high end of the Valley was a cottage another guest house with thirty rooms and stables with real horses. By now they were not surprised about livestock as the pastures had plenty of cows or sheep. Some of the trees had been removed from the sides of the mountains in the area. They were told these were the ski fields which they could use in the winter. The cottage reminded Hermione of pictures she had seen of mountain dwellings in Switzerland. It was the smallest building they had seen so far, although Harry was sure it was larger than the Dursley home. This had been where his parents had lived when they stayed here and a part of him wondered how long they had, why they were not here that terrible night, and what life would have been like had they lived here or holidayed here when he was young. Nothing he had seen had prepared him for what he saw on the cottage's upper floor and neither had the Valley's Head Elf Albert (son of the Farm's Head Elf Albert).

There was a large bed in what Harry supposed was the Master Bedroom. It was not as large as his own bed back at the Manor, then again he suspected his bed was as large as it was to accommodate him and all of his wives should they choose to sleep together, which they had. Ginny was also sharing that bed and had been since the beginning of their trip to France. She had said it kept her nightmares away – nightmares that forced her to relive the horrors of the last year almost every night. The others could understand this and allowed her to sleep there for now. It was understood she would probably have to return to her own bed once higher levels of intimacy began at least until she reached such levels with Harry as well. For now, sleeping with Harry was just that – sleeping.

This bed clearly was not intended to sleep a family such as Harry's. But it was not the bed that had Harry's attention. It was what was on the bed. Had Harry ever been to Madam Tussauds Wax Museum in London, he might have assumed the supine figures were something like that: lifelike recreations of two people, but not real. He recognized the two people. He had no memory of meeting them before, but knew he had to have when he was little. He knew who they were – or at least who these two figures resembled. He had pictures in albums with them in it. There was the collection of photographs he had received from Hagrid a little over a year ago and, more recently, the album Hermione's mother had made for them of the photos from when he, Hermione and Luna had been together as infants. There was also the portrait of these two figures that hung in his private Sitting Room. Of all the magical portraits in the Manor, it was the one he most hoped would "wake up." Several portraits had fallen asleep over the last couple of weeks indicating they were absorbing the magic necessary to animate them and activate their "memories," but that one remained a portrait. He had not thought it odd and still did not. But to see those figures lying on the bed looking almost as if they were asleep was not what he expected. He looked closely at each of them. He was certain they were not breathing. There was also an empty crib in the room. He wondered what that was about.

"It can't be," he said quietly after it had all sunk in. "My parents? Why are they here?"

It was just Harry and the younger Albert. Albert had asked his ladies to remain downstairs where they were enjoying tea. "Indeed, Sir," Albert replied.

"Are they dead? Why are they here? They died that night! Everyone knows that!"

"I have no knowledge about that, Sir," Albert replied. "They had only been here a handful of times, things being what they were. The last time they were here, you were not yet a year old and they were only here for a day or so. Lady Lily said you missed your friends. Then they were here like this and you were not with them."

"Are they dead? They're not breathing…"

"Not dead," Albert said. "Not alive either. They're in stasis. We were able to check them over. We found some … some things. But otherwise they don't seem to be injured in any way. Still, nothing we've done can revive them. We don't know why. And there's one other thing which we think is important," Albert added pointing to the nightstand nearest the young woman. "We can't touch it for some reason."

Harry walked over cautiously. He was too stunned to truly react or even think about this. On the nightstand was an envelope and upon it was written: _Padfoot and/or Mooney._ Harry picked it up.

"Interesting," Albert said. Harry turned and looked at the elf. "All these years … we all wondered what she had written. Perhaps it explains. But we could not touch it for some reason. Odd that you can, Sir. Perhaps the magic allows that? But as you can see, it is not addressed to you…"

"Who then are Padfoot and Mooney?" Harry asked.

"Wizards," Albert said. "Very close friends of your parents. It was their – um – private names. Padfoot is your Godfather Sirius Black and Mooney is their other best friend named Remus Lupin. We guess Mr. James and Mistress Lily expected them to come here, but they never have."

"Don't know about this Lupin fellow," Harry commented. "Black's been in prison since not long after my parents were – well whatever it was that happened." Harry opened the letter and read:

_21 December 1980_

_Dearest Friends:_

_A few weeks ago Albus Dumbledore convinced James to accept his offer of a safe house. I still don't understand it. It still strikes me as unnecessary given the protections on Potter Manor and the protection on the Valley. Voldemort and a world filled with Death Eaters could never get to us were we to live here in the Valley. You know why we chose not to. But that still does not explain why James agreed to the safe house. Dumbledore says he'll be by tomorrow to escort us there and despite my misgivings, James seems set on going. Something is off._

_If you are reading this then we were betrayed. James never trusted Dumbledore and neither do I. As you know, we joined his Order not out of any faith in him, but because the Order is the only group truly standing against Voldemort. It was the lesser of two evils. James's sudden change of heart – it is unnatural. It is disconcerting. I suspect something has been done and fear it will be done to me as well. If you are reading this, my fears were not unfounded and my contingency plan has become necessary._

_James does not know of my plan. His change of heart regarding Dumbledore tells me he cannot be trusted with this plan, even if it is the only way to protect us. I cast a spell on us. Found it in the Potter Archives. Some might call it Dark – I'm sure Dumbledore would. Blood was required and the so called light see any blood magic as dark without regard to what that magic can actually do. Sometimes the logic of wizards crosses the line to sheer lunacy, if you ask me._

_Without going into the complexities of the magic, the spell is a form of Switching Spell. It does not take effect until something triggers it. In this case, the trigger is any magical attack against us with lethal intent. In theory, the Killing Curse would trigger the spell and once triggered we are replaced Outside with a doppelganger of sorts. In our cases, they are dead, transfigured pigs that as I write this are held in stasis. I used pigs because they can hold such transfiguration far longer than any other animal aside from another human or primate. The attacker will assume we are dead as will the rest of the world unless the fake bodies are kept for several weeks and we know that this will not be the case. The drawback to the spell is that the real us will replace the transfigured pigs as well and we will be in stasis until revived._

_Actually, there are two drawbacks. Revival cannot be done by normal means. It too requires blood. There is a rune on the door to this bedroom. To revive the three of us you need to place a drop of Harry's blood on the rune. You will find a vial of the blood in the potions cabinet in the basement here for you can't draw the blood while we are in stasis. Once we are revived, you will need to give us – force us if necessary – to take a Flushing Draught. The only thing I can think of that could cause James to change his opinion of Dumbledore is a type of Loyalty Potion. I fear Dumbledore will get it into me sooner rather than later. Many might argue it could be the Imperius Curse, but we know that's all but useless on a Potter for some reason._

_Thank you in advance for restoring us to our lives and helping us free from that man's (and I use the term loosely) schemes._

_Lily_

Harry was too conflicted to say anything so he did the only thing he could think of: he handed the letter to Albert. His parents were alive? Could it be possible? But then, why wasn't he here? Why did he not join them this way? He wondered who the other friend was and why that friend had never revived the parents. He was furious at Dumbledore. The man was not only conspiring to steal the life he was supposed to have but had gone so far as to steal the life he might already have had. He was supposed to grow up with Hermione and Luna and those memory charms had ripped that away. But this? Was he trying to get his parents killed? Harry thought that possible if the political theory was the truth. But doing so in a way that might have ended House Potter forever? Dumbledore wanted control of the House and its votes and were House Potter totally destroyed, those votes would be lost to him. What really happened back then?

"This explains things," Albert noted after a time.

"It does?" Harry said. He was trying to get control of his emotions. He wanted to laugh. Something about this had to be funny. He wanted to cry his eyes out for so many years had been taken from him and arguably from Hermione and Luna as well. It did not matter that things worked out in the end because he knew from the Tennyson / Flamels that they were not supposed to have worked out at all. He wanted to scream and rage. All of this was the fault of one man. And for what? What was so bloody important that lives had been ruined left and right? He tried to remain calm.

"Aye," Albert the Younger replied. "We did not understand how they arrived here or why we could not revive them. There were, as this letter suggests, three pigs in stasis in the basement and there's only one down there now."

"But why are they here and I … and I was not?"

"I cannot answer that with certainty, Master Harry. I know nothing about the magic Mistress Lily may have used. Based on the letter, I can only guess."

"Guess then," Harry snapped. He did not mean to. It was not the elf's fault. The conflicting emotions were hard to control.

The elf appeared startled for a moment but then seemed to understand the sniping was not truly directed at him. "Mistress Lily says the trigger for the magic was a spell cast with lethal intent. Such magics as this are … temperamental. Perhaps, the trigger required more than just intent of the caster? Perhaps the magic used had to be truly lethal such that if Mistress Lily's spell was not there, they would have died then and there. And perhaps whatever might have been cast upon you even if intended as lethal, could not have killed you. It's just a guess."

"I suppose it makes sense," Harry sighed. "We'll never really know, will we?" he added rhetorically. "Can they be…"

"I cannot say, Sir," Albert replied. "We have to trust that Mistress Lily knew what she was doing. All we can do now is try."

Harry nodded. "You have a knife around here? I left my wand back at the Manor."

"A knife?"

"It said that my blood is needed," Harry began.

"Master Harry, that rune was set up twelve years ago. Blood magic is very sensitive. It's entirely possible that only the blood from the vial the letter speaks of will work. After twelve years, there may be changes however small that would ensure the rune does not work as intended. Even a change in hormonal balance could affect the outcome and you are old enough that it is likely there has been such a change of some sort. I will retrieve the vial and … well, seeing how Mistress Lily thought this through I have no doubt there are vials of Flushing Potion in storage as well. Perhaps you should wait with your ladies?"

"Why?"

"I cannot say how long this will take assuming it works. They might revive immediately or it might take time. The Flushing Draught takes time, possibly hours, to do its job and during that time … well, they will be violently ill. They then will need time to freshen up and…"

Harry nodded. "I'll wait with my ladies."

"If this lasts late into the evening, I will instruct the staff to ready rooms for you and your ladies across the road in the Guest House, if that's okay with you, Sir."

"Fine."

Moments later, Harry had returned to the Parlor downstairs where his Ladies had been waiting. He sat in the remaining empty tears and immediately burst into tears.

Harry Potter did not cry. It was a lesson he learned early on living with his vile relatives. They enjoyed it when they got him to cry, but only for a few seconds. Then, they seemed bent on punishing him more. He learned that crying never solved anything and only made things worse and given that his relatives took pleasure in his misery he was determined from an early age not to give them that satisfaction. But this did not mean he never felt like crying or was without emotions. Quite the contrary, he felt at least as keenly as anyone. He just learned to hide it. Deep down he knew this was a mistake because he knew he could not keep it bottled up forever and when it did break to the surface, it was not pleasant for him or anyone else for that matter. Crying from sadness, frustration, confusion or pain remained locked away. Rage and the resulting bouts of accidental magic were the replacement and arguably were far worse for Harry than having a good cry at a young age. His weeks with his ladies had softened his emotional barriers so now he cried. He did not know for how long. Oddly, he felt better when it ended. Of course, it helped that he had five pretty girls for whom he cared deeply doing their best to comfort him even if they did not understand what had caused his long overdue breakdown.

When he finally regained his composure, he explained what had happened. Needless to say, they were stunned.

"They're alive?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I only know what the letter said and what I saw which was the two of them in that bed. They weren't breathing. They might be…"

"If they're in stasis they wouldn't be breathing," Daphne observed. "And if they're alive this is going to be at least as much of a shock for them as it was for you, Harry. Maybe even more so."

"Oh?"

"A stasis charm stops time," Daphne explained. "They have not aged a second since it activated. To them, their last memory would be of whatever it was that triggered that magic. What happened that night did not happen twelve years ago for them. It happened in their last blink of an eye. They'll have no memory of time passing. Their only 'new' memories will be whatever it is they go through after reviving. Then, they'll come down stairs and see a thirteen year old boy and not the toddler they remember. They may well be more confused about this than you are."

"Makes sense," Harry said.

"Perhaps we should ease them into it?" Luna suggested. She then explained what she meant. When she was done, Dobby popped back to the Manor to gather some things and returned within a couple of minutes.

"Milord?" a voice called. Harry and the others saw Albert standing in the doorway. "The magic seems to have worked, Milord. Master James and Mistress Lily are reviving as we speak. As soon as they were able, we gave them the Flushing Draughts."

"So there were potions?" Harry asked.

The elf nodded. "As the letter stated, Sir. A very, very powerful and persistent loyalty potion. I cannot say to whom it was keyed."

"Three guesses and the first two don't count," Hannah growled. There were no takers.

"The effects of the flushing are … predictable," Albert continued. "I cannot say how long before they can join you."

"Effects," Harry asked. It took all of his willpower to keep from running up the stairs.

"Flushing Draughts are a nasty business," Albert said.

"Opens you up at both ends," Daphne said. "The potion tries to force all others out of your system as quickly as possible. You lose all control of bodily functions. It is, you can imagine, very messy, very disgusting."

"Um, right."

"Not a good way to remember anyone – wallowing in their own filth," Hannah remarked.

"Oh," Harry said with a smirk, "I don't know. Malfoy? Snape?"

"Much as the idea has some merit," Daphne said, "I wouldn't want to actually see it … or smell it come to think of it."

The others agreed, although Harry did wonder if it could be possible to spike their pumpkin juice with something like that. It was a surprisingly pleasant thought for a moment.

"So – um – how do we handle this?" Ginny asked. "I mean when they come down?"

"Wing it," Harry replied immediately.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded.

"Go with my strengths. You know things work out better if I don't plan ahead."

"Okay, example?"

"Norbert."

"What's a Norbert?" Hannah asked stating the question on the minds of all of the girls not named Hermione.

"Hagrid's pet dragon," Harry replied.

"He doesn't have a pet dragon," Ginny countered.

"He did. Spring of First Year," Harry said. "Quirrell gave him the egg to entice him to spill about how to get passed Fluffy."

"Okay, what's a Fluffy?" Daphne asked.

"Cerberus," Hermione replied. "It was a huge, three headed and bad tempered dog guarding that corridor on the Third Floor our First Year. They're said to be the guardians of the Underworld and it was guarding a trap door that led to chambers below the castle. Hagrid thinks it's a nice little doggy."

Harry snorted. "Hagrid's idea of a good pet are a normal person's idea of a nightmare. Anyway, Hagrid got this dragon's egg and hatched it in his hut…"

"Is he crazy? The place is made of wood!" Hannah exclaimed.

"No doubt, he's a little off," Hermione agreed. "Nice enough, but a little off."

"And we came up with a plan to get the dragon away from Hogwarts and keep Hagrid out of trouble. Didn't work out so well."

"Oh?" a few asked in unison.

"Got rid of the dragon easy enough. Ginny's brother Charlie and a few of his friends took it away. But we got caught. Lost loads of points."

"Everyone wondered what it was you lot were doing," Daphne said. "They lost fifty points each," she added for Ginny's benefit.

"So did Malfoy who ratted us out," Harry said. "McGonagall was rather put out about the whole thing … and she knew nothing 'bout the dragon as far as we know. Hermione and I managed to get it up to the Astronomy Tower. Neville Longbottom got dragged into it 'cause he was trying to keep us out of trouble. Ron would've helped, but the blighter bit him a few days earlier and he was still in the Hospital Wing. Had it all planned out, we did. And it went pear shaped faster than you can say Quidditch. Then there's the polyjuice potion…"

"Fine!" Hermione huffed. "See if I ever plan anything again!"

"Sorry," Harry said. "You were the only one who came up with any sort of plan. Ron and I were at a loss as to what to do and it's not like either of us had a better idea or could see the problems…"

"Polyjuice Potion?" Hannah asked. "What could you possible do with that?"

"How'd you get it?" Daphne asked. "And why?"

"Hermione made it," Harry said with more than a hint of pride in his voice, something not lost on Hermione. "Last year," he added.

"You made Polyjuice Potion as a Second Year?" Daphne gasped. "That's beyond N.E.W.T.s! Did it work?"

"Course it worked," Hermione huffed as if to say it was obvious.

"Well, mostly. We figured if anyone knew who the Heir of Slytherin was it'd be Malfoy. Also figured he'd never tell us a thing. But he'd tell a Slytherin. Ron and I changed into Crabbe and Goyle and Hermione was supposed to change into Bulstrode but…"

"It was a cat hair," Hermione said. "Took if off her robes when there was that dueling club and we went at each other like … how was it put … common muggles. Already had the idea about tricking Malfoy, but it was a cat hair."

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"She became cat-girl," Harry chuckled.

Hermione blushed. "And it's not designed for that – the potion I mean. I was all furry, had a tail and all that. Licked myself in embarrassing places. And it did not wear off on its own like it's supposed to. Took Madam Pomfrey a month to get it all sorted out and I still had hairballs for a bit."

"She was a cute kitty," Harry chided. "Pity I don't have a picture of that."

"Hush you!" Hermione blushed. "It was a good plan as was the Norbert one. It just didn't go as planned."

"Little margin for error," Daphne nodded. "Seems if there is an error, it's bound to go pear shaped. Should've had back-ups and back-ups for the back-ups. Needed more flexibility, I should think. It was like Draco's plan for the wizard's duel with Harry. It assumed everything would work as Draco thought it would and it didn't and when it didn't there was no way to recover."

"Or his plan to rat us out," Harry sniggered. "He assumed McGonagall would overlook that he was breaking the same rules we were breaking. Little Ponce lost fifty point as well."

"And got locked in a closet for a day," Daphne said. "The upper years were less than thrilled at his mistake and its cost. Whined to his Daddy, he did. You should've heard the howler he got for that one! Daddy said he should spend another day locked in a closet which the upper years were all too eager to oblige."

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Hannah laughed.

Harry and Hermione then began to truly tell the others of their adventures over the last two years. They had told much of it before, but only in bits and pieces and what had seemed to the others to have been isolated incidents and perhaps incredible bad luck on Harry's part seeing as few students ever had such adventures at school now appeared to be part of a pattern and not the kind of pattern any of them liked. When coupled with what the Flamels had told them a month or so ago, they now understood that prophecies were best left alone. There were two powerful wizards bent on a prophecy and in seeing it fulfilled as they would wish. The fact that Harry seemed to be at the center of it mattered not at all just as neither really cared one whit as to what Harry might want for a life. Still, as ominous as were the implications of everything, the stories were amusing or at least they were told that way. They had no idea how long the story telling had gone on nor did they care as they were all enjoying it whether it was the telling, the listening or the running commentary.

"WHERE'S HARRY?" a woman's voice shrieked from up the stairs. "WHERE'S OUR SON?" There was a pause, almost as if someone else was talking yet the voice could not be heard. "DOWNSTAIRS? THIS IS NO TIME FOR ONE OF THEIR PRANKS! WHERE'S MY WAND? THOSE TWO WILL LEARN A FEW HEXES THEY'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF!" There was another pause. "FINE! I DON'T NEED MAGIC TO MAKE THEM WISH THEY'D NEVER BEEN BORN!"

"I take it that must be your mother," Daphne said to Harry.

"And I thought my Mum had a pair of lungs," Ginny added. "She could learn a thing or two from that one."

"Maybe I should've just left them," Harry said although he did not mean it.

"Oh?"

"Howlers. Bloody hate those things."

"Wish you had a plan now?" Hermione asked.

"If I did, it just went pear shaped," Harry replied. "Time to wing it," he added as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

A red haired woman in her early twenties all but stormed into the room. There was no look of recognition in her eyes when she saw the boy and the girls. She looked around as if there might be someone else there, before focusing her glare on the children.

"Where is he?" she growled. "What have you done with my son?"

"Lils?" a voice asked. A young man who looked not unlike an older version of Harry had entered the room as well with a confused look on his face.

"What have you done with my son?" the woman repeated stepping towards Harry. There was a loud pop and she was thrown back and stuck to the wall behind her.

An elf now stood between Harry and the woman. "You will not harm Harry Potter," the elf said in a dark voice. The woman was in no position to argue and even assuming she was capable of responding, she seemed to be either tongue tied or silenced.

"You would be well advised," a blonde haired young woman said, "that Dobby here is most enthusiastic when it comes to looking out for his family."

"Quite creative," another of the girls said.

"Hah!" the boy laughed. "Vicious is a better word! You all should've seen what he did to my Aunt and Uncle. Not that they didn't deserve it or more, come to think about it."

"Who are you?" the man asked. "Where's my son and why is my wife stuck to the wall." He might have done more than just ask questions were it not for the elf with a very determined and mischievous expression glaring at him. "And why did that elf call you Harry Potter?"

"To answer your first and last question," Harry said, "he called me that 'cause it's my name."

"It can't be! Harry's only fifteen months old." It was the woman on the wall who spoke.

Harry looked at Dobby. The elf shrugged. "Loud lady be Great Harry Potters Mum. Dobby not be thinkings she be like nasty muggleses, but she be angry and she not be knowing her own son so she be stucks to wall 'til she be calms down." There were some sniggering at the "loud lady" remark. "She be talkings 'cause she be calmings down."

"Thanks Dobby," Harry said to the elf.

"It can't be," the woman said again. Her feet were almost on the ground.

"I was fifteen months old once," Harry said. "Certainly didn't start life this age. But that was a long time ago. I have no memory of that time."

"Long time?" the woman asked. Her feet were now on the ground but she still was not moving from the wall.

Harry nodded. "Whatever happened to you happened on October 31st 1981. Today is July 31st, 1993."

The woman slumped. "Twelve years? But … but how?"

"The staff elves could not release either of you from stasis," one of the young women said. This one had brown, bushy hair. "We think the stasis charm was somehow connected to whatever spell you used to evade an untimely death. As far as the Wizarding World is concerned, James and Lily Potter died that night."

"And if they were in stasis, their magical signature would be repressed to a point where it would not register," a blonde young witch added. "It may well have been recorded as a death and so long as they remained in stasis and undiscovered, there would be no reason to suspect otherwise."

"But … but why not Harry as well? That spell was supposed to protect all of us," the woman said, now free from the wall and sinking into a chair that another elf had provided for her.

"We don't really know what happened that night," Harry said. "The Wizarding World believes I survived the Killing Curse. From what I understand, unless there was another witness there's no way to know that. We think someone may have made that up for some reason. Now, given what your letter said, had I really been hit with that curse I'd have been in the room upstairs under stasis with you two. Assuming I was hit with a spell, it may be that the spell was not lethal and yet somehow something happened that blew the attacker to bits. We don't know what or how nor do I really care."

"I think a proper introduction is in order before we get to involved in figuring out just what is going on," James Potter said.

"Sorry," Harry said. "Still getting used to this polite stuff. It wasn't as if I had a proper upbringing," he added getting some chuckles from the girls. "I am Harry James Potter, born July 31st 1980 and supposedly orphaned October 31st, 1981. This is my bondmate and wife, the former Miss Hermione Granger. My other bondmate and wife, the former Miss Luna Lovegood. My other wife, the former Miss Daphne Greengrass. My wife and consort, Lady Hannah Abbott and last but not least, my betrothed Ginny, formerly Ginevra Weasley and now Virginia Potter."

"Well, at least one thing went as hoped seeing as you were raised with Luna and Hermione," Lily began.

"I wasn't," Harry said. "Didn't know either until Hogwarts or at least I have no memory of them nor they of me."

"Then who raised you?" Lily asked. "You were supposed to go to them or your Godfather or…"

"I was supposed to go just about anywhere except where I did," Harry said. "Dumbledore took advantage of things for some reason and left me with the Dursleys…"

"That was the one place you were never supposed to go!" Lily protested. "My sister hates magic and her husband…"

"No need to get started on them," Harry said. "There are reasons for it, but those reasons cannot be fully believed given how kind they were to me, as in not at all."

"If they harmed a hair on your head…"

"They have their uses," Harry said shrugging it off. "Besides, something tells me whatever you could plan could in no way be anywhere near as cruel as what Dobby did to them when I asked him to deal with the situation."

"What did your elf do?" James asked.

"Dobby broke all nasty muggleses things," Dobby said. "And fixes thems and breaks thems again and again."

"Um … doesn't sound so cruel," James said cautiously.

"Dobby considered 'things' broadly," Harry said. "I didn't tell him what to do. I just wanted them to understand in no uncertain terms that things had changed and they had no choice but to do as I wanted them to do. Among the things Dobby broke over and over again was just about every bone in their bodies."

"Your elf attacked a human?" James paled.

"My elf did what was necessary for his House," Harry replied clearly unrepentant. "It may have been a bit extreme, but considering my life with them maybe not so extreme as they only suffered for a few hours."

"You had them killed?"

"What fun is that? They're of no use to me dead."

"That sounds rather dark," James began.

"You didn't live with them," Harry replied. "We've come to an arrangement. They ignore my existence and remain where they are until I tell them otherwise and I don't set Dobby on them again or break them financially or turn them over to the Goblins as thieves or…"

"You set an elf on a Human?"

"Is that a problem?"

"It's not done!"

"Which means it's what Harry does," Luna said. "Harry does that which is not done or which should be impossible. That's just another day for him."

"I don't know whether I should take that as a compliment or not," Harry began.

"Oh tosh! Name another twelve year old wizard who killed a sixty foot basilisk," Hermione countered.

"What?" the older two Potters exclaimed.

"Better yet, any wizard who's three and naught against Voldemort," Ginny said.

"Might even be five and naught if you count the Quidditch match First Year and the Forbidden Forest," Harry added with a tone as if this was nothing.

"You don't really mean Voldemort himself, do you?" Lily asked.

"He does," Hermione said.

"My word!"

"And with all that going on, you still managed to have a love life?" James asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Not on purpose. Things just worked out that way. I didn't know any of these lovely ladies before starting Hogwarts. I met Hermione on the Express before first year and Luna just before the end of this year. I knew the other three, but never really spoke with them until after it was all signed and all that. Found out about the bonds and contracts at the beginning of this year's summer holiday and after our bonds began to form. It's a long story."

"It's not like we have plans," James Potter said.

Over the course of dinner and into the evening, Harry and the others told the older Potters about all that had happened and all that they had learned since the summer began with one exception: the Flamels and future knowledge were not included. They would learn of it sooner or later, but it was not important at this time.

"But none of this makes any sense," Lily complained much later. "Why would he use those potions on us to place us in hiding as he did? If he did this to gain control of House Potter votes…?"

"That was later," Harry said. "That was after the world thought you were dead."

"I don't think the two plots are related that way," Daphne added. "The earlier was one of two possibilities. Don't know enough about Dumbledore to say which one was the real one. One was that he was setting House Potter up for annihilation. That is possible based upon the circumstances and what happened, but for his political goals it seems foolish. Everyone knew you were under his protection and had it even looked like a set up, the entire Wizengamot would've turned on him for one reason or another. It would be viewed as an illegal line war. That and what could he gain? All but one of House Potter votes are tied to hereditary titles, titles that would die with the line. True, it would weaken the Moderates, but it would cripple the Liberals completely and that assumes that he didn't wind up in prison for his actions. No, I think the safe house and loyalty potions were not about those politics, rather about that Prophecy."

"Oh?" several asked.

"Dumbledore gained a lot of political power when he defeated Grindelwald. He might have become Headmaster of Hogwarts in any event, but all he was politically was a leader in a minor fringe faction. He would never have been considered for the position of Chief Warlock or Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W. had he not defeated Grindelwald. But that's yesterday's news and it's not like there're any other shining stars in his Liberal faction."

"A cabal of kooks, my Daddy says," Luna added. "Then again, Daddy favors the Moderates."

"So, we have this One of the Prophecy seemingly destined to defeat Voldemort," Daphne continued. "Assuming there's any validity to it, only the One can do so. And Dumbledore knew all too well what kind of political capital that would have and both of the boys who best fit what he knew were from staunch Moderate families. So, maybe he thought that by controlling or even preventing the rise of the One, he could prevent loss of prestige to a rival faction. He might one day say that even though it was the One who struck the blow, without his guidance it would have been for naught. That's just a guess, but it makes more sense than planning for his own political demise."

"And what happened afterwards?" James asked. "It was not related?"

"An opportunity presented itself," Harry replied. "We don't think it had crossed his mind at all until you two supposedly died leaving me as an orphan. There had been no effort to even prepare to gain control over me or my House prior to then. According to the Goblins, Dumbledore did not see them about the Weasley Contract or his Guardianship over me until after that night and those documents were executed within days. Hence, he missed the loopholes which we were able to exploit this summer. Had that been his plan from the beginning, we think he would've done a better job of it. I would not have been at such risk that night and he would've closed off any and all loose ends."

"It's still politics," Ginny countered.

"True," Hannah agreed. "But I think they're right. While the end goal was the same – advancement of the Liberal agenda and whatever the so called Greater Good is – the schemes are not the same and cannot work together the way I see it."

"This should never have happened," Lily Potter growled. "Where's Sirius? Where's Remus?"

"Um…," Harry began. "No idea who this Remus person is. I never heard the name before Albert showed me that letter. As for Sirius Black, until very recently he was almost as unavailable as the two of you were."

"What do you mean?" his parents asked.

"Until a couple of weeks ago, Sirius Black was in prison."

"Prison?" James asked. "As in Azkaban Prison? What the bloody hell for?"

"I always told you those pranks would bite you in the end," Lily tried to joke. No one, not even Lily Potter found it funny.

"According to the Daily Prophet, Sirius betrayed the Potter family to Voldemort," Hermione said. "Then after the deed was done, he went off and snuffed a war hero and a dozen muggles with a single spell and bragged about it. Of course each article since adds to the notoriety. He's now said to be the real Dark Lord or at least the designated successor to Voldemort and any other vile thing you can think of."

"But that's impossible! He's your Godfather!" Lily protested.

"If Black's a Death Eater or Dark Lord, I'm a girl," James Potter added trying to be cheeky.

"Don't even think about proving you're not!" Lily said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Hermione said. "Speaking as one of Harry's wives I think I speak for all of us we'd rather see only one naked male. And before you ask, we haven't seen one yet."

"I have," Ginny said. "Six older brothers," she explained for the benefit of the older Potters. "But I agree. No more naked boys not named Harry Potter and not before I'm properly married to the same."

"In other words," Lily began.

"I was not planning on dropping my trousers!" James protested. "I was just saying Sirius is no Death Eater! How did this happen?"

"We know he had no trial," Hannah said. "Mum and I went to the Ministry and got loads of stuff 'bout what happened back then. He was at the scene of the explosion. Didn't deny anything. Then again, aside from admitting he was hoping to kill Peter Pettigrew, he didn't admit to anything either. He got chucked into Azkaban based upon some Emergency Decree and was supposed to get some kind of trial, if only to determine the sentence and close out any cases he may have been responsible for. It never happened for some reason. We have the supposed confession. It might have been enough to see him arrested under that Decree, but Mum says he could never have been convicted on it. They had no other evidence aside from Dumbledore saying he was your Secret Keeper…"

"He had been," Lily admitted.

"We changed it," James said. "Dumbledore was not there when we switched. Pettigrew was supposed to tell him of the change."

"When was that?"

"We made the switch a few days before Voldemort invited himself over for tea," James replied. "The rat sold us out!"

"Wait," Lily said, "you said Sirius was in prison until recently. Did the Ministry finally wise up?"

"You're kidding, right?" Hannah laughed. "The Ministry can do no wrong! Just ask them!"

"But…,"

"If what I understand of this Black person is correct," Luna said, "I'd say that he'd say he felt he had paid his debt to society and therefore released himself on his own recognizance."

James Potter laughed. "How'd he manage that? No one's ever escaped before! Now that's one prank for the ages!"

"Unfortunately, no one's laughing," Harry said. He pulled from the file a newspaper. "Yesterday's edition of the Daily Prophet," he explained. "Seems the Ministry can't find the humor in the escape."

James and Lily read the article. "But they can't," James began.

"It seems they can," Harry said. "They've authorized lethal force. They've put a price on his head! Snuff him and prove that you did and turn over the body, and you get fifty thousand Galleons!"

"He's as good as dead," James said.

"We don't think so," Harry said with an odd tone in his voice. "We have a plan which we will put in play before the summer is out. One way or another it will succeed."

"One way or another?" James asked hopefully.

"One way, Sirius Black is exonerated. The other way, he lives where the Ministry and all its Galleons can't touch him and the Minister for Magic and anyone affiliated with him stand trial for attempted Line Theft. And the third way is Sirius is free and the Minister and his friends are in the dock." And then Harry told his parents the plan.

They all retired for the evening once the plan had been discussed. It was very late and Harry and his girls crossed over to the Guest House to spend the night. It was not quite the same as there was no bed large enough for all of them. They had a room with two large beds, so they shoved the beds together and asked Dobby to transform the two mattresses into one for their stay. It worked out well enough, but all would still prefer the bed back home. They had breakfast the next morning at the cottage where on Hermione's suggestion they avoided discussing anything that had been mentioned the day before. This did not leave much, until Ginny reminded them that Harry did play Quidditch. Lily seemed tolerant of this discussion and seemed to be of the same opinion about the sport as Hermione was. James, however, was thrilled to learn that his son was the youngest player in over a century and had played as a First Year even if Harry was a Seeker. This led to a discussion as to Seeker bias which both Harry and James explained to the ladies. James was surprised that Harry agreed with the concept as in his experience most Seekers thought it was much ado about nothing.

"To be honest," Harry said, "the only reason I play is I like flying. If I wasn't on the team, I'd have few opportunities seeing as I can't fly on holiday and certainly not like that. The Seeker ruins it for everyone, you ask me."

"Why do you say that?" Lily asked.

"Look, you can justify calling the game when the Snitch is caught," Harry said. "But to award a hundred and fifty points? In most cases, the rest of the team can sit out the game on the bench. Whatever they do means nothing in the end. Strikes me that long ago the wizards combined two games into one and made a mess of them both."

"I never met a Seeker who thought that way," James began.

"You're making that mistake again, Mr. Potter," Luna said in a lyrical voice.

"Please, call me something else," James said.

"James, we are Harry's parents," Lily observed.

"Biologically, yes," James replied. "But we've been absentee parents all these years even if it wasn't our plan or even our fault. We're only seven year older than Harry now, not twenty as we once were. Besides, she says 'Mr. Potter' and I keep looking for a Professor."

Harry laughed the loudest at that statement.

"Well, what should I call you?" Luna asked. "Daddy sounds wrong to me. I mean my Daddy's still alive even if Mum is not."

"She's not?" Lily gasped.

Luna shook her head.

"What … what happened? When?"

"My Mum was a brilliant witch, you know. She was working on a spell and it went horribly wrong. I was nearby when it happened. There was nothing I could do. I was nine at the time. I was sad about it but Daddy always said that she went peacefully. I don't know how he can say that as he wasn't there, but he insists it was so 'cause I was and my Mum did not die all alone. It still makes me sad sometimes, but I suppose maybe it was a good thing I was there."

"I'm so sorry, Luna," Lily said.

"Why? It wasn't your fault. Oh. That was one of those polite things to say, wasn't it?"

"Um … it was, but she was a very good friend. You didn't deserve to lose…"

"Daddy says life does not care about who deserves what. If it was like that, Minister Fudge would be baked into a pie and fed to the Goblins at a feast."

"Okay, why does he say that?"

"Oh, because that's what Minister Fudge does at his feasts, although he confunds everyone into thinking it's really beef or chicken or some such and not Goblin pies."

"Um …"

"It's best not to think too hard," Ginny said. "We can't prove conclusively that Fudge does not bake Goblins into pies nor that the thought has never crossed his mind."

"If you eliminate the impossible, then whatever is left however improbable must be the truth," Luna said. "I don't actually think that Goblin pie is served at the Ministry, but I can't prove it not to be the case. Anyway, this has nothing to do with what I should call you um I-shouldn't-call-you-Mr. Potter."

"You could call me Dennis," I-shouldn't-call-you-Mr. Potter said. Luna noticed a mischievous look on the man's face but thought nothing of it for she also noticed Hermione roll her eyes and shake her head. Unknowingly, she played into James Potter's prank.

"Well, I didn't know you were called Dennis," she said.

"You never bothered to ask now, did you," he shot back.

This confused Luna for she certainly had. "What?"

"James," Lily growled in a low voice.

"What I object to is the way you automatically treat me as inferior," he continued.

"I…I," Luna began but felt a hand on her shoulder. Hermione was trying to calm her down as if she knew what was going on.

"Well," Hermione said primly as Lily muttered "James" louder, "she is a King."

"A King, eh? Oh very nice! And how'd she get that eh? By exploiting the workers…"

"JAMES POTTER SHUT IT!" Lily yelled. "I swear that was the BIGGEST mistake I ever made in my life! Should never have taken my classmates to the cinema that summer! Apologize!"

"What was that?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Hermione said with a hint of disgust. "It's a picture show older than we are that perpetual juveniles like my Dad – and apparently yours as well – watch a few hundred times too many so it completely fries their brains assuming they had brains to fry to begin with."

"Um … really?"

"How many times did you watch it that summer, James?" Lily asked in an annoyed tone.

"Um … a few?"

"A few?" she nearly shrieked. "A few? Once or twice a day, every day for weeks is only a few?"

"Fine! Forty-seven."

"And that's only because you and Sirius figured out how to copy your memories and play it over and over and over in a pensieve! It's my fault. I admit it. I showed these … boys … the wonders of the cinema, but could not for the life of me teach them taste."

"In my defense, we only did that 'cause we had to go back to Hogwarts…"

"And they were practically distraught the next summer when it was no longer in theaters! Didn't understand why Muggles would want to watch anything else."

Hermione snorted.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Didn't have VCR's back then, did they?"

"Um … what's that?" Lily and others asked.

"A machine that lets you play pictures like that on the telly over and over again. I never saw that film in a theater. I've seen it goodness knows how many times. I admit it is funny in parts, clever in others. But I don't understand the need to see it several times a year, which my Dad insists is necessary. Then again, there was one bit he always sent me out of the room for. I finally saw it last summer."

"Which part was that?" James asked.

"James," Lily growled.

"Castle Anthrax. Wasn't 'til last summer I saw the bit where the nine score girls all between the ages of seventeen and nineteen and a half who spent their days dressing and undressing and making exciting underwear got all excited about getting spankings from Sir Galahad and the oral sex…"

"Whoa!" Harry said, "they had that in a film?"

"No, they said that in a film," Hermione said. "They didn't show anything. I guess my dad didn't want me to ask questions about that sort of thing, which was why he sent me out whenever that scene came up."

James sniggered. "That was a funny bit…"

"James, shut it! You're corrupting our son!"

"I am not!" he protested.

"It's too late," Luna said. "We've already corrupted him rotten."

"You're too young for that, the lot of you," Lily scolded.

"Oh, we haven't done that, Mistress Lily," Luna said. "We merely choose attire that doesn't require any underwear or over-wear or any wear whatsoever."

"Wait…what?" James asked.

"Now look what you did!" Lily scolded. "I had a perfectly good husband and you broke him!"


	26. Chapter 26: Quality Time

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N:

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: QUALITY TIME**

**Saturday, July 31****st**** 1993**

It was the second day after the Potters had been revived. Much of the first day had been spent driving from the cottage in the Valley back to the Manor. Harry had ordered Dobby to stop long before they reached the long lake at the end of the Valley. There were elves working in a meadow. There was a large pile of lumber and elves cutting tree trunks and logs into boards and Harry went to talk with them. The others had followed. Harry was simply curious because this operation had not been here the day before. The lumber was being cut for the project he had ordered the day before. True, the elves could just transfigure stuff, but it would lack permanence as it was not part of the original plan for that trunk so the project would work best if it was truly built. Harry and his girls learned that while the Valley was not a farm in the traditional sense, a form of logging had been going on from the start. The elves thinned the forest from time to time and cut the thinned trees into lumber which was then sold outside. They did it in such a way so as not to be noticeable. They said it was good for the forest to take a tree here and there and allow for new growth and no one questioned this.

Dobby had chosen a different route back to the Manor. Not far north of the long valley lake, the road forked. The left fork was the road they had come up the day before and led into Harry's trunk. The right fork led to the north east and somewhere else. It crossed over a river which Dobby said began in the mountains in The Valley and flowed all the way to the Great Lake. It drained five trunks, more than any other river on the estate and it was the longest of the rivers. Further on, they came to a crossroad. To the west, the crossroad crossed over the river on a stone bridge. About a quarter mile to the east was a collection of buildings. Dobby explained they were the various mills and such for the Old Farm and it was in this area that the elves would built the village. Already it seemed there were hundreds of elves busy in the immediate vicinity. They seemed to be staking out plots or, in some cases, already laying foundations. Harry again got out and spent some time talking with the elves. The crossroads appeared to form two sides of the village square and already lanes had been staked out in many directions for the numerous cottages. Seeming to be satisfied with the stop, Harry climbed back into the car and they drove on into one of the new trunks.

Their trip would take them to all three new trunks. The first one, to the east of Harry's trunk, was mostly vegetables fields or the massive extension of the herb and spice gardens. To the far north were purely recreational lands around the Great Lake. There were groves of trees there, and lawns and two golf courses and the first of the guest houses located on the shores of the lake which earned the rather unimaginative name "The Lake House". The road when around the huge lake and they entered the trunk to the north.

There was an island in the lake they were told had some small guest houses upon it. They could see the island and one of the houses. It was set up to be what Hannah called a getaway within a getaway. So the island became Getaway Island and the houses were called the Island Retreat Resort. Miles further along through fields, orchards and pastures they came to another golf course, gardens and another guest house. This one was not as large as the Lake House which had some fifty guest rooms. This one only had about twenty. They decided to call it the Garden House as it was surrounded by flower gardens. They then turned west and eventually passed into the trunk to the north of Harry's trunk. Here there was a new vineyard, more pastures and orchards. In the midst of the orchards, there was a lake with the final guest house which had a nearby horse stable. Dobby told them it was about three miles to the north of the manor and should the ladies decide on a particular horse – for there were more than a few to choose from at either of the older estates – they could be stabled here. The guest house would be called the Stables. The drive took them to the far west where Dobby had said there was the tropical beach and it was exactly as Dobby had described. It was the headwaters for all the rivers in this trunk and Harry's trunk. They had enjoyed a picnic lunch by the Lake House earlier in the day and arrived at the manor about an hour and a half before dinner which gave Harry plenty of time to show his parents around and see to it they were set up in one of the guest rooms for now.

Thankfully, they stayed away from heavier topics of conversation that evening.

"Where is everybody?" Lily asked. She had James had entered the large hall. They had taken a stroll through the flower gardens and beyond following breakfast. Hermione and Luna were seated and reading books when they entered, but no one else was around.

"Would the Potter's like some tea?" an elf they had not noticed asked as they sat down across from their son's bondmates.

"That sounds lovely," Lily said and a tea service appeared before them.

"House tea is best with lemon," Luna said. "We use our own honey for a sweetener."

"Um, thanks. Again, where is everyone else?"

"Ginny's upstairs lying down," Hermione began looking up from her book.

"She's going through her first monthlies," Luna added. "It's why we're in time compression 'cause she felt really bad about feeling really bad on Harry's birthday. This way she gets through it and will feel like her old self well before his birthday really gets started."

"I don't think I needed to know that," James mumbled.

"Hannah and Daphne went for a bicycle ride," Hermione said ignoring the comment. "Harry's in his kitchen."

"His kitchen? My son has a kitchen? Or do you call everything here his this or that?" James asked.

"His kitchen as in his and his alone," Luna said. "No one's allowed in without an invite except Burt and Harry's in charge in there. He's making dinner."

"Why is he making dinner?" Lily asked.

"'Cause he likes to," Luna replied as if it was obvious.

"What's he making?"

"We won't know 'til he serves it up," Hermione said. "So far, however, whatever he makes is fantastic. My Mum decided it was better to enjoy his cooking than to be jealous about it. I never learned, so I guess having elves and Harry's a good thing seeing as I can make soggy toast and burnt water."

"My son cooks?" James asked as if this could not be possible.

"It was one of the chores the Dursleys required of him," Hermione said. "We're pretty sure he could care less about cooking for them, but they left him alone when he was cooking so he enjoyed that about it. He does enjoy cooking for people he likes and for people who appreciate his efforts."

"He also says he's a fair gardener," Luna said. "It was another chore he did where he was left alone. But he doesn't do that here. Then again, it's one thing to garden a few hundred square feet of land and quite another to garden a few hundred square miles."

"What did my sister do to him?" Lily growled.

"Now, now," Luna said, "whatever she's done it's sorted. Harry's put the fear of Dobby into them," she added with a giggle.

"You mean the fear of God?"

"No, Dobby. He told you what Dobby did to them and they've been told Harry was holding the little guy back. I don't think Harry's lying about that. Dobby would've finished them off if Harry had let him. He's very protective of Harry."

"You're not supposed to let House Elves do that," James said. "He needs to learn…"

"What?" Hermione asked. "Needs to learn how to be like all the other idiots?"

"You stepped in it, James," Lily said.

"Look! I didn't even know about House Elves before I came here," Hermione continued. "Had I learned about them at school, I would've thought they were no better than slaves and that every witch and wizard who had one was ignorant or evil or both. I know that's not how it really is. I know they need us. But still. There are many who either take them for granted or take advantage of them and that's wrong too! So what if Harry allows his House Elves to defend his family? Perhaps if wizards weren't so damned full of themselves and a few had allowed those guys to do what they can to protect their families, idiots like the Death Eaters and Voldemort could not exist! In my opinion, any rule, law or convention that suppresses the rights or abilities of any sentient being to favor wizards is morally wrong and an immoral law is no law at all! No wonder this world is so messed up! It's but a small step from repressing House Elves to repressing Muggle Borns and seeing Muggles as little more than animals, isn't it?

"It's a good thing Harry didn't learn about House Elves from wizards, I think. 'Til he met Dobby, he never knew of them either. And he learned about them from Dobby just as I did! He doesn't see them as servants or slaves or serfs or inferiors. He sees them as friends and more importantly as family! There are over two thousand House Elves on this estate and he sees each and every one of them as his responsibility as head of this family! I think he's got the right idea about them."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Hermione," James said. "But it's one thing for an elf to defend his family and another for it to be set upon someone for revenge. That's what it sounds like."

Hermione snorted. "They got off easy, if you ask me."

"Okay," Lily said. "Not that I'll disagree, but what do you mean?"

"Um, well his relative were … well, he hasn't said much. We don't ask 'cause if we do he won't say anything. But it comes out."

"Especially when he's angry about something," Luna said. "Like where the elves were living. That's why he has them building a village of cottages and such. He said no elf should live in a cupboard. It was bad enough he had to for ten years of his life."

"What!" Lily shrieked. "A cupboard? My son lived in a cupboard. That's…"

"Child cruelty and neglect," Hermione finished. "His aunt and uncle should be serving time in prison for what they did. Harry has not ruled that out. That, Dobby and Goblin justice are daggers he has to keep them in line. I don't think they beat him. Not really…"

"Not really? What's that mean?"

"Not enough or badly enough to get the Crown involved," Hermione said. "But something should've happened and it didn't. Either the Dursleys live in a black hole of incompetence or someone went out of his way to cover things up so Harry would remain there."

"Dumbledore," Lily growled.

"He all but admitted he knew things were bad at the end of Harry's first year, but tried to make it sound like it was necessary. True, there are wards tied to family that are … useful. But they cannot justify what happened. Then again, maybe wife beating and child abuse are not crimes in the Wizarding World given they're more than a century behind the Muggles in such ideas. Maybe the old man didn't know any better and can't understand why it's such a big deal in the Muggle world. Or maybe, he does and is just an evil git hiding behind his leader of the light façade!"

"This was not supposed to happen," Lily lamented. "He's not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?" Luna asked. "He's had two powerful wizards wanting to interfere with his life practically from the day he was born and doing so since the day you two supposedly died. What could you expect? That he would be like any other boy? He's not. It's not possible. Thanks to those two wizards, he never had a childhood and I doubt he could have truly had one."

"If my plan had worked…," Lily began.

"You still need to explain it to me," James said.

"What's to explain?" Luna asked. "Nasty, evil wizard wanted the lot of you dead. A wizard of questionable motives put you on a loyalty potion so you would agree to his protection. Lily smells a rat or two and takes action. Before Dumbledore could get to her she sets up her plan. She finds an old, probably familial spell that could protect the lot of you if the worst happens and sets it up. Evil wizard hunts you down and tries to kill you and her plan worked … mostly. Instead of dying, you wind up in your trunk under stasis…"

"Why stasis, Lils?"

"I had no idea what condition we would be in," Lily admitted. "The trigger was not precise. He could've really hurt us short of triggering the spell and I didn't want us to arrive an inch away from death without a safeguard. By arriving in stasis, the elves could patch us up."

"Why did you set things up so that only Sirius or that Lupin fellow could revive you?" Hermione asked. "You could've left it to the elves as well."

"Unlike you and Harry, I did not learn about elves from elves, Hermione. I regret it now for I … well, I never considered that option. I should've, but I didn't. Still, what I don't understand is why Harry did not arrive with us."

"We don't know what really happened that night," Hermione said. "We only know something did and Harry was there and Voldemort was gone."

"I'm somewhat surprised none of you think I'm somehow dark considering it was blood magic," Lily said after a long silence.

"Magic is intent based," Hermione said somewhat dismissively. "Dark and light are meaningless distinctions. All you need for proof is Dumbledore. Everyone says he's light. They're wrong. The man is evil but unlike Voldemort he refuses to admit it. He's a walking contradiction. He preaches redemption and forgiveness and claims to be opposed to killing people on the one hand, but he certainly takes advantage of pain, suffering and other people's deaths on the other. He will allow people to suffer for whatever he believes is right when he should use his authority to stop the suffering. He preaches tolerance and yet allows bigotry to run rampant and unpunished in school. Intent is everything. I don't know what he intends, but it can't be good. Add to it the wards he placed on Harry's relatives' house and that leader of the light flies out the window. He used blood wards; very illegal ones. Now it seems they're illegal 'cause they allow people to evade the strictures of the law within those wards and prevent magical enforcement. We know he placed certain charms to overcome some of the more – erm – questionable effects, unless you consider that as far as we know it's only Dumbledore who can monitor the place…"

"And it would seem that his monitoring did not envision House Elf magic," Luna added.

"Or that Dobby would transfer certain of the more annoying monitoring charms, such as the one that tells him where I am, from me to the trunk," Harry said.

"I thought you were making dinner," Lily commented.

"It's almost lunch time," Harry replied. "I take a break for an hour or two – two or so today since things are working out better than I anticipated. So, talking 'bout the wards?"

"We got onto that topic," Luna said. "Didn't start there. Your Mum began by saying you weren't what she expected."

"Oh?"

"I don't know what I expected," Lily admitted. "You're more mature than…"

"Give him a chance," Hermione snarked playfully. "He can be as immature as any boy his age under the right circumstances."

"Hey!" Harry protested.

"But those are rare enough," Hermione added.

"So I'm not like other boys my age?"

"I think I speak for all of us when I say thank goodness for that!"

"Ron's about average for the age," Luna agreed.

"This would be a nightmare of sorts with a boy like Ron," Hermione agreed.

"You're far more mature than I expected is all," Lily said.

"Yeah? Well, it's not like I've had much of a choice what with Voldemort trying to snuff me the last two years and all that. All I ever wanted to be before Hogwarts was normal, whatever that it. But I guess if I was I'd probably be dead by now. That doesn't sound like a load of fun at all."

"But if we had…," Lily began with tears in her voice.

"If that night had never happened the way it did, I could've had a normal life?" Harry finished.

Lily nodded.

"A few months ago, I might have believed that. Now? Now there's Harry Potter normal and normal for anyone else."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what did I learn this summer? Let's pretend Voldemort and Dumbledore never had it in for me. My life would still be different. First off, I'm Head of an Ancient and Noble House. Least I was. And I will be. Given how many of those there are in Britain, that sets me apart from most of the kids my age right there. Then there's the compatible magic bit. Having compatible magic with a witch is rare enough, but two? We haven't found another example of that. Still, means nothing if we never bond. But you and Dad saw that possibility and would've set things up so that at least one of the bondings if not both were more likely than might have been the case. With one bond, I get two wives 'cause either bond would bring in Daphne. Hannah's contract was predicated upon a plural marriage – specifically either Hermione or Luna or both and Daphne. Bond with both and I get four wives. Or was it the other way around. Doesn't matter. I did bond with both and have four wives as a result. Perfectly legal under the circumstances, but hardly normal. So normal was never really in the cards for me. Throw in Dumbledore trying to ruin my House and that's how I ended up with four and a betrothed. Now add Voldemort and you get me. At least I can put off the Head of House stuff for several decades now…"

"Umm," James began.

"I'm stuck with it aren't I?" Harry replied seeing the sheepish expression on his father's face. "What else is new? Why?"

"It legally passed to you, Harry," James replied. "The Goblins had you sign those documents as Head of House – which you could claim at age eleven or twelve only if there were no others to claim it. That can't be changed. As Head of House, I was legally dead and the only way that could change such that it did not pass to you was for me to have been revived before you assumed the title. Once title passes, it can't be returned. I'm not sure there's a direct precedent for what happened to me, but there's one close enough in another house where the Head went missing and years later was declared legally dead by the Wizengamot and the Goblins and then, after his heir assumed the title, showed up again. It was ruled he lost it – his title that is. And while he was clearly alive and kicking all that time – he had run off with some young witch and was living abroad even if no one knew it – that was a situation where the heir requested he be declared dead so that the heir could take over. You're too young to have done that so even though the situation is different, I'm pretty sure you're stuck."

"Great!" Harry grumbled.

"What's great?" a voice asked. Harry's other three girls had joined them.

"I'm stuck! I'm Head of House Potter! What do I know about being Head of House?"

"And you assume I know more?" James answered the rhetorical question. "Given what happened to us, Harry, we should probably forget calendar ages. I might be thirty-three by a calendar, but I'm twenty-one by years of experience. I'm eight years older than you by that count and not much more prepared than you are to take over House responsibilities. Do you think I got lessons in being Head of House from the time I was in nappies? Think again. My training to date consists of two trips to watch a Wizengamot session, sitting at the dinner table when my father – who was not yet Head of House, mind you – spoke about such things and getting dragged to this boring social function or that one. By rights, I should be forty years or more away from taking the Potter seat.

"The youngest Head of our House was Silas Potter who became head in 1348 after his father and grandfather died of the Black Death. He was about six months younger than you were when you assumed the title back in June. Since then – and not including the two of us – there've been nineteen Heads. Do you know how many assumed Head of House before the age of seventy?"

Harry shook his head.

"Including my father, there were three. Dad was sixty when granddad was killed in a Death Eater attack in '76. Had there been no war, Granddad might still be Head of House, although he'd be 108 which is around the age our ancestors have abdicated in favor of their sons assuming they didn't pass away first. That was why Dad bought the trunks. He was not the Head of House back then and knew he was decades away from that headache and wanted something to call his own. We're supposed to be grandfathers or great-grandfathers when we get our seat. True, we might be named as a proxy sooner and might be Head in all but name, but we usually are in our seventies or older when we get the title and all that goes with it. At sixty, Dad was young for a Head and I was still in school when he became head. I was out of school all of a year and a half or so when he passed away. I had no training. Usually the real training would not have begun until my children were in school and maybe even later. I was a hit wizard when it fell to me, not even twenty-one at the time. Your Mum and I were already in hiding when I could have become Head in all respects.

"I knew I might be younger than average for our family when my turn came, Harry. Mum and Dad were older when they had me. Dad was forty-four so I figured I'd become Head in my sixties or so. None of us figured I'd only be twenty."

"You mentioned abdication," Hermione began.

"Harry can only abdicate in favor of someone in the line of succession. I am not in that line. If Lily and I had another son, he would be next in line at least until Harry had a son of his own. Basically, the way things work I'm no longer eligible for Head of House."

"So I'm stuck," Harry sighed.

"You could just let a proxy do whatever…"

"I can't do that! I won't! I could've just let Dumbledore get away with that marriage contract with the Weasleys and left the House in their hands. What kind of Potter would that make me? True, I knew none of this and certainly would not have wanted this even two months ago. But Dumbledore tried to steal my family's legacy which means I can't give it up just 'cause it's inconvenient. Not that it matters today as I can't even control my proxy 'til I'm seventeen or take full control 'til I'm twenty-one. But I can't ignore what was left to me. I was and am more than willing to let a Potter take charge, but if not you then there is no one else! Our House is over a thousand year old! How could I throw that away?"

"Already a better Head of House than I was," James chuckled. "I wanted nothing to do with it when it came to me and gladly signed off on managers and a proxy. True, Augusta Longbottom is an ally and was holding Frank's proxy while he was serving as an Auror, but it was still ducking the bludger."

"You might've thought differently had Dumbledore tried to rob you to advance whatever his agenda is at our expense," Harry said trying not to sound upset.

"I certainly would have. But that was not the situation I found myself in. Harry? Believe me I know how you feel to some extent considering this was dumped on me well before I thought I was ready for it. And here's the thing: I may not be in line for Head of House, but I am a Potter. That means I stand with my House. You can't do much until you're seventeen, but starting then you can decide who plays the Quaffle and how and I'll be there to help you along."

"Thanks … Dad."

James smiled. "I've only known you – this older you a couple of days, Harry. I think I speak for Lily in this. I'm proud of you."

"There may be something you can do sooner rather than later, Mr. Potter," Daphne said.

"Please! I keep looking for McGonagall when I hear that! Sorry. What?"

"For now, the marriage and emancipation is not known outside of those of us who were parties to it." She decided her sisters did not count. "That means Dumbledore has no idea Harry's married and no longer subjected to his guardianship. It was, after all, a Gringotts marriage and they're not obligated to announce such things or even notify the Ministry or anyone until such time as it becomes necessary. In our cases, that's September 1st 'cause the school needs to know at that time but no sooner. Based upon what we've learned, it's a fair bet Dumbledore will seek to undo at least the emancipation. We're pretty sure he can't touch the marriages. He seems somewhat obsessed about keeping Harry under his control, after all, and Harry's emancipation takes any such control away. We don't want him to get it back, but he is the Chief Warlock and Headmaster and Harry's a magnet for trouble. As I see it, he could easily blow something out of proportion and claim Harry cannot be trusted with emancipation. We probably can't stop that if he tries. But, as you are clearly not dead and you and your wife are his parents, should he succeed in revoking emancipation, there's nothing he can do about you becoming his guardians, is there?"

"That's brilliant!" Harry said.

"Naturally," Daphne said. "What do you expect when you're married to five of the brightest witches at school?"

"Why would he try that if we're back?" Lily asked.

"Ah, but no one knows that, do they? There's no reason to let that out just yet."

"Why keep it secret?" Harry asked.

"I get it," James said. "That's devious Daphne."

"Well, I'm not in Slytherin for my looks."

"True," Harry said. "You're too good looking for that. But why keep it secret?"

"If it's known that Lily and I are back, Dumbledore won't try and challenge your emancipation," James said. "Doing so gains nothing for him really. If, however, he does not and he prevails and then Lily and I crawl out of the woodwork, his scheme really backfires."

"How so?" a few voices asked.

"Many will assume Dumbledore knew we were not dead. He could deny it until the next time his Chudley Cannons win the League, but aside from the few who truly believe everything he claims, everyone will see it as attempted Line Theft. It might not result in a charge, but it would cripple him politically."

"So we keep quiet about you two?"

"It's for the best," Lily agreed. "Our resurfacing will raise questions right now. I don't want to reveal how we survived."

"If we resurfaced when Dumbledore is publically trying to reassert control over Harry, most won't care about the how," James said. "They will assume anything bad had to be his fault."

"If that's okay with you…?" Harry asked.

"Harry. It's a great prank. How could I possibly refuse?" James replied.

"For what he allowed over the past twelve years, the more pain the better," Lily added.

"Do you always eat like this?" James Potter asked as he tasted the pork in the main course.

"Only when Harry's cooking," Hannah said.

"Which isn't all that often, really," Daphne added.

"We got a lot of things to do," Harry said. "Even if it's just something I've done before, that means a good part of the afternoon would be spent in the kitchen. I don't mind, but our current outside activities would … well, I'd be missing it."

"And what are those?" Lily asked.

"Currently, we're spending our days on a beach in the south of France," Hermione said. "We've been to Normandy, Mont St. Michel, Paris, the Loire Valley, Grenoble, Avignon and so on. I am _SO_ going to have to revise my History of Magic paper! We've seen loads of magical sights here as well."

"We're going to Beaubatons Academy tomorrow after Harry's Birthday," Daphne said.

"That's the French equivalent to Hogwarts," Ginny added.

"Is it just for the tourist thing, or is there an ulterior reason?" Lily asked.

"Well," Hermione said, "it's mostly for the tourist thing as it's on the list of magical spots to see on a brochure we picked up in Diagon Alley at the beginning of the summer. But you never know. Dumbledore is a problem for Harry and that means for the rest of us, so we're checking it out for that reason as well. That's merely a contingency. We're pretty sure we can deal with him and certainly make his life miserable if he pushes whatever he tries to push."

"We'd rather stay at Hogwarts," Harry said. "We do have friends there. Besides, as annoying as Dumbledore may be, I don't think he's nearly as scary as Voldemort and I've already had to handle that wanker twice since I started school."

"Harry!" Lily scolded.

"He's allowed such language when talking about that cretin," Daphne said. "After all, the thing deserves it."

"Fine, I suppose," Lily said. "Where'd you learn such language?"

"Oh please!" Ginny said. "He's a bloke! You should hear my brothers."

"Ron is one for colorful expletives," Hermione said with a hint of disgust.

"Bill's worse. Mum says being a curse breaker's a bad influence."

"My cousin Dudley's been a foul mouthed git as long as I can remember," Harry added. "'Course, he keeps it to himself around Aunt Petunia. Hides his girlie magazines. Doesn't smoke. Outside the house 'though…"

"You better not tell me you smoke or…" Lily began.

"I don't."

"… have any other vices," Lily finished.

"Is Quidditch a vice?" Luna asked.

"Can be," Hermione said. "It's all Ron talks about. If there was a course on it, he'd be the most studious in our House. As it is…"

"He's not anywhere near the bottom of the class," Harry countered.

"But you'd be so much higher if the two of you weren't goofing off as much!"

"Yes dear," Harry said quickly. "And I should remind you I am taking Runes and Arithmancy and Ron was insisting on Divination and Muggle Studies."

"Sorry."

"Fast learner," James quipped. "Harry, my advice to you as your Dad is never forget that response. The "yes Dear," I mean. Best way to avoid … difficulties."

"James…," Lily growled.

James pretended to ignore her. "While 'I am taking Runes and Arithmancy' may work for now, the 'yes Dear' is a long term skill you should master."

"James…," Lily's growl was louder.

"Oh I don't know, Mr. Potter," Hannah said. "I think if we really get annoyed with him all he needs to do is cook us a fancy dinner like this."

"I prefer no annoyed witches," Harry said. "One would be bad enough, but annoying one would probably annoy another and then another. Five very smart, very capable witches annoyed with me is very, very scary. Rather face Voldemort, to tell you the truth. Not that I mind cooking fancy dinners for them, mind you."

"Better a meal than sleeping on the couch," James said.

"JAMES!" The name sounded more like a firecracker going off than a word. "I swear the couch may be too good for you! We miss twelve years of Harry's life and what's the first thing you do? Seems you're trying to turn him into a miniature version of yourself! I tremble at the thought of what might have been had you had that twelve years!"

"Lils, what did I do? What did I say?"

"I did not like the direction this conversation was taking!"

After a long pause, Hannah said: "Okay, that made no sense."

Harry relaxed. He was thinking the same thing and now saw that his girls were as confused by that outburst as he was. He really did not think his father was anywhere near any sort of line misbehavior wise. Apparently, neither did anyone else except for his mother, and that remained confusing. While Ron might think girls were mental, he didn't. But that seemed to be something that could support Ron's opinion.

"Sorry dear," James said. "It's to be expected, given her condition," he said to the others.

"James," the low growl returned.

"Condition?" several voices asked.

"It is one that I hope the lot of you avoid for several more years…"

"James!"

"We're expecting."

"Fine!" Lily said with a snap. "Not the way I wanted this announced. You can be such an insensitive prat!"

"Oh, and your way was better?" he asked her before turning to the others. "She was all for grilling the lot of you on the birds and bees and such before mentioning this at all! I told her that given the fact that you lot are all married – or betrothed," he added looking at Ginny, "and your parents know about it, the in depth discussion of reproductive biology was probably unnecessary. But she…"

"JAMES!"

"So expecting," Harry said innocently. "Expecting what? Rather cryptic, don't you think," he added to the girls. They did their best to stifle a giggle. "Can't think of what they could expect given they've been out of it for a dozen years." The girls were having a harder time of acting as if nothing was happening. "Surely they could not've expected this. I sure didn't. Didn't wake up one morning expecting I'd have four beautiful, smart wives and a gorgeous, smart and sparky betrothed. Not that I'm complaining, but I didn't expect it and I'm sure they didn't can I can't think of what they could expect that requires no explanation…"

"We're going to have a baby," Lily said in exasperation. "He's as bad as you were," she added turning to James.

"Not at all," James said. "There has been not so much as a single prank the entire time we're here and you know there would've been when I was his age."

"A baby?" Harry asked. He was a little surprised even though he did have a good idea what his father had meant. "Rather quick, don't you think? You've only been back a couple of days, I mean."

"Don't be silly," Lily said. "There's no way to find out that soon…"

"Modern home pregnancy tests can give a positive reading within days of conception," Hermione countered. "Not sure if they had those back then. Now that's not to say you'd get a positive reading that soon in every case, but you can."

"No detection spell works that fast," Hannah countered.

"I meant what Muggles use these days," Hermione said.

"Really? They can find out that quick?"

"And it's do-it-yourself at home," Hermione nodded. "You still should see your doctor – that's what they call Healers – to confirm it, but a false positive is very, very rare. Has something to do with hormones or something like that and no, I don't know exactly how it works other than it tests for hormones that can only be detected that way if you're pregnant."

"Well, we didn't use any such test," Lily said. "I'm a little over two months along."

"You don't look…," Harry began.

"You don't become noticeable this early," Lily said. "They still don't teach this at Hogwarts, do they?"

"Just what young witches need," Harry said. "And they only teach that to the witches. They don't teach us blokes anything like that."

"And how do you know that, young man?"

"They told me. Thought I should know given that we're together and all." He then told them about what they had told him and their intimacy rules. "They need that stuff. The bonding process at our age suppresses my – er – what's it…?"

"He's not randy," Luna said. "He won't be while we're bonding."

"They can run around naked and nothing happens. Don't get me wrong, I still think they're very pretty. But nothing else happens. Good thing I know about the suppression. Might think I was broken or something."

"You're definitely not broken, just a gentleman," Hannah said.

Daphne snorted. "Unlike most boys at school. Certainly unlike any in Slytherin, 'cept maybe Zabini but he's Italian not English."

"What does being Italian have to do with it?" Ginny asked.

"He doesn't act like he's entitled to something," Daphne shrugged. "The other Snakes seem to think either they own the world or their friends do."

"Um…," Harry interrupted for he did not want to hear about people like Malfoy. "So you were…," he began.

"Yes Harry," Lily said. "Still am. The spell I used to keep us safe would keep her safe as well."

"A sister?"

"Now we don't know that," James said defensively. "Lilys says it is, but we don't know!"

"Still," Harry laughed, "if you're a true Potter it probably is. Two to one at least girls to boys for generations. I have looked, you know."

"Girl or boy," James shrugged. "You should know we never planned on just one. We wanted a few."

"A few?" Hermione asked.

"More than a couple," Lily said, "less than a Quidditch Team," she added with a glare at her husband.

"I only said that once!" he replied. "Once! And I never hear the end of it. I was joking!"

"So," Harry snarked, "you set all this up to get a Potter Quidditch Team?"

"What're you on about?"

"Four wives, not that I'm complaining. Then again, you could say you got lucky that they're …"

"We're what?" Hermione growled not unlike his mother.

"Not Bulstrode or Runcorn or Parkinson or… There are plenty of girls at school I'd rather have nothing to do with. I didn't know Daphne before this summer, but she wasn't on that list. Her only … well, she is a Slytherin and we know how well Slytherin and Gryffindor usually get on. Then again…"

"Then again, Potter?" Daphne said in full on Slytherin mode.

"Well, you're not like most of those Snakes are you? Very cunning. The hat hid one of the best and smartest girls in our year in a House the other Houses don't look at. All you had to do was fend off the Snakes and as they're a bunch of idiots mostly…"

"You need to work on your compliments, Harry," Daphne smiled. "But I get what you were trying to say, thank you. Worked a little too well, seeing as you didn't notice me."

"Given who he is, noticing girls was never his problem," Hermione said.

"And what's that mean?" Lily asked.

"Thanks to whatever happened that night, Harry here is the most famous wizard in Britain."

"There's going to be hearts breaking throughout the country when all this gets out," Hannah said. "Harry Potter, Britain's most eligible bachelor is off the market!"

"Don't be so sure," Ginny said. "Witch Weekly may well think he's collecting or something."

"Great! That's all I need," Harry groaned.

"What's the problem?" James asked.

"Harry's never liked being famous," Hermione said. "Can't blame him. He can't know if someone likes him because of who is really is or because of his fame and stuff."

"Well, it's harder," Harry said. "You lot like me for who I am."

"Being rich helps," Ginny snarked.

"Says the former fan girl," Harry chided.

"I admit to that. The only reason for the rich comment is you can … erm … afford us? Not that any of us have expensive tastes or any of that. This isn't coming out right is it. Harry's… Well, he doesn't have to be rich or famous to be the best catch even if I have to share him. All I mean is that we don't have to worry about whether he can take care of the family. I'd hate to find myself in the bind that my parents found themselves in when Bill was set to start school. Then again, I would've sent them to St. Michaels rather than sign that contract."

"We think they would've too, had they read it first," Luna said.

"If you were planning on having more," Harry said to his parents hoping to change the topic, "why the contracts?"

"They were by no means certain," Lily said. "The compatible magic was the reason for the ones with the Grangers and Lovegoods. We could not know that either of the bonds would ever form and those contracts did not require us to really push you together. You can't force a bond. It either happens or it doesn't. All those contracts did was recognize they could happen. If they happened, well it's like giving you our blessing in advance. As for the other two, they required the bonds. The Greengrasses were or are friends and wanted to stay out of the betrothal market for their daughter. The Abbotts were friends too, and we knew how bad things were. Justin was in the thick of the fight just as we were so there was always a risk."

"Besides," James said, "House Potter's been living dangerously for generations. My parents had trouble having a kid. Mum said she had something like ten miscarriages. They suspected a curse or something until I came along. They now suspect her ancestry as she was from a 'proper' pureblood family – meaning arranged marriages often to cousins. Too often and there are all sorts of problems.

"Anyway, my great-great granddad was the last Potter to have more than one kid. He had two. The oldest was a girl who married into the Turpin line and they were in the line of succession until you were born, Harry. They're out of it now. Too far removed."

"There's a girl in our year names Lisa Turpin in Ravenclaw," Harry said.

"If she's descended from Great-grandaunt Penelope, she'd be your third cousin," James replied. "Don't know if she is without looking it up."

"So, I'm going to have a little brother or sister?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Late February, near as we can figure now," Lily nodded.

"Wonder how Time Compression affects that," Hermione thought allowed.

"Well," Luna said, "if it's anything like monthlies, every day in Time Compression counts. The baby will grow."

"Probably is like that," Harry said. "The cows are not affected, meaning the calves are born after so many days time compression or not. Cows live the same life span in outside time, but have calves in inside time. Asked one of the elves 'bout that. Same's true for plants and our bees and all of that. Oh!" Harry finished as if a thought occurred from him.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"The blood wards!" He replied. He explained these wards to his parents. "They last so long as the youngest person who shares Mum's blood is under seventeen! We were planning … well, if a few years from now we still need those wards one of my girls would have to … But if I have a younger brother or sister, that changes everything! Looks like you're off the hook, Gin. This time next year, you'll be a Lady Potter!"

There was a squeal of delight from Ginny.

"Don't misunderstand," Luna said to the Potters, "we all have no issue with taking a bludger for the team as Harry put it. We just didn't want to have to do so before Harry was seventeen."

"Or we took our O.W.L.s," Hannah said.

"N.E.W.T.s," Hermione said as if correcting her. "After O.W.L.s was only if needed for the wards."

"I still have a line to rebuild," Hannah countered.

"And you still have plenty of time to do so," Daphne said calmly. "No reason why you can't wait until you finish Hogwarts to do that now that the Wards can be extended."

"But that means they'd have to live here," Luna said with a hint of disappointment.

"Is there a problem?" Lily asked.

"Not really," Harry said. "Luna just prefers clothing to be optional when it's just the six of us about."

"What?" Lily growled. Harry found the tone far less amusing when it was directed at him.

"Now don't blame him," Hannah said. "Our choice of attire when it's just us is our choice. He never asked, nor insisted…"

"Except for me at first, but that was because I am his concubine and as such…"

"WHAT! What's that all about? I can't believe my own son would…"

"It's not what you think," Harry said quickly realizing they had left out this little detail.

"And just what should I be thinking?"

"It was necessary," Hermione began.

"And you lot were in on this too?"

"It was that or lose House Potter," Daphne said. They had explained generally about Dumbledore's attempt at taking control but had avoided any discussion about how they managed to thwart his plans. The Potters had not asked. Now Daphne told them exactly what had been the case and how Harry had dealt with it in the end noting that everyone present aside from Ginny had worked hard at finding a way around the problem short of needing to bind Ginny in such a way.

"Don't misunderstand," Harry said. "If that plot extended well beyond Ginny and if Ginny was a willing participant and not just a pawn, I wouldn't have bothered with trying to find an alternative. I would've been seriously tempted just to enslave her outright! Glad I didn't. There are people who deserve such a fate and she does not. She's going to be a Lady Potter now and I have no problem with that at all. If I had to have a fifth wife, I am glad it's her. I like her and she's a decent girl. I don't like that this had to happen to get Dumbledore out of my House affairs. But I don't regret the bit about her becoming a Potter one bit! We've talked with everyone concerned: the Grangers, Mrs. Abbott, the Greengrasses, Luna's Great-grands the Tennysons and I even spoke to the Weasleys first once I realized they were as much victims of the old coot as I was. I wanted a less … permanent option. No one came up with anything that would protect the House short of killing Dumbledore that did not involve binding Ginny to me. Not saying I have any objections to killing the bastard, I don't. But that's easier said than done and I don't want to spend my life in prison because of that man! This was not an impulsive act, but one taken after weeks of research and consideration."

"So lay off my fiancé!" Ginny added. "I am okay with this, Mrs. Potter. I don't regret it. In many ways, I think I better off with the way things are now than I would've been had this never happened." She then told the Grangers about her first year and what she feared her summer and family would have been like had she not been taken away when she was. "I'd probably be a real mess right now," she concluded. "And, just so you know, I have no problems with clothing optional days when it's just the six of us either and that has nothing to do with our bond! Harry was going to hold off on marrying me until you two came around just in case one of us had to get pregnant to continue the wards and the others chose not to. He didn't need to. Right now, I would do it if it was in the best interest of the family! I think any of us would, but the one left holding the Quaffle was me and I would have done so with no regrets!"

"But it's not necessary," Harry said. "Unless, of course, the two of you choose to live somewhere other than this estate after the child is born. If the child lives here and at least one of my trunks is at your sisters, the wards will charge. If the child lives somewhere else, we're back to Plan A if the wards are needed."

"We don't mean to impose," James began.

"Tosh!" Hermione said. "You're his parents. It's the least…"

"It's no imposition," Harry said. "Hermione's right but it's not like you have to live here in the Manor. The Estate includes all five hundred square miles. That cottage counts. Any of the places here counts. Heck, I could build you another place and that would count. I wouldn't mind your living here in the Manor even if it cramps Luna's casual dress choices, but you don't have to for this to work. Besides, if you live here at the Estate then we'll have plenty of time to spend together from here on out."

"But you're going to Hogwarts," Lily countered sadly. "We won't see you then…"

"You think we're leaving this place just to go to school?" Harry said with a smirk. "These are trunks, after all. We all can have access trunks. It's already set up that the girls' families will have trunks and, within reason, will visit us here whenever they like during the year. The only difference between you and them going forward would be that your living here, not visiting."

"Besides, Lils, where would we live? Harry's Lord Potter now and until he rekeys the wards, the Manor and other properties outside are inaccessible to us or anyone else and he can't do that 'til he's twenty-one."

"That," Daphne said, "and by living here at the Estate you won't risk exposure. After all, we may need to spring you on Dumbledore at some point and the fewer people who know you are not as dead as people thought you were the better. And you won't be alone. We're going to live here after all. To be honest, I see this more and more as home and – well, I've never seen Potter Manor. If it were me – and I know it's not my decision – I'd be inclined to live here and use that as the outside place only."

"Besides, hopefully by the end of the summer there'll be another person living here in a form of hiding," Harry added.

"Who?" James asked.

"You're talking about Sirius Black, aren't you?" Lily added.

Harry nodded. "So long as the Ministry wants him dead, he's not safe out there. The Ministry can't get here."

"Throw in House Protection, and you'd make life very difficult for them if they tried," James added before describing what that meant. They had come across that term and a few others but had not yet found what it could truly mean. Over dessert, they discussed modifications to their plans going forward.


	27. Chapter 27: Stupid Dog

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Sorry for delay but there was family stuff...

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: STUPID DOG**

**Friday, August 6****th**** 1993**

Harry sat on a swing in the play park a few blocks from his relatives place in Little Whinging, Surrey. In the Outside, as they called it, they had returned from their Holiday to France on Tuesday afternoon and he had begun this vigil that night. His "future" memories were not date specific. He was not absolutely certain of what he remembered. In this memory, while sitting where he was sitting after a particularly interesting falling out with the Dursleys (he seemed to recall turning that vile "Aunt" Marge into some kind of balloon), he had run out and found himself here wondering where he should go with his only idea being not back there. In this memory, he recalled hearing something behind him and had seen what he thought might have been a large, black wolf in the bushes. Intellectually, he knew it could not have been a wolf. There were no wolves in England (unless it somehow escaped from a zoo). When he looked again, it had disappeared. It turned out that Sirius Black's animagus form was a large, black dog that he thought one might confuse with a wolf, particularly at night, at a distance, with bushes in the way and with his less than spectacular eyesight; apparently one the less desirable Potter traits.

This time, he was not looking for the doggie. He was tempting it. As he had each of the previous nights, he was eating a sandwich. Another sandwich was on the swing next to him. It was close enough for him to get to it, but far enough away that a stray dog might see it as an easy feed and that was the point. He figured that dog or no, Sirius Black had to be hungry and would not pass up an easy meal even if it was stealing a sandwich from a child. His dad thought this part of the plan was a great prank on his old friend. His dad thought the revision for the next part even better. Harry was not his dad. He did not prank. This was a plan that if there was humor to it, that was a side bit. This was serious business to Harry because the price for failure could well mean the life of an innocent man.

For Harry, however, all there was to do was nibble on his sandwich and wait. He had an idea when to be here and when it would be okay to leave. In his memory, he arrived in the park not long after sunset so he had arrived around that time each day. He also knew he had been in bed before midnight and had a minor adventure involving a strange purple bus, the Leaky Cauldron and the Minister of Magic of all people between the time when he saw the dog and midnight. He figured staying until around ten-thirty was safe if things went as they had in his memory. Still, that left him with a lot of time for nibbling his sandwich and thinking and hoping that Dudley got the message about staying clear of the play park. (He had a plan involving a certain elf if that message was disregarded and so far so good.)

The Grangers knew about the Potters now. Originally, they were going to keep the Grangers in the dark about it, but Harry's girls thought it would be cruel to keep the Potters away from Harry's thirteenth Birthday party. Still, they were concerned about secrecy until Hermione came up with the idea of trying the Fidelius Charm. The Tennysons said it was not all that hard under the right circumstances. She felt this secret fell squarely into one within the skill of a rising Third Year. The others, including the Potters were less certain. Harry figured if any Third Year could do it, it would be Hermione so he supported her. After all, only those people in the trunk knew the secret and if they were all there when the spell was cast, it would be much easier to do. Hermione did something that looked like casting the spell. She defined the secret as "James and Lily Potter are alive and living in the Cottage in the Valley," and then finished the charm placing the secret with their Secret Keeper Ginny. Either it worked or it didn't and the way to find out was for everyone not named Ginny to try and tell the Grangers the secret once they left the trunk for lunch following the end of time compression. The Tennysons were right. The Fidelius Charm was easy under the right circumstances because while they all knew the secret, only Ginny could reveal it.

The truth was the party had been somewhat anti-climatic for Harry. He did enjoy it. He liked his gifts. But he had already got the one thing he had wanted for as long as he could remember and no gift could top that in a million years. He had his parents back. Thinking about how his life had changed was a good way to while away what would have been hours of boredom waiting for a dog he could not be certain would show up. He did, however, know it would probably happen.

The day after they had returned from France while Harry and the girls were out exploring her hometown, a visitor had shown up at the Grangers. Rose Granger had answered the door and there was a somewhat presentable (or so he thought) Sirius Black on the doorstep. Were Harry there, this waiting on a swing would have been unnecessary. But Rose could no more call Dobby or any other elf than she could do magic. Sirius gave her some kind of tale about having spent years in an artists' colony on some island but how he had tired of it and was now interested in seeing his Godson. The Grangers had met him years earlier back when Harry used to spend the day with Hermione and Luna. Rose had played her part well they hoped and accepted the story. Later, she told it again and everyone thought the Dog had developed a rather black sense of humor if he could suggest Azkaban was an artists' colony and say it with a straight face. Harry could only smile at that. Rose had told the old dog that Harry was with his relatives and told him their address and, when asked, gave him directions to Little Whinging although she said truthfully she did not know where Privet Drive was.

They knew the dog was coming.

Hungry! The dog was hungry. The dog was always hungry the human thought. The dog could be so full it hurt and it would still be hungry. They had eaten six hours or so ago, not that either could tell time. The dog could not. The human could, but had no watch and had not seen a clock since "lunch." Hungry Dog was becoming a major distraction and the human was trying his best to ignore it. He had not before. Disgusting thing! The dog may have thought it a feast, but scouring the bin behind a restaurant for half eaten entrees all mixed together – some of which must have been there for more than a day – that was nothing short of disgusting. Then again, the human had seen dogs eat their own droppings. This dog was tempted, but the human kept it from crossing that line.

Damn dog! They had a mission and all the damn dog wanted to do was eat! Every scent and it got distracted and it was all the human could do to keep it on task. It had taken them days to get here from there and weeks to get there from the other place. The human was certain the dog had not really slowed them down all that much, but it certainly would have if it could have. It seemed that the only thing worse than the smell food was the scent of a bitch in heat. The dog was almost impossible to control when that scent was in the air. The human almost let the dog have its way on that once, but decided there were too many bitches in heat in this country and if the dog was let go for one, it would expect to be let go for all of them and it would take them forever to get anywhere. The human knew they had to eat too and that was a bodily function that could not be ignored by either of them. But the damned dog had a bottomless stomach and no patience. It's a wonder the canines were not extinct!

The human was sure they were close now. They were in the right place and there was every indication his goal was nearby. It's a pity the dog couldn't tell the goal from any other scent. The dog could easily track it especially if the human gave the dog any indication that there might be food if the dog found what the human wanted it to find. The dog would do anything for food and the human really did not want to know what that really meant. There were two strong scents. The dog wanted to take off after one of them but the human held it back. The other… The dog might not know it but the human knew it was familiar. He let the dog move towards it slowly. There was a hedge between them and the smells. It would be perfect cover. They would be able to see if this was the target without being seen or spooking it. But the other scent: food! It was powerful and the dog was drooling. A moment's let up and the dog would be off for that scent.

Cautiously, they pushed through the foliage, careful not to make a sound. The Human thought like an ambush predator. Dogs hunted in packs, ran their quarry to ground and attacked. Stealth was not a major component of their hunting prowess. The Human hoped the dog could behave more like a cat right now. Stealth was essential. Only a few branches separated them from the safety of their cover and the open space beyond. They were close now. And then he saw it! It had to be it! It had to be what he had come all this way to find! It couldn't be anything else, the odds were too great! It had to be…

HAM SANDWICH!

GODDAMN STUPID DOG!

It only took a moment longer than that for the dog to cover the distance from the hedge to the ham sandwich. There was nothing the human could do to stop it. All the human could do was hope the dog would run off before the human on the swing could stop it. The dog snatched the neglected ham sandwich and took off before its owner could even react. The human felt a little better, but was still furious with the dog. The dog bit into its prize.

'Oh bugger,' the human thought feeling a hook behind its navel as the dark world of the play park vanished. 'Stupid dog!'

"Hello, Sirius Black," a voice said.

He opened his eyes and blinked in the bright lights. He then saw the owner of the voice and passed out before he could berate the dog one last time.

Harry had heard something behind him. It was all he could do not to look. He heard something running towards him and whatever it was it was not a person. A slight noise, not a snarl or a growl but it was some kind of vocalization and the swing next to him was twisting violently. The half of a ham sandwich was gone and Harry saw a large, back four legged thing with a bushy tail running away. Then there was a flash of blue light and it vanished. Harry smiled. He finished what remained of his ham sandwich before standing and walking towards the curb. He pulled a small torch from his pocket and aimed it down the street flashing it three times. Moments later, a Land Rover pulled up and he got in the passenger side.

"Got him?" Robert Granger asked.

"Either that, or there's another large, black stray dog running about with a detectable magical signature," Harry said. "Odds are it's him. Bloody good thing too. Getting tired of ham sandwiches."

"I must be dead," he said when he came to. "I'm dead, aren't I? Probably hit by a car, wasn't I?"

"And why do you say that, Sirius Orion Black?" the angelic like woman said.

"'Cause I'm certain I've never seen this place ever and I'm seeing dead people."

"What? No 'good to see you again James?' No 'how have you two been?' What an ungrateful git!"

"Well, how grateful can I be if I'm dead?"

"Seems to have a death wish, Lils."

"A fixation, that's for certain. If he were dead, you'd expect he'd be more respectful. Last chance to get through the Pearly Gates and all that. Given his misbegotten youth, he should be worried it might be the Pit."

"Now Lils, he was never quite Pit-worthy."

"But he was such he should have been Pit-worried. Instead, he questions the gate keepers."

"I am dead, aren't I?" Sirius asked.

"He certainly has a death ideation, don't you think?" the woman asked the man standing next to her.

"He's a fool. He's not stupid. Most of the Wizarding World wants him dead and there're some all too eager for the fifty thousand Galleon reward to see to it."

"So this was for a reward?"

"We're not in this for the money," the man said.

"I meant back there! Didn't think money would mean anything here."

"Still thinks he's dead, doesn't he?" the woman observed.

"No one ever called him a genius," the man said.

"I'm not dead?"

"You're breathing, aren't you Genius? There! Now someone has," the woman said with a laugh.

"There's a first time for everything," the man said with a shrug.

"You're Death Eaters, aren't you?" Sirius said accusingly.

The man gave him an evil grin.

"I won't tell you anything!"

"Oh," the woman said, "I can assure you, Black, by the time we're done with you, you'll come clean." Something grabbed him by the shoulders and he was somewhere else. In the split second before he was taken away, he could hear the two of them laughing evilly. When he gathered what remained of his wits, he realized he was somewhere very different. The room had tiles on the floor and walls. He was also very naked and very wet.

"That wasn't very nice, Mr. Potter. He's gone through hell. He hasn't seen you in a dozen years and you try to convince him he's dead or something!" Luna said although she was laughing.

"Not nice, but it was funny," James replied. "And I do still owe him for his last prank."

"It's been twelve years!"

"For him. It's been less than a week for me. Even better. They say revenge is a dish best served cold."

"You didn't tell the elves to give him a cold shower!" Lily gasped.

"Darn! Wish I'd thought of that. Oh well. Too late now."

"There's a story here," Hermione said. The five girls had seen the whole thing from behind a barrier. They could see what was going on. Sirius could not see them.

"We were called the Marauders in school," James said. "We were the school pranksters."

"Clowns, more like," Lily said. "Not always funny ones at that."

"We had no equal," James began.

"Don't count on it," Ginny said. "My brothers Fred and George will probably give you and your friends a real run for your money, assuming they haven't already. They're rather creative."

"Rather?" Daphne asked. "Last term they did something. Don't know what it was exactly. Thank Merlin only the victims truly noticed!"

"What?"

"I don't really know. Apparently they did something and all the boys in Slytherin thought their clothes had vanished right in the middle of lunch. As I said, only the victims noticed that. The idea of actually seeing something like that…" Daphne shivered.

"That was one of the tamer ones," Ginny commented. "As she said, no one noticed a thing."

"I think I remember that day," Hannah said. "The lot of them bolting for the door! Malfoy squealing! Then they show up to class that afternoon with robes over their robes. I wondered what happened. Not that it didn't happen to a nicer group."

"How long are you going to keep up this little prank of yours?"

"Can't speak for James," Lily said, "but I owe that dog for getting Harry a training broom for his first birthday!"

"'Til he figures it out, I suppose," James added.

"He will probably find the truth is stranger than the fiction," Luna observed.

"I assume it was him," Harry said. His parents and his girls were seated in the Great Hall.

"It was," his father replied. "We're having a little fun with him now."

"Oh? Where is he?"

"Upstairs, getting a make-over," Hannah said.

"I hope you're not serious," Harry deadpanned.

"No, that's Hannah. She's a girl and a very pretty one. Sirius is upstairs," James said.

"Tell me that wasn't the running joke when you were in school," Hermione moaned.

"I could, but I'd be lying," James replied.

"What do you mean you're having a little fun with him?" Harry asked.

"It's his fault!" the girls said in unison.

"Whose? My Dad's or Sirius."

"One could say a little of both," Lily chuckled, "although I'm not innocent. Sirius took one look at James and I and passed out. When he came to, he was convinced this must be the afterlife and we've been running with it."

"Which gives me an idea for Phase Two of the Great Potter Padfoot Prank," James said with a grin. He then explained Phase Two. He was a little surprised that Harry was willing to play along. Harry did not seem like the pranking type.

Harry and Ginny walked into the informal dining room. The other residents of the House were seated at the table eating breakfast. Only one guest was missing.

"Where's Sirius?" James asked.

"Took one look at the two of us and was convinced he was dead," Harry said. "I said he was alive. He said something 'bout round the twist and passed out again."

"I think you've had enough fun with him," Hermione said although she was chuckling. "He looked have starved and needs to eat."

James gave her a pout. Then he nodded.

"Dobby?" Harry called.

"Yes, Harry Potter Sir?"

"Have the staff make sure our guest is presentable and then have him escorted to breakfast."

"At once, Sir!" Dobby popped away.

"Maybe I shouldn't have called him," Harry said with a smirk.

"Harry!" Hermione growled.

"He is enthusiastic," Harry said with an evil grin.

Sirius Black was now fairly certain he was not dead. He was certain, however, that he had completely gone round the twist. He was not completely surprised. He had spent twelve years in Azkaban which was more than enough time to lose it. The surprising part was his break from reality occurred after he was shot of the place. He never thought getting away from that hell would unhinge him, but this place and recent events had proven him wrong. He wondered if he had been losing it before. It was getting harder to control that damned dog and he now knew that ham sandwich must have been a portkey. The other option – that it was some kind of hallucinogenic thing – was another possibility he could not rule out, but for now he preferred a portkey. Being dead made more sense. But that bath had not been painless. He doubted the House Elves – assuming that's what they were – were being cruel. But having not had a true bath in years (one had to discount the monthly prison hosing down), it was not as pleasant as it might otherwise have been. They had been eager to get him clean and he would not be surprised if he was red and raw from their enthusiastic ministrations.

He began questioning reality the moment he arrived at wherever he was. Either his eyes were deceiving him or his mind was because what he saw was impossible. He saw James and Lily Potter. He was certain he saw them, but was equally certain it could not possibly be them. He had wanted that night to be nothing but a bad dream for so long, he was now convinced the dream had become reality and, therefore, he was finally insane. James and Lily were dead. He had seen their lifeless bodies. And yet there they were, none the worse for wear and not a day older. Twelve years had passed, he knew that only from that paper the fat man in the green bowler had left with him. Those two looked no older than his last memory of them. Then he woke up in a warm soft bed, the first bed he had been in and years and there they were again, except much, much younger. The James and Lily he saw before he passed out again had to be ten years younger than the James and Lily he had seen the night before. He had to be insane.

Now there was a House Elf in his room. He had not been here long, but he dreaded these House Elves as much as he dreaded the visions of his dead friends. He was certain these things only looked like House Elves. They certainly did not behave like any House Elf he had ever known. This was hell, he was certain of it and he was being tormented by these little demons. And the torment continued. The Elf laid some clothes on the end of the bed and ordered him to get dressed for breakfast. Elves never ordered! But that's what it sounded like. It was not a request or a polite suggestion, not that elves were likely to do that either. It was an order. The Elf was insisting! He was not rude or curt, but it was clear he expected Sirius to do as he was told. Sirius decided to humor the little demon. No sense in giving it an excuse to do the worst. He was soon wearing clean underwear, slacks, a shirt with a collar and strange kind of leather shoes that it seemed one wore without socks. (Either that or the Elf omitted socks for some reason). When he was dressed, he looked for a mirror but found none. The Elf returned before a more exhaustive search could begin and ordered Sirius to follow him down to breakfast.

He was in some kind of Manor. This much was obvious. He was certain he had seen some of the portraits before somewhere, but he knew that wherever that somewhere was it was not here. He knew he had never been here before. He was soon led into a very sunny dining room with tall windows that looked out over a broad lawn that stretched into the distance. This was the kind of room he would have remembered had he ever been here before, which he had not been. Like the rest of the manor, it had an elegance to it, but lacked the opulence common to many of the manor homes he had known. Aside from the portraits and tapestries, it was as if this place was intended to be understated. This dining room was no different. It was small, elegant and yet simple without the flash most purebloods of any means would insist on having to impress. There was one table and he saw there were several people already seated about it. He paused when he saw both versions of James and Lily Potter were there. He had definitely lost it. The younger version of James looked at him.

"Have a seat, Mr. Black," the version said. There was one empty seat at the table. There was food as well and the others were eating. Whatever reservations serious may have had vanished. He was hungry. But the two versions of his friends still confused him.

"I've gone round the twist," he said.

"Oh, I'm sure you have not, Mr. Black," a voice said. Sirius looked at its source and saw a blonde haired girl with large, pale blue eyes looking at him with an odd expression. "You're just having an odd experience."

"I must be mad," he said taking his seat.

"And why do you insist upon such a thing?" the girl asked.

"'Cause I'm seeing things."

"Seers call that 'visions'," the girl said.

"Seeing dead people is not a vision," Sirius replied. "Where am I?"

"Perhaps you should order before you get too keyed up to do so," another girl said. "Fill out the card. You can have as much as you want or are comfortable with, but only one helping at a time. Your host does not like wasting food."

"Which reminds me," the younger version of James said, "you owe me for half a ham sandwich."

"Where am I?" Sirius asked after filling out his card. It vanished and was replaced with a plate of eggs and bacon.

"Oh goody," the blonde said. "That is easily my favorite topic! We've spent weeks trying to figure that out and new ideas are most welcome!"

"You don't know where this is?"

"Oh, but we do," the girl said. "But we also do not. Right now we are in Devon, Kent, Royal Berkshire, Shropshire and Surry in England and yet we are also in none of those places and maybe not even in England at all. We wonder if this part of the world or separate and apart from it. We can prove it is not clearly part of the world, but we cannot prove that it exists separate and apart from the world. So that leaves the question where are we with all sorts of wonderfully fascinating ideas, but no true answers. For now, it is easiest to say we are where we believe we are knowing only that we are here."

Sirius blinked. What was truly scary was as odd as that was, it seemed there was sense to it. "I've definitely lost my marbles."

"I'm pretty sure you did not have any marbles when you arrived," the younger version of Lily said.

"Must have lost them before he arrived then," another girl added.

"Why would someone your age have marbles?" the sole brunette at the table asked.

"Perhaps he had them for sentimental reasons," another of the five girls said. "I have a plushie like that."

"That would make sense," the first girl said.

"I'm sorry you lost your marbles," one of the blonds said.

"If you lost them here, they'll turn up and you can have them back," another added.

"I think he meant he thinks he's crazy," the older version of Lily said.

"Why would he think that?" the blonde with the strange eyes said. "That's just silly."

"If he thinks he's crazy, he's probably sane," the brunette said. "A crazy person would think everyone else is crazy and he's the only sane person around. To him, that could be the only rational answer which is of course why they're crazy."

"Why do you think you're crazy, Mr. Black?" the odd eyed blonde asked.

"Um … I'm seeing my friends. I can't be seeing them because they're dead."

"Really? And where are these friends?"

He pointed to the two versions of his friends. There was no reaction when he pointed to the older two, which he did first. When he pointed to the younger two, everyone else at the table laughed. He was confused.

"You're friends had names, didn't they?" one of the other blondes said.

"James and Lily Potter," Sirius nodded.

"Look in my eyes," the younger James said. Sirius did. The eyes were all wrong. Now he was really confused. "Am I James Potter?"

"N-no. But who?"

"Who indeed. I believe introductions are in order. I am Harry James Potter and this is my place – contrary to Luna's questions of where we are we all agree this is my place wherever it is. This is Hermione, Luna, Daphne, Hannah and Ginny." He indicated each of the young women at the table, the last one being what he thought was a younger Lily. Looking at her he realized that too was wrong. Her eyes were the wrong color altogether. "I've been told you fancied yourself the ladies' man in the past, Mr. Black. I would advise you that these ladies are all far too young for you and, more importantly, they are all spoken for. I will not take it kindly were you to try anything with my wives and betrothed."

"Wha…?"

"But you are correct about the other two. Ginny?"

"James and Lily Potter are alive and live in the Cottage in the Valley," the girl named Ginny said.

"And these two," Harry continued, "are James and Lily Potter."

"It can't be!"

"Why not," the blonde called Luna asked.

"They're dead!"

"And you know this how?"

"They're dead! This is all some sort of trick!"

"I do believe he thinks we're evil, Harry," the blonde identified as Daphne said. "He probably thinks you're You-Know-Who."

Harry smirked. "Daphne? I know it's spelled You-Know-Who but it's pronounced Voldemort."

Sirius blinked as the others chuckled.

"Why do you think James and Lily Potter are dead?" Luna asked again.

"I know they're dead! I saw their bodies!"

"Or did you merely think you saw them."

"Don't be silly! Of course I saw them!"

"They say looks can be deceiving," Hermione said. "So we have a problem. You say you saw James and Lily dead and yet you see them here. Either your eyes were deceiving you then or they're deceiving you now."

"Um…"

"Did you do anything then to confirm what you thought you saw?"

Sirius shook his head. "It didn't seem necessary."

"Did you try to counter any magic that may have been present?"

"No. It was obvious…"

"And wizards believe they are so brilliant, so great," she said dismissively. "Not one of them thought to question that which was before their eyes when they live in a world when one should always question it. Magic can be wonderful, but it also can be deceptive, can it not?"

"The counter-charm was very obscure," the one who looked like Lily said, "but a standard Auror detection charm would have alerted someone that there was more there than met the eye. It was set up to fool Voldemort and his minions who I figured would not stick around to run forensics on their work. I never figured it would trick the entire world.

"Had you run a standard forensics, you would have noted something was off with the two bodies you saw. They only looked human. As you should recall, Sirius, Gamps Second Law states that the details in a transfigured object are greater where the original object more closely resembles the target object in mass, structure and elemental composition. It also states that permanence of transfiguration and the ease of counteracting it has a similar relationship."

"You didn't transfigure two corpses, did you? I mean assuming I believe this."

"No. That would be illegal now, wouldn't it," Lily said. "Of course if your definition of a corpse is broader than homo-sapiens, you would be spot on. What you saw were two dead pigs as in the four legged creatures we use to make the bacon you're eating. From a transfiguration standpoint, they are sufficiently close to humans in many critical ways to take full advantage of the Second Law."

"But why? And why is it you don't look any older? And how? I may not have checked the bodies, but it was clear the place had been attacked. You can't fake a scene that well and that quickly."

"You're correct," James said. "As for why, we didn't trust Dumbledore."

"You seemed to trust him when you told us you were agreeing to his plan," Sirius said.

"At that time, I did," James replied. "There was a loyalty potion involved – and a rather powerful one. There might've been a compulsion charm as well 'cause I remember eating one of his damned lemon drops. But this little scheme of Lily's… she came up with it before that happened. Got everything in place where we needed it. Once she were ready, Lils cast a Fidelius Charm on what she had done and made little Harry the Secret Keeper."

"But he could not possibly have told! He couldn't have remembered."

"Exactly!" Lily said. "The secret's hidden in a person's magic, not in their mind. You can use a baby as a Secret Keeper if you accept that the secret cannot be told. Our charm was set so it would terminate if the magic it protected activated 'cause by then we'd be safe in our cottage in the Valley."

"So how did you manage to replace yourselves? Are you saying the enemy never attacked?"

"Voldemort showed up alright," James said. "It was quite a fight and, believe it or not, he wasn't as good as he thought he was. I might've sorted him out in time. But when Lily gave me the signal, I let up my defense just enough to give him an opening and he sent off a Killing Curse."

"Signal?"

"I screamed telling his to save himself too," Lily said. "That told him we were ready. The spell I used is from a very old Potter family journal. It's really complex. It combines very complex transfiguration with a switching spell and if triggered, both happen faster than the blink of an eye. In this case, we were replaced by the transfigured pigs. Naturally, it was not simple. The spell was invented with just such a scenario in mind and therefore, to fool the attacker, the doppelganger had to look exactly like the original had the moment before down to every cut and injury and even blood patterns. This required a blood ritual to work. Specifically I had to replace the blood in the pigs with our blood – the more of our blood in the pig the more effective the spell. I did a full transfusion. It took over a week and a lot of blood replenishing potion for the three of us, but it worked … mostly."

"Mostly?"

"The trigger was lethal magic," Lily continued. "A lethal spell had to penetrate a plane about three inches from our bodies. By lethal, I mean one that would kill us, not one which could kill us. The Killing Curse could not trigger the spell unless it absolutely would hit and kill us otherwise. Voldemort got the two of us with that curse. The ones that triggered the transference were unblocked and could not be dodged. Whatever happened after he cursed me, he did not trigger the transference with Harry meaning Harry survived and would've survived whatever had followed."

"Maybe I did survive the Killing Curse that night," Harry said. "That's what everyone believes. Maybe something else happened. Regardless, whatever happened it was not lethal to me so that spell of Mum's was not triggered."

"But why are you two so … so young looking?"

"Remember, I said the trigger had to be lethal and not merely potentially lethal. A potentially lethal spell that was off such that it would not kill on impact would not trigger the transference. The spell I used was a bit dodgy that way. Thus, we could be seriously injured, possibly to an extent that without a Healer we would ultimately die. As an added precaution we transferred to a location under a stasis charm, freezing us in time as of the exact moment of transference. Naturally we were in no position to drop the charm and I set things up so only you or Remus could, or so I thought. We figured one of you would pop 'round to the Valley. We don't know what happened to Remus. But you just had to get your sorry self chucked away at that Artist Colony!"

"How did you know…?"

"My Mum's part of our little scheme," Hermione said. "You saw here a couple of days ago. She's Rose Granger."

"You're that Hermione?"

"Not to swift on the uptake, are you," Harry said. "Hermione's hardly a common name."

"How was I supposed to know that? That's the Muggle World. For all I knew it's a popular name! It is a pretty one."

"Remember, Mr. Black. She's spoken for!"

"I didn't mean it that way. So if it took Remus or me to undo the stasis charm and you have no idea where Remus is – I take it – how was it undone?"

"Harry was our Secret Keeper," Lily replied. "That and it was his blood that was needed to break the overlapping charm matrix. I think that allowed him to get the letter addressed to you two. It's the only explanation I have and given how tricky all that magic is, that makes sense to me. He revived us not long ago. Nearly twelve years have passed for you. It's only been a few days since that night for James and me."

"And the…,"

"I'm still pregnant," Lily said. "May go down as the longest pregnancy on record although I'm not about to let that information out any time soon."

"Thank Merlin for that," Sirius said relaxing. "Still, this is…"

"A bit intense?" Harry asked.

"Seems like a great, big prank."

"Or several not so big pranks," James said.

"Last night?"

"I ask you, Padfoot, what would you have done in my shoes? You show up here understandably confused and see Lily and I and automatically assumed you snuffed it?"

"I'm still waiting for the end."

"That one ended. The prank of our misreported death remains ongoing…"

"If we're listing Sirius pranks, don't forget the ham sandwich," Harry added.

"What was that, by the way, and how did you… James told you what I was, right?"

"I already knew," Harry shrugged. "The sandwich was a portkey, obviously."

"But what if I was a real dog?"

"Then you'd have nicked a perfectly fine ham sandwich and I'd be out a portkey. Fortunately, I had a spare in my jacket for just such a situation."

"And what would've happened to the dog?"

"Nothing. The portkey could only be triggered if a wizard bit into it. It needed the magical signature to complete the spell. We knew you'd be running 'round as a dog, mostly. Pretty sure you stopped off somewhere to nick the clothes you were wearing when you showed up at the Grangers and they knew you might just try that seeing as they knew that you knew I was to go there if anything happened. But, seeing as the Wizarding World would be after you – and they've issued a death warrant for you…"

"A death warrant? For escaping?"

"For what you supposedly did to get tossed into that place and then escaping and making the Minister for Magic look like a fool."

"Not that he needed your help," Luna said. "He is a fool. Just doesn't want anyone to know it. So he's a little upset with you."

"The evening after you met the Grangers, Fudge went a step further – or at least that's when it came out. You're now the most wanted man in Britain."

"Death Warrant means just that," Sirius shrugged.

"No, we mean all of Britain. Your face is plastered all over the Muggle news as well. Of course, they say nothing about your being a wizard. You're what they call a terrorist who's supposed to be threatening to kill the Royal Family, in addition to already being a proven mass murderer and escaped convict."

"You've set a new mark for notorious," James said. "Not even Voldemort got that kind of press."

"Anyway, we knew you were coming for me. I knew if I remained near my relatives you couldn't get to me. There are some interesting wards on that place and right now the only wizards who can get within a hundred meters of the place are Dumbledore and the Weasleys. So I had to get out from the wards if I wanted to catch a certain doggy. I figured you would be rather hungry so I set up a free meal. You were … predictable."

"Stupid dog," Sirius growled. "Not that I'm complaining."

"We know you're innocent," Harry began to continue.

"This is Sirius Black," his mother chided. "Sirius and innocent are a contradiction in terms. But … continue Harry."

"In November '81 you were chucked into Azkaban without a trial. Admittedly, there was an Emergency Decree that allowed for this under the right circumstances and getting caught red handed in a murder qualified."

"But I never…!"

"We know and even as warped as your situation was, the Aurors who caught you could not say they saw you cast the spell that killed all those Muggles."

"'Cause I didn't."

"We know! What did you in, supposedly, was your confession."

"What confession? I don't remember a confession! They took me into the Ministry and the Head of DMLE asked a few questions and I was off to that resort of horrors!"

"We have a copy of that interrogation," Hannah said. "And a copy of the next day's issue of the Daily Prophet where Crouch bragged about your so called confession. You barely said a thing in response to any questions. What you did say were: It's all my fault. They'd be alive if it wasn't for me and one other thing. Mostly it was those two statements over and over and without regard to the question. The only clear response you gave was to the question: Did you kill Peter Pettigrew? You said: I certainly wanted to."

"I did."

"With that," Harry said, "they said you confessed to being a Death Eater, part of Voldemort's inner circle; conspiring to kill my family; conspiring to commit line theft; killing Peter Pettigrew; killing a dozen Muggles; seventy-seven separate violations of the Statute of Secrecy and that you implicated yourself in numerous other unspecified crimes."

"That's a load of…"

"Dragon dung, but no one seemed to notice. Under that Emergency Decree you were supposed to eventually get a proper trial. Everyone else did. You did not."

"Why not?" James asked.

"We don't know, not for certain. But we're pretty sure Dumbledore swept it all under a rug. No one was eager to let suspected Death Eaters off the hook. Dumbledore seemingly bent over backwards for those rounded up under the Emergency Decree and a load of really nasty Death Eaters who remained at large when Voldemort disappeared. Sirius Black, however, was forgotten. Then again, Sirius Black had been named as my potential surrogate father and my primary magical guardian in my parent's will and Dumbledore was not about to allow that to happen." Harry then explained Dumbledore's plot that went into action after his parents' death. "Wouldn't do to let the Grangers and Lovegoods keep their memories, or give you a trial he knew would see you free and therefore more than capable of undoing his little plans. He even obliviated Ginny's parents when they balked about that marriage contract he had drawn up. Keeping me out of the world and away from those who knew my heritage – better yet distrustful of such people as most were Slytherins – was part of his plan to gain control over my House Votes, which might tip the balance in favor of the Liberals. As I understand it, he has to wait until I'm twenty-one to gain full control over those votes through his indirect vassalage. He might have been able to do it earlier. Once I turn seventeen I can change my House Proxy after all."

"So I rotted in prison while Death Eaters got off free all for some votes on the Wizengamot?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"They all claimed they were under the Imperius Curse."

"That's a load of rubbish! You can't take that mark that way. You have to want to do those things!"

"Dumbledore convinced enough people to let the past remain there. There were others who did not like it at all, but thought that to disregard that defense would be a problem. The fact that those claiming it were lying never seemed to bother the Wizengamot. Then again, several of its members were probably Death Eaters as well or at least had been supporters."

Sirius was silent for a long time. He ate his breakfast, but was clearly thinking about something.

"Okay, you said you knew all this before you revived your parents and yet it seems to me no one was meant to know and some of it not even your parents could've known. You even knew some things that only a handful of people in this world could've known and the only other one who realistically could have told you that I was a dog animagus was Remus Lupin and you said you've never met him. How'd you know that?"

"Ginny?"

"Harry, Hermione and Luna have and will have access to memories from a future that has not happened yet," Ginny said.

"You're from the future?"

"No," Harry replied. "And we can't tell you much about it. Future knowledge only seems to come to us in bits and pieces and only when needed for some reason. Our first true uncap – that's what we call it – began with a picture in the Daily Prophet. Dobby?"

Dobby popped into the room and handed Harry a paper. He handed it to Sirius. "I don't believe it!"

"Fudge gave it to you. He's the current Minister for Magic. You told him you wanted to do the cross-word."

"How?"

"You told me. Or I should say a Sirius Black in that other future tells that me about two years from now. The picture is of Ginny's family in Egypt. What caught your attention was the one wizard only you, my parents and Lupin would have known: Peter Pettigrew. You released yourself on…"

"His own recognizance," Luna supplied.

"Thanks. … to get the rat. My guess is you don't really care what happens to you as long as you get the rat."

Sirius nodded.

"Unfortunate then. You see, you've become somewhat important to our plans and seeing you caught does not factor in at all."

"Harry?" Lily said after a pause. "Why would you do something like try to change the future?"

"It didn't work out exactly as Dumbledore planned," Harry replied. "But the one bit that did was that House Potter was no longer a factor politically. That me didn't care. Didn't want anything to do with politics. That me didn't know about House Potter at all. Nothing really changed and because nothing changed people like the Death Eaters kept popping up. Finally, they went too far and the Muggle took real notice. As I understand it, by the time we did what we did to change things, most of the magical world had been wiped out completely."

"Contrary to what many in the Wizarding World believe," Hermione interjected, "Muggles don't hate us. If we were revealed under the right circumstances, they'd probably ignore us for the most part. But we revealed ourselves as a real threat to them… That they would not ignore and they are far better at killing than we are and far more willing to do so as a whole. The weapon they ultimately used could not be countered. With the exception of a single place a thousand miles or so from anywhere else, every magical thing on earth was wiped out in a terrible plague. Millions of Muggles died in that struggle as well, but there are billions of them. It is that future we're hoping to avoid. Voldemort must be dealt with. But he was in that timeline as well and that was long, long before the Muggles noticed. It was Dumbledore's ideas that led to that end. His ideas must be crushed even more surely than Voldemort must be defeated."

"And how do I fit in?" Sirius asked.

"Didn't know at first," Harry admitted. "It made no sense. In that future, we don't meet until next May or June. You remain a fugitive and are killed about two years after we meet. I couldn't see how changing that bit fit into the bigger picture. Then it came to me. Mind you, this was before I learned about my parents. I have no future knowledge of them at all. I'm certain I never learned they managed to survive that night. But a free Sirius Black is a serious problem for Dumbledore's plans. What I've already done so far is as well. But a free Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black who happens to be my Godfather? It would become very, very hard and potentially politically suicidal for Dumbledore to make a serious effort to right his ship and get me back under his thumb."

"But I was free in that other time."

"You weren't in Azkaban, but you were not free. You could not take up your family seat nor control its proxy. Had you tried, you'd be dead. Dumbledore knew about you and kept you reasonably safe because doing so kept me in line. But he was never about to allow you to prove your innocence. Doubt he would've lifted a finger to help if they caught you again. He did once, but that's only because I insisted on helping you and I could. If I hadn't been around, you'd be dead and he'd've told me how his hands were tied. That me would probably have believed that nonsense."

"But how…? Never caught Pettigrew, did I?"

"You caught him the day we first met in that timeline," Harry replied. "He just didn't stay caught."

"Dirty rat!"

Harry nodded. "Four people knew the truth aside from you and then and now, you don't count. Then and now, if you're caught in the magical world they'll kill you first and ask questions later. You can't be free so long as the rat remains at large. The others who knew the truth were that Remus Lupin fellow – who we haven't met yet and who no one would believe for some reason – Hermione here, Ginny's brother Ron and myself. Dumbledore said the Ministry and Wizarding World would never believe the word of three thirteen year olds…"

"Not under those circumstances," Daphne said. "Pettigrew was still on the loose after all and Harry had no political pull. He had not claimed his birthright nor had he had any contact with any of the House Potter retainers. That's already changed in this time."

"As you know and I've found out, as just Harry Potter no one need listen to me at all. I may be famous for some reason, but I was just another student at Hogwarts. Without the Potter title firmly behind me and control over that, everything else aside I was just another thirteen year old and so were my friends. Dumbledore probably believed us, but he was not about to really help so you remained a fugitive. This is the thing we still have to deal with. The Ministry is not about to cut you a break. They won't listen to me or give you a chance to prove they're wrong about you. So, in order to get you your full freedom we need..."

"The rat!"

"For starters," Harry nodded. "Getting the rat should be fairly easy. It's currently the 'pet' of my friend Ron. He's off in Egypt with his family, but once they return the rat is ours! Ginny here's gonna try and nick it later this summer and if for some reason that fails, the thing sleeps in my dorm at school. Now that bit's the easy part. Using the rat to help you is something we're still working out. But here's the thing, Sirius. You want the rat dead and my Dad does too. We need it alive and well and able to talk."

"He'll lie."

"Veritiserum," Hermione said. "We have a few ideas and pumping him full of that potion and getting him to spill in front of the right people would go a long way towards getting you off the Wizarding World's most wanted list. Still trying to figure out how to pull that off. We do have a short list of the right officials…"

"Amelia Bones," Hannah said. "She's the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and my best friend's Aunt and guardian."

"And a Moderate," James added.

"Under the table, as it were," Hannah agreed. "She has the authority to reopen your case. But she won't do it just 'cause we ask. We hand her Pettigrew on a silver platter, however…"

"Until then?" Sirius asked.

"You're not safe," Harry replied. "There are perhaps only a few places in the world where you could rest easy. Unless the Goblins are angry with you, you'd be safe at Gringotts…"

"Getting there's a problem," Sirius said.

"Not as much as you think," Harry countered. "You may be safe in one of your family properties…"

"Doubt granddad or the current Lord Black would be accommodating," Sirius observed.

"Lord Arcturus Black died two years ago," Daphne said. "He did not name an alternate heir meaning you're it."

"But I was disowned."

"Not according to the Ministry," Hannah said. "Your parents did cast you out but the Head of House Black never ratified their decision. That means you are Lord Apparent."

"We get you to Gringotts and you're Lord Black. It might make some hesitate, but we still need the rat to force the Ministry to place nice," Harry continued.

"He didn't disown me?"

"No. But he apparently made no effort to get you out of that place."

"No surprise there," Sirius said. "I was in there for finally living up to my Black heritage, or so my mother would say. She probably convinced Granddad that being a convicted follower of Voldemort was some sort of honor."

"Guess it's a good thing she's dead as well," Harry said. "It's a lovely family you had. Seems all the decent ones were disowned."

"As far as I know, you and your father were not," Sirius said. "Then again, Potters are and Ancient and Noble House. Disowning that line was out of the question. Too much to gain by keeping that connection open."

"Might also be why Lord Black didn't disown you," James said. "You're parents had issues with your beliefs, but you were tight with House Potter."

"Granddad was far less concerned with politics than my mother. Politics for him was whatever benefited House Black. If a fortune could be had by marrying one of us off to a Muggle, he'd have disowned any Black who objected. Still, where does this leave me?"

"With us for the foreseeable future," James said. "Lils and I can't reappear just yet. Well, we could. The Ministry's not bent on displaying our corpses in the Atrium. But there are good reasons to keep the news that we're not nearly as dead as everyone believes quiet for now. You're safe here on the Estate and if need be we can get you to Gringotts to take care of business."

"Until you're truly free," Harry added, "you're a guest of House Potter. This estate is one of those trunk places … eight of them really … and it includes the Valley that you knew about. Plenty of room to stretch out and things to do and all that. You're also under House Potter Protection from here on out, which means even if the Ministry finds out I'm giving you refuge, there's not a thing they can do about it except make stepping out into their world even more unhealthy."


	28. Chapter 28: Occupational Theropy

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Because of the day and delay, another two for the price of one...

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY**

**Friday, August 6****th**** 1993**

Harry had activated time compression the moment he had returned to the trunk after catching the stray dog. They had a week before the real Friday returned, what little was left of it for it was about a half hour until midnight when he activated one of his favorite trunk features. Dobby had so interconnected the trunks that Time Compression could apply throughout the estate. His control room was now larger for he could now control and monitor each of the eight separate trunks from this one room. He never spent much time in the Control Room, but there was a part of him that thought it was the coolest place in his whole estate.

He had activated Time Compression because he wanted to give Sirius time to settle in before August resumed. He and his girls were no longer on Holiday in France but they had a busy "Outside" schedule for the remainder of the summer and he wanted more time with his parents and Sirius before they returned to Hogwarts. He wanted more time for them to refine their plans so that catching the rat would result in the ultimate exoneration of Sirius Black and they could truly begin the task of relegating one Albus Dumbledore and his Liberal faction to the dustbin of history. It was, after all, the least he could do given what the man was trying to do to him and his family. He had no illusions that it would be either quick or easy. This was not a situation for charging in. It required patience, persistence and above all a fair degree of subtly.

This was a project best tackled one small step at a time. The more Harry thought about it, the more he could see that was the only way to ensure success. He was willing to settle for getting the man out of his life, but knew in the long run that would not be enough. The man remained a threat so long as anyone thought he was in anyway relevant to anything. In all probability, their plan would not see Dumbledore cast into prison. He could quite conceivably keep many of his positions including that of Headmaster. But his ability to use those positions to his own ends would eventually come to an end. He would be rendered less than a figurehead. Maybe he's actually do one of his jobs. The more Harry had thought about it the more he was convinced the man wasn't doing any of them. Actually doing the job probably got in the way of scheming, manipulating and advancing whatever this Greater Good of his was.

But dealing with Dumbledore and Voldemort – and Harry had to deal with that vile bastard as well – was not something that could be done quickly and cleanly and certainly not any time soon. Harry sat in his study to reveal what was in his immediate schedule:

_Monday 2 August - ?: Catch stray doggie – DONE 5/8_

_Saturday 8 August: Grangers, Greengrasses, M. Abbott visit. ONE DAY! Lunch, Dinner. Send Letter to Gringotts about meeting w/ Black Account Manager for Sirius and Private Shopping for Sirius, Mum and Dad._

"One Day" meant no planned Time Compression. Lunch and Dinner meant the guests would be there for those meals. It did not mean Harry would make either of them. The rest of the entry was new. Gringotts was considered an independent country and would not honor any British Warrant just because the Ministry asked. By treaty, if the Ministry wanted to arrest any witch or wizard in Gringotts, they needed Gringotts to issue something called a "writ of extradition". Harry understood it was a complicated procedure to get one of those, so complicated that it took weeks by which time the fugitive would be long gone and the treaty required a new writ be requested for any new attempt at an arrest. This meant that the Ministry had to request weeks in advance the right to arrest a person on a specific day and had to submit a separate request for each day they wanted to be able to arrest that person. There was no guarantee that any such request would be approved nor was it certain that if such a request was approved that later requests to arrest the same person would also be approved. If the suspect was deemed as not a threat to Gringotts, there was no reason for Gringotts to allow the Ministry the request. The only request they had ever approved in Britain had been for Voldemort and that was only after the deaths of some Goblins. As far as anyone knew, Voldemort never had done any business at Gringotts, so that approval was much ado about nothing, particularly because had the man every entered Gringotts after those deaths, the Goblins would probably have killed him first and turned over the body to the Aurors.

As Harry understood it, as long as Sirius could get to and from the Bank safely, the entire Auror department could be in the Lobby and would be powerless to even attempt to arrest him – unless they wanted a war with the Goblins. Despite the rubbish taught in History of Magic, Goblin Wars had never gone well for the Wizards. There were many reasons for this, not the least of which was the fact that Gringotts was the bank throughout their world. If one Wizard country went to war with the Goblins, they went to war with all of the Goblins and quite a few of the other Wizarding nations as well. Harry thought the idea of Black walking through the bank would be a nice poke in the eye for magical Britain. Of course, they'd only be that bold if they were certain to get away with it.

Regardless of whether Sirius walked through the lobby bold as brass or did all his business in a private conference room, they wanted him to assume his titles as Lord Black and meet with private vendors. His parents would be meeting with such vendors as well. These vendors would be foreign who travelled to the London Branch with their wares via the banks private and completely internal international floo connection (the only truly international one in existence). All of their research over the summer suggested that Voldemort was mostly a British thing. His connections beyond the islands were very limited and his few efforts to operate beyond the islands had been quickly defeated. He barely rated a paragraph in the foreign press. Consequently, names like Potter and Black were not household words across the Channel. It was one thing Harry had really liked about France. The Boy-Who-Lived was all but unknown there and he could walk about the magical shopping districts and visit the magical places and not attract any more attention than any other foreigner. Use of foreign vendors for private shopping was a service provided to wealthy and favored customers of the bank. Harry did not know if he was one, but it did not hurt to ask. If his request was granted, his parents and Sirius could get clothes and, more importantly, new wands without having to reveal themselves to the rest of magical Britain.

_Tuesday 10 August: House Potter to visit House Longbottom. Longbottom Manor, 10:00 A.M. per Neville's request. Lunch and Dinner._

Harry had received a reply from Neville days ago about this. It seemed Neville was eager to see him for some reason. He had no sense of déjà vu about this which meant this had not happened in that other timeline for some reason. Naturally, he and his ladies were curious.

_Wednesday 11 August: Ginny's Birthday._

Harry had already bought her gift. He had bought special birthday gifts in France for Ginny, Hermione, Luna and Daphne who would all have their birthday's between now and the Christmas Holiday. He also had bought them Christmas presents, although he was sure he was going to buy them more between now and then. Hannah's birthday was in May. He had also bought her present in France. As for Ginny, her day was already planned out as Mrs. Granger was taking her and the other girls out for some "pampering" whatever that was.

_Saturday 14 August: Grangers, Greengrasses, Mrs. Abbott visit. ONE DAY! Lunch, Dinner. _

_Tuesday 17 August: Windsor Castle._

_Wednesday 18 August – Friday 20 August: London._

After the trip to France, Hermione though it would be a good idea to see these places. Harry was English after all and she thought it wasn't right that he had seen so much of France and so little of England. What surprised Harry was that you could see such places. He did not know that Windsor Castle was open for tours to the public or that you could see a fair bit of it if the Royal Family was not in residence – and they usually were not except on weekends and then only when they were not somewhere else. What also surprised Harry was that the Grangers had never been on a tour. They only lived a few miles away. Hermione had been on school trips, but never with her parents.

_Saturday 21 August: Grangers, Greengrasses, M. Abbott visit. ONE DAY! Lunch, Dinner. _

_Tuesday 24 August: Diagon Alley for school stuff._

_Wednesday 25 August: Weasleys return from trip. Ginny to visit her family. GET THE RAT!_

_Saturday 28 August: Grangers, Greengrasses, M. Abbott, Tennysons, Ginny returns, Weasley(?) visit. TC 1 week. _

The plan was that Ginny would spend a few days with her former family. If it worked out at the very least her parents would be allowed to visit. Harry was still unsure about the brothers. He didn't know Percy at all. Ron might have issues with Harry's new home and he might not. Harry figured show Ron the Quidditch Pitch and Ron would be okay with it. Fred and George? He liked them. He didn't need their pranks, however. Then again, with his Dad and Sirius around the twins may well find themselves on the losing end of a prank war and so long as he was not in the middle of it that might be fun. It was ultimately up to Ginny. Hopefully the Rat would already be caught and in stasis. Until they had found Harry's parents, they did not know what they were going to do with the rat other than keep it in a cage. Now they knew that a human could survive indefinitely under stasis and they already had whole storerooms set up with the charm. The Time Compression was mostly for the Tennysons and Luna. Harry hoped the Tennysons would change their mind about moving on, or at least doing so in a way that meant Luna lost them. She didn't need that. Harry hoped to convince them not to abandon their great-granddaughter. But the Time Compression was there for the purpose of giving them time to say their goodbyes as well.

"This is a little surreal," Sirius admitted. He was sitting on what was called a veranda which extended behind Harry's Manor and overlooked the extensive lawn and gardens that stretched off to the "north" of the place. James and Lily were with him enjoying the day. The others were somewhere else. While Harry and the others were spending time with the revived Potters and recently escaped prisoner, as these three would be living here for the foreseeable future, they felt it better to continue with or establish a routine rather than spend all their time "entertaining." After all, for now these three were also residents of the estate and not truly guests.

"How so, Padfoot?" Harry asked. The others had not noticed his arrival mainly because he had only just arrived. His "Ladies" were with him. "Hope we didn't arrive in the middle of a conversation. Always annoying." They took a seat. They had a glass of something with ice. "Juice," he said. The adults were allowed "adult" beverages and the first time they were served, Lily Potter had interrogated Harry on it until she was satisfied that the children were not indulging in such things.

"Good question," James added.

"Bit of a change in pace from my former situation," Sirius said. "I won't say I miss that, but I did get used to it. Much nicer here."

"What was it like?" Harry asked innocently.

"Hell," Sirius said. "If there's a hell on this earth, that place comes close. If I had not been an animagus, I'd've probably lost my mind ages ago. Mixed feelings about the place. I was a Hit Wizard during the War, you know. When we joined up, Auror training was practically on hold. They needed wands more than they needed full on Aurors. Much of Auror training has little to do with fighting. Aurors are also taught investigative techniques, infiltration skills, a fair bit of curse breaking and warding and magical forensics. Hit Wizards are taught to fight. The deal was we'd be Hit Wizards until such time as we could be reassigned to Auror training. Had we been in the Aurors, we'd still have been in training when that night happened.

"Still, there was a fair bit of on the job stuff. Naturally, it depended upon your team leader. I was assigned to a team led by Alistor Moody as were your parents. He was a hard corps, veteran Auror so the fact I was just a Hit Wizard never entered his mind. He expected us to pick up skills well beyond fighting. As such, we all got a chance to see that place – Azkaban that is. Didn't like it much then, either. Took us there for Patronus training…"

"Patronus training?" Harry asked.

"It's a charm. Only thing known that can keep those demons at bay much less drive them off," Sirius replied darkly.

"Dementors," Lily explained.

"Um…"

"You ever see Muggle drawings and such of Death?" Lily asked. "You know, black robed with a hood, no face, skeletal hands and carrying a sythe?"

Harry nodded.

"They're probably based on dementors," Lily said. "Although, Muggles can't see those things. Squibs can, however. No one really knows what they are. They are physical so that you can't really call them spirits. I wouldn't call them beings. They are, however, about as vile a thing as you're likely to ever encounter and I would hope that you never do. I've encountered them too. Voldemort managed to get some on his side somehow. No one knows how he managed that. The things seem to feed off of emotions. When they're around and close, every good feeling you have, every good memory, it's all gone. You feel miserable and depressed, enough so that it's hard to function. All you remember are your bad and unpleasant memories. It becomes dark. Light dims, warmth fades, hope vanishes. Nasty things. It comes back when they're gone but you're left with the memories of what it was like which is not a lot of fun either. The Ministry used those things to guard Azkaban Prison."

"Sounds rather cruel," Harry thought.

"They like to think they're progressive," James said. "Been using those things for ages. Perhaps it was progressive at the beginning when Muggles tortured and killed people for their crimes. Back then in the Muggle world, prison existed only to hold the criminal until it was time to kill them. We did away with execution in favor of letting those things suck out all hope and happiness."

"It's said that Dementors feed on good emotions," Daphne said. "They also can suck out your soul given a chance."

Sirius snorted. "Don't think anyone really knows what it is those things actually do. They can describe the effects, but that's it. Being around those things is not pleasant. It's cold whenever they're around. But that's nothing to what they do up here," he added pointing to his head. "When they're nearby, you feel miserable. You can only feel miserable. People try to explain what it's like, but feeling miserable and believing that's all you'll be ever again is about as clear an explanation as I can think of. Then again, if you were feeling miserable before one of those things popped by, you might not even notice. Being truly miserable makes them less effective. Know it helped me."

"It did?" several voices asked.

"Oh my!" Luna exclaimed oddly.

"Something wrong, Luna?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine. Later. Continue, Mr. Black."

"At first," Sirius nodded, "at least long enough 'til I figured out I had a better defense. I felt miserable when I was thrown to them – that's what it seems like. Most of the time in that place those things are loose. The only time they're not are the three or four times a day when the human guards are about. They only come around to bring you your meals – a nasty, tasteless gruel – and one other time to check on the prisoners and on occasion to remove the dead ones or take the live ones for a shower and change of togs – and that is not a pleasant experience either the way they do it.

"At first I was miserable not 'cause of those things, but because I was. My two best friends were dead – or so I thought – and another had betrayed them. I tried to avenge them and failed. And it was all my fault…"

"How was it your fault?" Hannah asked confused.

"I was originally the Secret Keeper. About a week before things went pear shaped, another Secret Keeper for another family was killed. He was an Auror and we have no reason to believe his death was because of his being a Secret Keeper even though the family he protected was a prime target for the bad guys. By then I was an Auror and just out of hospital following a rather nasty fight so I thought it better to choose a friend who was not sticking his neck out every day. I recommended Peter. Had I not done that…"

"You didn't know he was…?" Ginny began to ask.

"We suspected there was a spy. We were part of an organization led by Dumbledore. I won't say we completely trusted the man 'cause there were some of us who did not. There were others who did so completely. But that organization … well, it was the only thing really trying to stand up against the Death Eaters. It was a going concern before we finished Hogwarts so our choices were hope the Ministry took the lead in defeating those … people or join a group that would. There were many in the Ministry who wanted Voldemort dead and the Death Eaters dealt with, but that place was riddled with sympathizers, Death Eater spies and even Death Eaters. They were too divided to succeed. Our other choice was to start our own counter … um … counter something. Easier said than done. The third was join an organization already fighting the good fight with resources to do so. That left us with Dumbledore's Order. As I said, we suspected there was a Death Eater spy in the group. I suspected one of our other friends. I suggested Peter 'cause he's the last person you'd ever think could be one. He was the son of two Muggle Borns and had two Muggle Born grandparents, which we thought meant they'd never consider him worthy. There were other reasons not to suspect him. So he became the Secret Keeper and within a week… It was my fault. Worse that could've happened had I remained Secret Keeper was that I would die and the others in on the secret might talk. Instead, I gave it up to a traitor who spilled as soon as he could. So I felt miserable."

"You said at first," Hermione said.

"It was cold," Sirius nodded. "It's not like they're stoves there or fireplaces. It was winter and even if it had been warm, those things were about most of the time anyway. I began turning into Padfoot to stay warm. I soon realized that those things have no effect on Padfoot. As the dog, I was safe from them. Didn't make me feel much better, but I certainly didn't feel any worse and waste away like those other poor bastards. Most people lose it there if they're there long enough. Twelve years without totally losing it or not being dead or worse may be a record. At least five died in that place while I was there that I know of including two for certain who were sent there after I was. We don't have a death penalty. What we have is far, far worse."

"And you didn't even have a trial," Hermione said. "That's so wrong!"

"Life's not fair," Sirius said. "Although…, Well, this is… I could never have imagined all this! All I had to do was – what was it one of you said? – release myself on my own recognizance and here I am in a very nice place, with my two friends who I thought were dead not quite so dead yet and other very pleasant company. All that's really missing is a dating pool."

"Oh, I like swimming," Luna said. "We have plenty of places for that here. But you're talking another kind of swimming, aren't you Mr. Black."

Sirius laughed. "I am. While you ladies are quite lovely, you are all too young for this old dog and spoken for."

"Well," Lily said, "I really think it may be a while before you're ready for that, Sirius. You're still grossly undernourished and out of shape and goodness knows about your mental state…"

"Are you saying he may be unbalanced?" James asked with a mischievous grin.

"You can't say those things had no effect on him, James! Most people there as long as he was are mad! They may come out of it in time, but they are mad."

"And how are we to tell?"

"What?"

"Before Padfoot's recent island holiday you must say there were few who thought him sane, Lils."

"You're one to talk," Lily Potter huffed. "No one thought you were all there either. There were those who thought I must've gone round the twist to wind up married to a nutter like you."

"But it's a pleasant kind of insanity?"

"It is indeed," Lily said giving her husband a kiss.

"Well," Luna announced, "Mr. Black is not there anymore and if things go right will never be there again…"

"Still have to worry about those things," Sirius said.

"I agree."

"Why?" a few voices asked.

"'Cause they were in league with Voldemort during the last War," Sirius said. "Not all of them, probably only just a few; but they were a major problem."

"The threat is more immediate," Luna said.

"Oh?" several voices asked.

"When Lily described those things I had one of those memory things. Did you two?" she added looking at Harry and Hermione.

"No," they replied.

"Interesting," Luna said.

"What do you mean they're a more immediate threat?" Daphne asked after a pause.

"Sorry," Luna said. "I would say there must be Wrackspurts bothering me but there're aren't any here so I guess I was just thinking."

"Wrackspurts?" several asked.

"Tiny, invisible creatures probably related to fairies although I don't know that. They make you mind go all fuzzy. Hogwarts seems loaded with them."

"What were you thinking," Harry asked. He was not certain about whatever these things were. But Luna's Dad had been a leading Naturalist before Luna's Mum had died and they did believe that Luna had a point that it was by no means certain that every conceivable magical creature had been properly identified and described. Hermione was a little put off when Luna said that the work _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _was filled with inaccuracies. It was certain to Luna that its author Newt Scamander had studied many of the creatures personally, but she and her father had studied some of the others and found that work wanting. She said some of the descriptions were more akin to a fairy tale than the real thing suggesting that was what he used as a basis. In Luna's opinion he had never been to the Far East or India or south of the Sahara for if he had been he may have gotten those bits right.

"Why are you worried 'bout Dementors if V-voldemort is still not back?" Ginny asked.

"They're going to be at school this year," Luna said.

"WHAT?" several voices as Luna said as if to say they had not misunderstood here.

"They'll stop and search the Hogwarts Express," she continued. "The Ministry will say they are there to protect Hogwarts from Sirius Black. In my memory, I can't say if the Ministry is lying. It seems they believe that nonsense. But their idea of protection…"

"Luna?" Hannah asked after a pause.

"A student," Luna said sadly. "A girl who was on her way to start Hogwarts dies on the Hogwarts Express. Well, she either dies or has her soul sucked out. In my memory that was hardly common knowledge at the time."

"Soul sucked out?" Harry asked.

"It's the described effect of a full on attack from one of those things," Sirius said. "No one really knows what they do. They call it the Dementors' Kiss and they say it destroys the soul but does not harm the person physically. Maybe that's what it does but I'm not aware of any way to detect the existence or absence of a soul. If you can't detect it, how can you know it's not there? But that's not to say there's no indirect evidence. The person's mind is destroyed. They live, but everything that they ever were is gone and nothing will take its place. They're just a living shell, empty and irreparable. They need intensive care just to feed themselves and drink 'cause they won't do that on their own. Most who suffer that attack die within months of it."

"That's horrible!" Hermione said. "And they use those things to guard prisoners?"

Sirius shrugged.

"You said a First Year died?" Harry asked.

Luna nodded. "I don't remember her name. The memories are from years and years in the future, right? She never even made it to the sorting. She and I were sharing the same compartment when one of those things came in, put its face to hers as if kissing her and she was alive, but not there anymore, you know? She was not the only one, only the first. At least two more Muggle Borns died as well later in the year. One was during a Quidditch Match and another had wandered off alone during a Hogsmeade visit. The staff hushed it up for it was never even a rumor."

"Then how'd you know?"

"I saw it happen during that Quidditch match. The other one I saw when they brought the body back in the evening. I seem to recall at that time I had a way of being unnoticed 'cause there were other students who did see those bodies and they were obliviated."

"You weren't on the train?"

"They tried," Luna said. "It was years before I remembered it. We learned my mind is such that it's very, very hard to remove a memory. It just gets muddled enough so I can't recall it easily. But if enough time passes – in this case a few decades – and there's a reason to recall or something happens, then it comes back."

"And those things were there 'cause of me?" Sirius asked.

Luna nodded.

"The Wizarding World – or at least Wizarding Britain – thinks you're almost as bad as Voldemort," Hermione said.

"They assumed you got loose to finish me off," Harry added.

"The Ministry thought setting the Dementors loose would protect Harry," Luna said. "In my other memories; for some reason those things have a strange attraction to Harry. Harry was always nearby when one of those attacks happened. We thought much later those attacks happened 'cause someone was preventing those things from going after Harry and they were in some kind of frenzy 'cause he was around."

"Great!" Harry moaned. "But why didn't Dumbledore stop that?"

"As we understood – and nothing suggested otherwise – he tried. The Minister was set on employing those things and the Wizengamot supported that idea. They knew of the deaths. They did not change their minds about those things at all. After all, all the victims were either Muggle Borns or from unknown families…"

"That's horrible!" Lily and Hermione exclaimed although it was clear no one disagreed.

"So we get through last year when Voldemort was clearly bent on killing off the Muggle Borns without a student dying and everyone at school knew that and this year that does happen? Muggle Borns die and no one knows or cares?"

"The staff knew," Luna said. "Much later we learned that the Ministry and Wizengamot knew. I seem to recall from much later that many of the Professors were furious about it: McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Madam Pomfrey and others. They say Dumbledore was at least frustrated about it. But the government did not care. Perhaps if some Pureblood from a 'respected' family had died…"

"Like Malfoy!" Harry growled.

"Even better as he's an only child," Daphne added.

"Then the old codgers might have had second thoughts," Luna finished.

"Now we know why Luna had memories sent back as well," Daphne said. Everyone looked at her. "Harry and Hermione had memories about Sirius Black. It was their memories that told us he was innocent and only trying to help Harry. That's why we – or I should say Harry – brought him here. It's how we know about Pettigrew and why we're planning to capture him as well and why we have the plans about what to do once we have the rat in stasis. Luna had no memories of any of that. She probably knew nothing of that first hand. But she was a witness of these other events coming up this year and it seems she's the only one – or at least the only one of the three of them."

"Makes sense," Hermione nodded.

"But what do we do about it?" Harry said. "We can't let those people die, can we? But how do we stop it?"

"If you were older," Sirius said, "I'd say we could teach you the Patronus Charm. I mentioned it earlier. Even a weak one can keep one of those things at bay and if you do that long enough – how long, I don't know – they seem to give up and go away. A powerful one drives them away. But it's a very difficult spell. Well beyond your abilities…"

"In my memories, Harry learns it this year," Hermione said. "At the end of the year – and I don't remember how this worked – he used it against over a hundred of those things at once and drove them all away! They were attacking him and Sirius when he did it, although in my memory there were two Harrys: the one under attack and the one who cast the spell… Don't ask me how that happened 'cause I don't know except I had something to do with there being two Harry's at the same time."

"I'd say a Time Turner," Lily said…

"Grammy and Grampy mentioned those," Luna said brightly. "They invented them, you know."

"But how could Hermione get one? They're highly restricted. She's a rising Third Year, not an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries."

Harry, Hermione and Luna shrugged.

"We can't count on that," Harry said.

"Certainly not to prevent a death," Lily added. "That is not if the person actually died. You can't go back in time and undo death for some reason. I suppose you could go back and stop what might have been a death from happening. I don't know."

"Perhaps that's what they did," Ginny said. "They did something where Sirius and Harry did not die but to do that they went back in time to do what they did to prevent it."

"Possible," Lily nodded. "Not something you can count on, however. Sounds more like they had to have been – or will be – very, very lucky."

"Still," Hermione said, "it wouldn't hurt to learn that charm."

"It's well beyond you lot," Lily said with disappointment. "It's not taught until N.E.W.T. level charms and even then many can't get it to work at all."

"We can still try, can't we?" Harry asked with a tone of determination that made it sound more like a demand.

"Do you all have your wands?" Sirius asked. The five students were standing in the Magical Gym which they had been using all summer to practice spells. Ginny's First Year marks had not been good and they all agreed those marks did not reflect what she truly was capable of doing so they were determined to get her caught up and to get a head start on their next year. The five of them nodded as James and Lily stood with Sirius.

"This would be easier if we had wands and could demonstrate," Lily suggested.

"This isn't the levitation charm, Lils," James said. Lily nodded in agreement although the children looked confused. Why would that matter? "The Patronus Charm is difficult enough that it is best learned and cast with a matched wand," James said. "We can probably do a fair bit of magic borrowing one of your wands, but this spell is usually an exception that requires a match or near match."

"Right then," Sirius said trying to sound commanding. "What is the most important part of spell casting?"

"Wand movement," Daphne called out.

"I was going to say incantation," Harry said.

"Except," Daphne explained, "most spells can be done without any incantation. They start teaching us that Fifth or Sixth Year."

"Fifth," James said, "if your DADA teacher has any talent. Sixth for Charms and you're already learning some in Transfiguration, aren't you?"

There was no arguing with the last assertion for more often than not McGonagall's lessons did not include any incantations.

"That and," Sirius said, "Lumos!" A ball of bright light appeared just above his upheld finger. "You are witches and wizards! Most get lazy and stuck on their sticks of wood. You've all done magic without a wand so a wand is not much more than a useful fashion statement in many cases. Before any of you try and counter my argument, explain the light! Explain each and every bit of accidental magic you've done! Surely you didn't do that with a wand and I'd wager some of it was quite powerful stuff."

There was a silence as no one had a counter argument. Sirius smiled. "INTENT! FOCUS! COMMAND! Learn it! Live it! Those are the most important thing in all spell casting. Incantations, wands and wand movments are tricks to help you do what you should be doing without any of it! Wands make magic easier. They allow for greater precision and focus of projected magical energy. But if you want to be a really, really well rounded witch or wizard DON'T USE THEM AS A CRUTCH!

"Intent: you intend your magic to do something! Focus: you focus your mind and your magic on doing that something! Command: you command your magic to do it! None of that requires silly wand waving or incantations."

"That's what Moody taught us our Third Year in DADA," James said. "Started right in by saying 'By the time I'm done with you lot there'll be no silly wand waving or incantations in this class!'"

"And he was right if you could open your mind to his way of doing it," Lily said. "After all, aside from wands we were already doing that sort of spell casting in transfiguration. A wand makes it easier to cast spells, but you can do it without a wand although learning to control and focus your magic without a wand is very, very difficult."

"The harder the spell," Sirius continued, "the more you need a wand to learn it and to do it with any kind of ease and there are some spells that can never work without a wand – or at least no one knows of anyone who's ever done it without a wand. Perhaps Merlin could've." He shrugged.

"Right then the Patronus Charm. We're going to skip the theory bit. You want to learn the theory, you'll probably find several books in your library that discuss it. Just don't be surprised when they don't agree with each other.

"Intent: the intent is to protect you from an evil spirit or being. There are other uses for the charm, but you need to get the basics first. This spell will provide at least some protection for you and maybe for others as well from Dementors and Lethifolds – although it's Dementors we're concerned about.

"Now, most who try and teach this charm say you need to focus on a happy thought. Rubbish! Worst possible way to cast this spell against a Dementor 'cause that's the first thing they take from you by their presence! It's an easy way to explain what you really need to cast the thing. Many spells have an emotional component. Even more spells are more powerful when the caster is experiencing powerful emotions…"

"Accidental magic!" Hermione gasped. "It's usually the result of powerful emotions!"

"I'd give you House Points if I could," Sirius said. "'Course if I could, McGonagall would probably have kittens," he added with a chuckle.

"She had red hair when we started school," James added. "It was grey when we finished…"

"She was older, James," Lily said.

"You can't say we had nothing to do with it," James protested. "Gave her fits. It seemed fun at the time but…"

"We really do like her," Sirius added. "If we could've found a way to prank to our hearts content without driving her up the wall, we would've. But we couldn't."

"You could've stopped the pranks!"

"We did," Sirius said.

"Mostly," James added.

"Sixth Year."

"We like to think we saw the error of our ways."

"Didn't stop them altogether," Lily began.

"Oh, but I disagree," Sirius said. "We used to prank everyone and anyone if we could and thought it would be a laugh. Last couple of years what we did was less a prank and more in the ways of retaliation against the Junior Death Eaters and their ilk. You have to admit that what they did was far more vile than anything we had done before and intentionally cruel. At least no student died from it!"

Lily nodded.

"That was uncalled for, Padfoot!" James shouted.

"James," Lily said softly, "leave it. He spent all that time in Azkaban. He's allowed a temper for now."

"Sorry, Lils," Sirius said.

"Get better!" Lily commanded softly.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

Lily seemed to slump a bit. "Adrian Montegue," she said. "He was a Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect when we were Fifth Years. I was a Prefect, you should know. It was after curfew and I was on patrol with our friend Remus. We were passing the Astronomy Tower when we heard screaming from up there and we went up to investigate. I was in the lead. Got to the top and there was Montegue with his pants down 'round his ankles and a younger girl – Third Year Muggle Born from Hufflepuff – whose clothes were ripped apart on her knees screaming. He was using the Torture Curse on her. We later learned he demanded her to … to pleasure him and he found her … unsatisfactory. I hit him with a knockback hex intending to break his spell. I didn't intend what happened."

"He was standing quite close to the … what do you call the low walls on a rampart, the space between those tooth-like things?" Sirius said. "He was knocked over that low part and fell to his death. He had already taken the mark as a Death Eater, turns out."

"Couldn't've happened to a nicer guy, you ask me," James commented sarcastically.

"Saved us from having to hunt the bastard down and snuff him later. Pity we couldn't've offed a few more before we finished school," Sirius added darkly.

"We're off topic," Lily said clearing trying to control her emotions.

"Sorry Lils," James offered. She merely shrugged in reply.

"Where was I before we got off topic?" Sirius asked.

"Emotional components," Hermione answered. "You were saying something about how some spells had them and all or most are affected by emotions."

Sirius nodded. "Again, 'fake points that would give McGonagall fits' to you. The Patronus Charm has an essential emotional component without which it cannot be cast. The caster must bring forward that emotion for it to work. Doesn't matter how they do it, as long as they do it and that's the real reason why they suggest a happy thought or memory 'cause those – at least those that work – are rooted to a degree in the proper emotion. What emotions are manifested in happy memories."

"My first ride on a broom?" Harry asked.

"Learning I was a witch," Hermione added. "It explained so much and it meant I might have friends," she explained.

"Love," Ginny said.

"Exactly!" Sirius said pointing to Ginny. "Fake house points to you!"

"What about those who don't have a boyfriend or husband?" Hannah asked.

"Need not be romantic love," Sirius answered. "Good thing, too. There are folks out there married to each other who do not and have never felt love for each other. True, romantic love works. But so does the love you can feel for your family, friends even a beloved pet. Self love does not work. A happy memory of friends or family can bring the emotion to the forefront to power the spell. With practice, you can call it forward at will which is a good thing if you're actually facing a dementor. Why?"

"'Cause they take away all your happy thought right off," Daphne said.

"Fake points to you," Sirius smiled. "So step one is the right emotional mind frame. Happy thoughts help, but are not necessary and no, Harry, broom rides and great pranks don't work."

"I think I got better ones," Harry said smiling at the rest of the "class."

"That's the Intent side and part of the focus. Intent: protect from really evil nasties. Focus: opposite of evil – love. To begin, we use an incantation. Anyone know why you're taught those beyond what a book says?"

Hermione was going to answer until he finished his question.

"They help focus your mind on what you intend and are a tool to call up control of your magic. Truth is, any word uttered would work provided you associate that word with the spell you're trying. Reason we use dead languages for incantations is we don't speak those languages and therefore don't associate those words with anything else usually other than whatever spell is associated with those words. You could use 'Rubbish' as in incantation for any spell provided you associated that word with that spell and nothing else. In this case, the incantation is Expecto Partronum."

The six students repeated that.

"Also, after a year or two of school, you've learned – rightly or not – that intending a spell, pointing and/or waiving a wand in a certain way and speaking the incantation and the spell is cast. That' not really what happens. Intent plus focus plus control equals release. Intent – protect me from evil nasties, focus – get that love mojo rolling, control – 'expecto patronum' and a spell will be cast. It's how we learn to trick ourselves into projecting magic how we want to when we want to.

"Now the other reason for a specific incantation has nothing to do with any spells. It's a way for us who are teaching the spell to know what you're trying to do so we can help you when it does not work. If you used your own private incantations – which you could – I wouldn't know what you were trying so it'd be hard to know why nothing happened. Okay, let's put it together and give it a try."

They all did as they were told and all of them had some kind of white mist coming from the end of their wands. It varied from Daphne's which looked like a stream shooting out a few feet to Harry's which was more like a smoldering cigar. But something happened for each of them and all three adults gasped.

"Think you may be onto something, Padfoot," James said. "Harry's was the weakest, but loads better than my first several attempts."

"Try a different trigger for the emotion, Harry," Sirius suggested. "Whatever you tried, Daphne, good job. But if any of you have something more powerful, think about it before we try again."

The next time, all got to the same stream that Daphne had the first time.

"Who used a different memory or trigger?" Sirius asked. All but Daphne raised their hands. "See if you have something better this next time," he said to Daphne but they all understood it meant all of them.

Six faint shield like projections appeared on this try some seemingly brighter than others.

"Whoa!" James said.

"Where'd you learn to teach that?" Lily asked. "Took ages to get that far along."

Sirius shrugged. "Twelve years to think about how best to get at those things helps. Right then, AGAIN!"

"AGAIN!"

"AGAIN!"

"AGAIN!"

A blob of some sort appeared at the end of Ginny and Harry's wands and shot out and away for a few yards before fading. The others had very bright shields. As soon as the spells faded, three of the girls practically fell to their knees and the other three were bent over panting heavily.

"What h-happened?" Harry panted. "Feels like I've been running."

"I … I thought I was in better shape," Hermione added. She was one of the three who was on her knees.

"It's a very powerful and draining spell," Lily said. "Your magic is like your muscles. Work it hard enough and you get tired magically and physically."

"And the fact that you lot are knackered and what we saw tells me you lot are doing it right."

"Bloody brilliantly, you ask me," James said and flinched expecting a smack of some kind that never came. "You see two of them were borderline corporeal?"

"What's that mean?" Hannah panted.

"What was that blob thing?" Ginny asked. "Did I make a mistake?"

"Far from it," James replied. "Shields such as the ones the lot of you did would probably protect you from a dementor for a bit. That blob thing is the beginning of the full on patronus!"

"Full on?" a few voices asked.

"With skill and practice, you can shift from a shield for defense to an offensive variation of the spell," Sirius said. "For now, your work shall be to get to that version. That takes practice and you can only do so much 'cause that spell will wear you out quick until your magic is stronger and like a muscle really working your magic will make it stronger. Most of the spells you've learned so far barely task your magic. This one does. We used to cast this one and other draining spells over and over and over as part of our Hit Wizard training work outs."

"Don't remind me," James groaned.

"You're not going to put them through that, Sirius!" Lily scolded. "They're just kids! They're not magically mature enough for that!"

"I wasn't gonna do that, Lils. I'd suggest they try that spell four or five times in quick succession a day. That's both to help master the spell and work their magic. But I wasn't gonna suggest more than that. They should practice their school spells before this one 'cause their magic will probably be all dodgy for a couple of hours afterwards."

"What was that blob thing?" Ginny asked again.

"Beginnings of the offensive version of the spell," Sirius explained. "The shield will protect you from one of those things. But it won't drive one off. You got to hope it gets bored and looks for easier pickings. The corporeal patronus – which that blob thing will become with practice – attacks dementors and chases after them. We don't know exactly what it does. Maybe it hurts them. Whatever it does, they don't like it and will leave if they can and try and stay as far away from one if they can't. It's how they can be controlled to a point."

"Corporeal?" Hermione asked. "You said something about it being corporeal."

Sirius nodded. "The blob reaches full effectiveness if it's corporeal. What that is varies from person to person. It manifests itself as some kind of animal. People who master that spell to that point have whatever animal as their patronus from then on usually although it's known that a major event later in life might cause it to change. Being the proper Gryffindor that I am, mine's a lion."

"It's an adolescent lion cub!" Lily corrected.

"Well, it's been a few years. Maybe it grew up?"

"Don't count on it!"

"He's spent almost twelve years in that pit, Lils," James said. "A life changing experience can alter a patronus. 'Til we get wands none of us can truly say what ours is, only what it was."

"You're saying that 'cause you don't like yours," Lily teased. "His is a badger. Who would've thought he was a closet Hufflepuff? Of course, I knew he was."

"Oh?"

"You and Sirius stuck by Remus despite his little furry problem. You know as well as I do most people would not have. They'd have abandoned him as soon as they found out."

"Remus? Your other friend?" Harry asked.

"And what's a little furry problem?" Luna asked. "Does he have a Hagrid pet?"

"Hagird pet?" James asked.

"Hagrid has interesting pets," Luna said. "Although most people wouldn't want them as pets. They wouldn't want to be anywhere around them to tell the truth. I like hanging out with his herd of Thestrals personally."

"Thestrals?" James asked.

"Oh yes. They're loads of them, I think. They pull the carriages that take you to the train. Mostly, though, they hang around in the forest near his hut. They're very nice."

"But they're," Sirius began to protest.

"People don't like them only 'cause you have to see someone die to see them," Luna said. "They're actually very nice and kind of pretty."

"I've never seen them," Harry said.

"Your parents didn't really die, Harry," Hermione said.

"I was thinking about Quirrell. I don't remember that other night. But I killed Quirrell, didn't I?"

"Um…"

"Did you see the life leave his eyes?" Luna asked. "I know I saw the life leave my Mum's eyes. If it weren't so sad, I'd say it was almost peacefull."

"Um … no come to think of it," Harry said. "They were kind of burnt up before he died."

"Maybe that's it then," Luna said. "You killed him but didn't really see the life leave him. Hence the reason why you can't see Thestrals."

"I suppose."

"So we'll practice this every day?" Hermione asked after catching her breath.

"You lot did real well, but this is a spell that needs a fair bit of practice to truly master," Sirius said. "Once you have a corporeal patronus and control over both the shield and the magic beastie, there other applications you can learn. Besides, this is a great spell for strengthening your magic."

"Most witches and wizards don't like to perspire," Lily said.

"Death Eaters may be scary and vicious," James added, "but the truth is they're weaklings. If you're in shape and skilled, they can't last against you. Once we get new wands, we'll probably practice with you. Can't say where Lils and my magic is now. We might be about where we were or we might not be and won't know 'til we get a wand. Sirius here? Fair bet he'll need the work out."

"He needs to fatten up some more," Lily observed.

"I was never fat!" Sirius protested. "Nor big-boned, pleasantly plump or any of that!"

"You look emaciated, little more than skin and bones."

"It's not like they had decent menus at that place. I agree, I need to put on weight. How am I supposed to retain my reputation as a true ladies man like this? What decent, sane woman would find the walking corpse look sexy?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed. You're still impossible."


	29. Chapter 29: Entertaining Golblins

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N:

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: ENTERTAINING GOBLINS**

**Monday, August 9****th**** 1993**

Harry had been worried two mornings prior when the Families had arrived for a visit. He was worried because his parents would be with them that day. He was even more worried because Sirius would be as well. After all, aside from perhaps the younger Greengrass girls, the guests all believed that his parents were truly dead and buried. And no doubt they had read about the escape of the notorious mass murderer Sirius Black. He had no idea whether any of them believed that Sirius had done what the Ministry and Daily Prophet said he had done, but he was worried. His only solace was that the situation was now covered by the Fidelius Charm, or at least one of those charms. He did not know if the charm Hermione had cast was a modification of the existing one or a separate one. He was reasonably certain that it had worked. They had tried to tell the Grangers first about the Potters and more recently about Sirius and could not. Ginny, of course, did not have permission to reveal the Secret.

Still, from what Harry and the others understood, they could not know that the Charm had truly worked unless and until a person not privy to the secret encountered it. A house under the Charm was practically impossible to find and if you stumbled into it you would neither see it nor remember the encounter later. Once the guests arrived for the day, they were introduced first to Sirius Black. Despite his face being on the front page every day and plastered on windows and walls throughout magical Britain, the guests only confusion was that there was someone else who knew how to get into the trunk. Then the Potters were introduced and again, despite the contracts and old friendships, it was as if the guests were meeting the Potters for the first time. It was all Harry could do not to laugh when Ginny revealed the secrets. To say that their guests were stunned was an understatement. True, the Grangers already knew all about Sirius as they had been minor players in his capture so they were not at all surprised. But they were as stunned as the others when the secret about the Potters was revealed. Needless to say, aside from the younger Greengrass girls for whom all of this was boring adult stuff, the morning was spent explaining what had happened: how the Potters had survived and why Sirius was here at all when everyone knew he was out there hoping to find and kill one Harry Potter.

Harry was even more nervous about that afternoon. Mr. Granger and Mr. Greengrass had been threatening to take him out to play golf. While in France, Harry had spent most of the "down days," the days when his girls could go home to visit their families, at various driving ranges with Mr. Granger learning to swing the clubs and while he felt he was getting to be okay at it, he was not foolish enough to believe this would be like Quidditch had been.

The five males on the estate had gone off to one of his courses to play. He had nine in total with five driving ranges. Three were located near the tropical beach. There was one each at The Stables, the Garden House, the Old Farm and in the Valley and there were two more courses near the Lake House. Harry had chosen the Three Course near the beach, although not which of the three they would play. Harry, Mr. Granger, Mr. Greengrass and his Dad would be playing. It turned out that James and Sirius each had a set of clubs that had been at clubhouse for the course in the Valley all this time. Mr. Granger had bought Harry a set of clubs for his birthday. Sirius played but was still recovering from his island holiday as he put it and felt it would be too much. He walked the course with Harry giving Harry advice and encouragement, not that it was always wanted or appreciated. While Harry was not sure who had "won" the game, he was certain who had finished dead last. Still, in an odd way it was fun and he even had a few shots here and there he was quite pleased with and which had impressed the others as well.

They received a reply from Gringotts about the planned meeting in the next day's post. Gringotts was very prompt about such things. But there was an addition to his original plan of setting up meetings for his parents and Sirius. The Goblins reminded him that there were still a few things that needed his attention but which had been put off the last time he had been there. So he found himself stumbling out of the floo into the Lobby of the bank. Before him were the high wall like things behind which sat a score or more of goblins stamping forms and dealing with customers. He did not have to arrive here. His parents were flooing directly to their assigned conference room. He was here because Sirius wanted to make "an entrance."

"Ah! Milord, it is good to see you," a voice said. Harry turned and saw Grisha approaching. Some of the people turned and stared at him. He certainly did not miss that in France one bit. "How was your holiday, Sir?"

"We had a lovely time," Harry said trying not to glare at the gawkers. "I particularly enjoyed not being stared at." He said the last part very loudly and noticed several, but not all of the patrons look embarrassed and trying to look like they had not been caught.

"We have Conference Room Six set aside for our discussions, if you'll follow me."

"Grisha?" Harry whispered.

"Yes, Milord?" he whispered back.

"You are aware of the request I forwarded?"

"Indeed. Your party of two arrived directly in the assigned conference room by floo moments ago and are already getting settled. Very interesting that. But it's of no concern to Gringotts and does not affect your portfolio and as such it is a mere talking point for dinner conversation as far as I'm concerned."

"And my other one?"

"Most interesting. One would not have expected that. Then again, since your government can hardly be considered competent by our standards, I'm sure there's a very, very interesting explanation. No offense."

"None taken. The reason I ask is he wishes to make a grand entrance."

"As long as he abides by our rules and laws, that's his prerogative."

Harry nodded. "But it might raise questions if he and I were to be seen in the same place…"

"Especially if bloodshed does not result, I take it?"

Harry nodded. "Still, I'd like to watch."

After a moment, Grisha spoke. "We can set that up from the conference room. Do you know when he is to arrive?"

Harry consulted his watch. "'Bout ten minutes."

"Plenty of time. This way."

He was led through some doors into a corridor and to what looked like a lift. The door opened and they got in. It was a very old style lift with an accordion like metal grating for a door rather than the solid ones currently used throughout the Muggle World. He could see the lift move and they were going up, but he could not feel it move at all.

"It's charmed as part of a renovation," Grisha explained. "You can't sense the motion. We're going to make the doors solid next. That way, we hope to make it more difficult for less savory customers to learn their way around. You may be aware of an incident a couple of years ago?"

Harry nodded as they stepped off into another corridor and he began to follow Grisha.

"We know who the thief was. He stunned his escort – a most egregious breach of our laws and of the Truce. Unfortunately, he did manage to escape us. Admittedly we would have be more diligent in our search had he succeeded in his apparent task. But it did point out … deficiencies … in our security which we are now trying to correct. Here we are."

They entered a large conference room with curtains along one wall.

"When we got your request the other day, we figured you might find the events of this morning amusing. Hence this room. We usually do not transact business with patrons here. Knowing the other party, we suspected he might wish to … make a splash? And we figured you might well enjoy the spectacle. It should prove quite entertaining at least for those of us who know what may be coming. We are looking forward to that man's Grand Entrance as much as you probably are." He drew back the curtains and it was a window that looked out over the Lobby. "There's a charm on it. Everyone down there sees a wall."

"Brilliant!" Harry replied.

They did not have to wait long for the show to begin. Harry saw the large flash of green flame which was the Floo discharging a person. No one on the floor gave the person much notice at first. Harry thought it rather odd. After all, to create the greatest degree of pandemonium he had the elves transfigure an in expensive set of trousers and a shirt into a replica of his prison togs and had them "distressed:" torn and ripped in places as if by long wear. He looked gaunt and pale. What hurt his look was he was clean shaven and his hair was cut. The Sirius Black that had been caught by a charmed ham sandwich had hair down to his waist and a long beard and mustache. Those were gone and he had no interest in having them back ever even if it helped with his look.

Harry noticed a Goblin striding to the extent the short beings could stride straight towards Sirius.

"That's Markash, also known as Slasher," Grisha explained. "He manages the Black estate."

"Milord Black? It is a pleasure seeing you again!" the Goblin said loudly.

"I regret I have been somewhat preoccupied with unrelated affairs for some time, Slasher," Sirius said also loudly. Harry noticed that some of the customers were looking now.

A loud scream filled the bank. "IT'S HIM! IT'S SIRIUS BLACK!" More screams followed and many fled for the entrance. Coins seemed to fly everywhere. Harry noted that no one had drawn a wand. Sirius seemed to look around with a maniacal grin and more witches and wizards decided now was not a good time to be making deposits or withdrawals. He turned to follow Slasher to a conference room.

A spell came from nowhere. It missed Sirius and Slasher and anything else that was not the side of a Teller's counter. Harry's eyes sought the source and saw a short, plump and particularly ugly witch dressed in pink with a wand drawn clearly attempting to cast another spell. Something struck her wand arm and she dropped her wand looking furious. A moment later, she was surrounded by several Goblins with drawn swords. Two very large Goblins had grabbed her arms had pinned them behind her.

"Unhand me!" she demanded. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Your identity is one Dolores Jane Umbridge, witch, age fifty-seven," a Goblin intoned. "You are in breach of the Truce…"

"I am Senior Undersecretary for the Ministry of Magic! That is an escaped convict and mass murderer! I am well within my rights and duties to take him into custody!"

"You are a witch in breach of the Truce. You're statement of irrelevancies have no bearing on the matter," the Goblin intoned.

"Irrelevancies?" she shrieked. "He's a criminal! There are warrants for his arrest. Rewards for his capture," she emphasized the rewards.

"Perhaps outside of Gringotts. He has no such things within our nation. You, however, stand in breach of the Truce…"

"I have done nothing which justifies this! When the Ministry hears…"

"We will be most chagrined if they do not give you the sack."

"THE SACK? I am a Senior Undersecretary! I don't have to listen to beings of less-than-human intelligence!"

"You drew a weapon and discharged it within our borders in violation of the Truce of 1715. The only criminal in this place is you!"

"You cannot accuse me!"

"And yet I have," the Goblin said softly picking up her wand. "Is this your wand?"

"HAND THAT OVER! GOBLINS ARE NOT ALLOWED WANDS! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!"

The Goblin snapped the wand in two and threw it in her face. "We have no need of your toys, witch!" Her mouth flapped, must she made no clear response. The Goblin then turned to a small group of Tellers nearby. "Confiscate all her vaults and all within. This witch is banned from all Gringotts banks for life."

"WHAT?"

"We can be accommodating, witch," the Goblin replied. "Be glad that we allow you to retain your head and life! Toss her out!"

Whatever it was she was screaming was incomprehensible as the goblins dragged her to the door and cast her out.

"Never liked that one," Grisha said. "Even for a witch or wizard she was quite … difficult to stomach."

"I'm sorry you feel that way about us," Harry began.

"There are some of you whom we respect, Lord Potter. Your family has always been such people and you yourself are such a person. 'Tis a pity many are more like that thing and not like you, Milord."

"So, to business then?"

Grisha laughed. "I have enjoyed our meetings, Milord. But I'm certain today's entertainment is not over and I don't think you want to miss the finale. I'd rather not have our discussion interrupted by what will most likely happen in a few minutes."

"What will happen?"

"She'll run back to her … boss and we can expect an awkward response from the Ministry. How awkward depends upon who they send and who's in charge. That witch definitely has made Lord Black's visit today far more entertaining than we expected."

"Oh?"

"Of course we expected the screams and scramble to get clear of this place. Probably made a small profit from it as well seeing as some dropped or left their money in their haste. If they leave without it either being on their person or in a cart headed to their vault, it's considered abandoned and therefore property of the bank," Grisha explained. "We're certain to have some complaints providing us with at least a few more entertainments in the days ahead although I doubt any will be as entertaining as what just transpired. Naturally, when we scheduled the meeting for Lord Black we could not have anticipated that witch being present upon his arrival. It was most entertaining."

"It was … um … that. But why do I think there's more going on than I saw?"

"Because you are far brighter than that witch. She states that we Goblins have … how did she put it? … less than human intelligence? It's not the first time she uttered that phrase in this bank in our presence. We generally do not respond to insults, but that does not mean we are unaware that we've been insulted. I fear for you humans if she represents your level of intelligence."

"You and me both, Grisha."

"Casting a spell within the bank is a Breach of the Truce. Had she cast it at a Goblin, it would be a causus belli."

"Excuse me?"

"It would justify a war against magical Britain. That's not to say there would be one, but your government would be expected to do something about it or look the other way if we did. Usually, they look the other way when we haul off the violator. We give them a few weeks to provide us with cause to turn over the offender and assurances that the offender will be dealt with. If they do not do so to our satisfaction, we add a head to our collection of trophies. Most often, they do not bother."

"Pity she cast it at Sirius, then."

"You are not offended?"

"No. What offends me is she tried to shoot him in the back and acted as if there was nothing wrong with that! Add to it she had plenty of time and still missed? She might've hit a customer! She might've hit a Goblin! She didn't seem to care about that! I understand that most people have been tricked into believing he's a murderer, but even that is low."

"You are a most interesting wizard, Milord. Most would not have been concerned that her ineptitude might have harmed a Goblin. Ah – entre act!"

Harry did not know what that meant but turned and saw a crowd of official looking wizards and a few such witches entering the bank. In front was a man in a pinstriped suit wearing what Harry thought was a ridiculously looking green hat.

"The man in front is your Minister for Magic. There's also the Head of Magical Law Enforcement – she's the witch in the ladies' business attire with the monocle, the Head of International Cooperation ten Aurors and … this will be considered an insult no matter how it turns out!"

"Excuse me?"

"The man to the left of the Minister is the Head of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! His attitude towards our nation is most … unfortunate."

Harry watched. The Goblins in the Lobby were going about their business as if nothing unusual was happening. There were three customers at tellers' windows arguing with the tellers. Harry wondered if they were customers who had "abandoned" their gold earlier. They stopped when the Minister spoke.

"I demand to speak with Ragnock!" he bellowed.

"Who's Ragnock?" Harry asked.

"It's not an uncommon name in our culture," Grisha said. "But I suppose he means _the_ Ragnock. Ragnock XI is the leader of the Goblin Nation."

"Will he come?"

"For this? Not likely. A minor thing. Course it could become a major one what with all those Aurors. In that case, he'd come. But he'd have perhaps five hundred or so warriors with him and it won't go well for those Wizards…"

"There's gonna be a fight?" Harry asked with trepidation.

"I sincerely doubt it. You're Minister is not as bright as he thinks he is and is a fool, but even he's not that much of a fool. Pity."

"I DEMAND TO SEE RAGNOCK!" the Minister bellowed.

A large Goblin in a suit approached the Minister and gave a slight bow.

"I am Hardfang Restra, Leader of the Clans of Greater Britannia and Director of Gringotts London, Sir…"

"I demand to see Ragnock!" the Minister repeated.

"I see," Hardfang replied. "Can you be more specific?"

"More specific?" the Minister sputtered in confusion.

"Ragnock is a very common name in our culture. Without an attendant family name, I cannot assume who you mean. There are some fifteen of that name working in some capacity at this branch."

"Your Chief Goblin! Or whatever it is you call him! I demand to see your leader!"

"This is entirely unacceptable, Minister," the Goblin replied. "There is a protocol that must be followed and I am aware that the initial steps have not been initiated."

"What the bloody hell are you on about?"

"Pursuant to Article Seven, Chapter Sixteen of the Truce of 1715, there is a procedure by which the Leader of a Wizard Nation may arrange a meeting with the Leader of the Goblin Nation to discuss matters of mutual import. Walking into a Gringotts branch and demanding an audience with His August Highness is not in accordance with such procedure. Your government is expected to submit the appropriate request through channels proposing such a meeting and providing a proposed agenda for such meeting and after negotiations between the appropriate offices of each nation and final approval by yourself and His August Highness then and only then will such a meeting take place. You must understand that while there are some ninety-two separate Wizard nations, there is but one Goblin nation and but one leader of aforesaid nation. It would be impossible for him to ever be at the beck and call of any leader of one of your multitudinous nationalities."

"Listen, you little turd," the Head of Regulation and Control started, "we are not some lowly customers you can trifle with! The Minister demands your respect! And he will have it!"

The man drew a wand, but that was as far as he got. He gasped, eyes open with surprise and fell over. Harry saw that there was what was obviously an arrow protruding from his chest.

"We've been waiting for that opportunity for some years," Grisha said.

"Confiscate that thing's vault!" Hardfang ordered to the Tellers. "Minister? That is twice in less than an hour that one of your underlings has violated the Truce. Are you intent upon initiating a war with the Goblin Nation?"

The Minister visibly paled. The Head of Magical Law Enforcement whispered something in his ear. "N-no. But I expect an explanation. Was it necessary to shoot him?"

"He drew a wand without provocation against my person. You should consider yourself fortunate that only one arrow was loosed from its bow. I advise you to curb your arrogant and bellicose attitude regardless of what may have motivated it. I can assure you that each and every member of your entourage is covered by one of the archers of the Bank's Security Forces. Perhaps you have forgotten that this is sovereign territory and your authority ended at the door? Now, to what do we owe this rude visit?"

Now it was the Head of International Cooperation who whispered something, causing a look of fear to pass over the Minister's face.

"Perhaps I overreacted…"

"Perhaps," Hardfang agreed.

"But you cannot deny your blatant disrespect towards a very important and senior member of my staff!"

"I assume you are speaking of one Witch Umbridge?"

"You know damned well about who I am talking about!"

"I believe we were most … diplomatic under the circumstances. It cannot be denied she drew her wand and cast a spell within the borders of our Nation in contravention of the Truce of 1715 and without there being a recognized exception to the prohibition. As she did not do so with obvious intent to harm a Goblin, her life was spared. As your colleague had far different intentions… that is why his lifeless corpse now stains the floor beneath our feet."

Both of the subordinated then took turns whispering in the Minister's ear and it was clear he did not like what he had been told but also knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"That still does not explain your harboring of a convicted mass murderer and escaped convict!" the Minister said.

"To whom are you referring?"

"You bloody well know who!"

"Many witches and wizards transact business with us each day. By harboring, you suggest this convict you mention has been here for some time and I can assure you such is not the case…"

"Sirius Black is here!"

"Ah yes. Lord Black. He has an appointment with his estate manager…"

"We want him!"

"I'm sure that you do…"

"Turn him over to us … NOW!"

"Once again, I refer you to the Truce. For reasons of business and profit, we do not respond to such requests outside of appropriate procedure and channels. Has your government prepared the appropriate Writ of Extradition?"

"What the bloody hell are you on about?"

"Pursuant to Article seventeen, Chapter Six of the Truce, to seek to extend your national authority into the Goblin Realm for the purpose of apprehending one of your people, you are expected and required to submit an application to our nation. Such application shall state clearly any and all reasons why you believe you should be allowed such interference with our business relationships and provide at the very least copies of all supporting documentation and evidence you believe justifies your request so that we may determine whether granting such request is in the best interests of our Nation as well."

"He's a killer!"

"The wizard in question does not stand accused of violating any of our laws, nor is there any reason to believe he poses a threat to our people. The fact that he has a penchant for killing wizards does not concern us."

"FINE! How long do we have to wait?"

"It typically takes your government about two weeks to prepare an application…"

"WHAT?"

"The requirements are rather exacting, just as the requirements for us to seek extradition of a witch of wizard from your government are exacting. It takes time to prepare a complete application with adequate support that will not be turned back for further clarification."

"But he will be long gone by then!"

"That is not our concern. Naturally, what you do beyond the walls of this Bank – so long as they do not interfere with the regular transaction of business – is not our concern. But a violation of our sovereignty and failure to honor both the letter and spirit of the Truce are another matter entirely."

After some more whispering during which the Minister's face turned a shade of red that reminded Harry disturbingly of his Uncle and then rapidly turned pale again.

"FINE!" the Minister said. "Madam Bones? Have your people deal with McFadden's body."

"I think not," Hardfang began.

"Don't tell me there's another ruddy Truce provision covering that!" the Minister sputtered.

"As you wish, but there is. The body shall be dealt with by Gringotts. The next of kin will be advised at a later date as to whether the body shall be turned over and in what condition. All its personal effects save its wand shall likewise be retained here until a decision as to final disposition is made. You are free to recover said wand."

"Thank you very much," the Minister replied sarcastically. He bent down, picked up the wand and spun on his heel and left without a word. The others followed. It was silent within the bank as the group filed out. Harry noted there were a fair few customers present all of whom looked shocked at what had happened, if not terrified.

"Is that it?" Harry began.

"Garcor?" Hardfang ordered, "see to it that the necessary notifications and account of this morning's incident are prepared and forwarded to the I.C.W. with Complaint to be lodged against the Government of Magical Britain…"

"Sir!" a Goblin replied.

"Terelnock? See to it that this mess is cleared off," Hardfang further ordered clearly indicating he meant the dead wizard. With that Hardfang turned towards where Harry stood. Harry could see a wide grin on the Goblin's face as he strode towards the part of the bank with the offices and such.

"Most entertaining!" Grisha said. "I have not seen such an amusement in years. Now, to business?"

"Bloody hell! I missed that?" Sirius exclaimed.

They had all returned to the Estate from Gringotts. Sirius had regaled everyone with his account of his Grand Entrance and the ejection of some "pink clad" Ministry "bint" who had tried to hex him in the back. He was not aware that Harry had a prime view of the event and was completely unaware that it was only half of the story.

"I guess that's why Slasher left me with the vendors first. He probably wanted to see the fuss. Oh well."

Sirius and his parents had purchased complete wardrobes, more than a few personal items and new wands, although aside from a few days worth of clothes and the personal items, most would be delivered through Gringotts in a few days or so as the wands were custom made – or at least they were being custom made. The Potters also managed to buy "baby things," that would also be delivered later as they did not know for how long their secret would continue. Following the shopping which lasted until well after the incident with the Minister for Magic, the Potters had returned to the Estate while Sirius had spend a couple of hours with the Black Estate manager going over the Estate and taking up his position as Head of House. The last Head of House, his grandfather, passed away only a couple of years earlier.

"How can you be so excited?" Lily asked. "We came close to a war because of that fool!"

Sirius shrugged. "Close is not the same as actually starting a war. Besides, it's not my fault that the idiot did what he did."

"What's going to happen?" Ginny asked after a moment of silence.

"The Director said something about a Complaint to the I.C.W.," Harry said.

"That should shake things up," Hannah said. "Bet a fair few of those who put Fudge in that position will be regretting it."

"Could you explain that to those of us who know little about the inner workings of politics?" Ginny asked. "My Dad may work for the Ministry, but he really doesn't tell us much about anything other than his own job and you must admit Binns is rubbish."

"To most people, the worst that there'll be is an official inquiry by the I.C.W.," Hannah said. "The Minister will make and official if not public apology and that will seem to be the end of it."

"At least until the Wizengamot gets involved, which it probably will," Daphne added. When everyone but Hannah gave her a confused looks she explained. "Fudge was a compromise choice and before Bagnold retired no one would've put a knut on him as the next Minister. He was like a Deputy assistant Director of the Department of Regulation and Control and no one ever rose to Minister from that department directly. The two with any connection to that department were there very early in their careers before moving to a more politically advantageous one like International Cooperation or Law Enforcement. Even Wizengamot Administrative Services is considered a better place to be if one has ambitions to become Minister.

"After several months of deadlock, the Traditionalists advanced Fudge's name – he is one, you know. Being the nonentity that he was could've been an advantage has he was never in a position to really make enemies on the Wizengamot. He holds his House Seat, but always had passed it off to a proxy and never publically appeared to influence that proxy's vote so if the proxy annoyed fellow voters, they had no reason to link such annoyance to the true vote holder. Fudge was advanced as a candidate 'cause every other Traditionalist had been quickly rejected by the rest of the Wizengamot. Fudge was harmless and was not rejected out of hand. Significant gold changed hands – "donations" to key charities of key members, and Fudge got elected."

"It helped that Dumbledore didn't stand in the way," Hannah observed.

"Probably felt Fudge would be so out of his depth he could be controlled, unlike every other non-Liberal advanced," Daphne said. "Keeping that pet Minister in office will likely cost Malfoy far more than putting him in that office did."

"Okay…how does Malfoy fit in?" Harry asked. "Not that I wouldn't mind him taking it in his purse. He did try to kill me only a couple months ago, you know."

"Who do you think made those donations?" Daphne said. "It's the only way the upstart can hope to have any influence. He is an admitted Death Eater – though he claimed the Imperius Curse defense – which basically means no one other than a Traditionalist is likely to give him the time of day except for a hefty price. Add to it he's French and that price is heftier."

"French?" Harry asked. "You wouldn't know it from Draco."

"He wasn't born there," Daphne said. "It takes generations for a descendant of a Muggle Born to be considered a Pureblood. Believe it or not it takes longer for the descendant of a French person to be considered British. Doesn't help Malfoy Sr. that, while the Malfoy family has been here since the 1790's, his father was the first one not to marry a French witch. He's considered an immigrant as is his son."

"Being an immigrant – even if you'd qualify as a pureblood under our traditions – you're only marginally better off than being a Muggle Born," Hannah said. "The only reason the Malfoys have any influence at all is money. There are a fair few who will overlook such things if there's enough money at stake. I'm not saying any of that is right. It's just the way things have been. As you know, to be considered a Pureblood, you can't have a Muggle Born ancestor within the last three prior generations. A Muggle Born great-grandparent makes you a half-blood no matter what your other lines are. It's the same for immigrant decendants as they're not considered fully British for some generations. But it's worse for French ones."

"Why?" several voices asked.

"For ages, France has been our natural enemy and adversary in the Wizarding World. We haven't had a war with them in a long time, but we're hardly friendly with them. Britain stayed out of the Grindelwald War for two reasons. First, that wizard had not made serious inroads here, although it may have helped he was part British to begin with. Second, the leader of the coalition against Grindelwald in Europe was France. We were not about to ally ourselves with the French unless we were under real threat and could not deal with it ourselves."

"The point is that without money the Malfoys have little if no influence," Daphne said. "He married well – Mr. Malfoy that is – but that family fell out of society at the end of the last war so that marriage no longer helps him."

"His wife's my Cousin Narcissa," Sirius said. "The family she's talking 'bout is House Black. Her older sister is a real nutter. She's a lunatic and cold blooded killer. Full on Death Eater, she is. Odd that…"

"Oh?"

"She wasn't that way before she got married. I won't say she would've been tight with Muggle Borns, but she was not openly hostile towards them. She got married to a real piece of work. Not long afterwards, they were Death Eaters and she was a particularly vicious one, one of the worst. There's the Bellatrix I knew – that's her name – and the one she became and they're very, very different people."

"Much as I love the thought that Malfoy isn't the … power that he claims he is," Hermione said, "what will happen? I mean, what's going to happen as a result of Sirius's visit to Gringotts"

"Mr. Malfoy's lost what influence he ever had, once this gets out," Daphne said. "It's no secret he pretty much paid to put Fudge in that seat and regardless of what happens to Fudge, Malfoy's ruined politically. He backed a brain dead horse and the political types will never forget that. Add a few generations to the Malfoy's ambitions for real political clout."

"It'll be weeks before anything really happens," Hannah continued. "The Ministry and Wizengamot won't do a thing until the I.C.W. does something. Well, anything public. What happened today will probably make the papers, but most of them follow the Daily Prophet's lead and the Prophet is the Ministry's mouthpiece, meaning Fudge's mouthpiece. We may gain an idea as to how things might develop with the story depending upon how the Prophet spins it and what they say and don't say. My guess is for now they'll blame it all on Mr. Black and the ignorance of the Goblins and such. Quietly – assuming Fudge has even half a brain – that witch that started it'll get the sack. She's been Fudge's assistant for twenty years and has more enemies than anyone in government, so standing by her would ensure he gets shown the door as well. Most likely – assuming he gives her the sack – he'll keep his job, but he'll have lost his money man. Not saying Malfoy won't try and buy their way out of this mess, but if there's even a hint that Fudge is involved, the Wizengamot will oust him before you can say his name. Best case for Fudge, he keeps his seat but all his authority is lost and the Department Heads'll be truly running things."

"So your government is in shambles?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Not yet," Hannah said. "As I said, the real fun won't begin until the I.C.W. does something and that's weeks away. For now, a lot of people will be trying to protect themselves from any fallout. But, I don't think the I.C.W.'s gonna let this pass without any international embarrassment and then…"

"Gotta hand it to you Padfoot," James said. "All you had to do was walk through a bank lobby to bring an entire government to its knees."

"What can I say?" Sirius said smuggle. "I've gone prankless for a dozen years. Had a lot to make up for."

"Once a Marauder…"

"Always a Marauder…"

"I can't believe you two!" Lily scolded. "Sirius damn near brings down the government and you two act as if it's just another of your self-proclaimed brilliant pranks!"

"I hadn't considered doing it that way," Harry commented to just about everyone's surprise.

"Do what what way?" Ginny asked.

"Bring down the government."

"Harry," his mother said, "you're not serious, are you?"

"No, I'm Harry…"

"That joke's so old it's no longer funny," James quipped.

"It was never funny!" Lily said.

"Yes it was!" Sirius protested.

"Fine! Maybe for you boys and maybe when you were eleven."

"She has a point, Mate," James said. "Pretty much beat that bludger one time too many long ago."

"Thought I was being original," Harry moped.

"Naw. It was an old joke," Sirius said. "But having me go to Gringotts when the whole Wizarding World was after me? That was original. I'd've never thought of it."

Harry shrugged. "The only hard part was really getting you there. The Goblins proved accommodating when they agreed to allow us direct access to their Floo system. I asked if that was possible and they said it was. Hannah told me that the Wizard Floo system could be monitored and a person can be pulled from it by the Ministry types so that was right out. Once I knew there was a safe and secure way to get you – and my parents – to and from Gringotts, that's what needed to be done. You all needed wands and such and you, Sirius, needed to claim your inheritance. But, it was your idea to make the Grand Entrance that you did and that was what caused the current crisis for the Ministry – although I'd say you've made quite a few friends among the Goblins considering their love for the Ministry and total love for that Umbridge bint and McFadden. Grisha was almost gleeful when Umbridge got tossed – and I do mean tossed – out the door and that was nothing compared to when McFadden copped it. I could've asked for a sinful amount of money, no questions asked, and he might've given it to me. Instead all I got was…"

"This lousy T-shirt?" Robert Granger quipped.

"This," Harry said. He showed them all a ring on his right forefinger.

"That makes it truly official then," James said, "not that I'm complaining."

"What is that?" Rose Granger asked.

"It's the House Potter Signet Ring," James replied. "All the Ancient families have one for their Heads of House. The ring can only be worn by the true Head of House. The magic is unassailable. It means Harry is Head of House Potter. And no, I'm not the least bit disappointed. Whatever fate or accident led to this, I thank it or them or whatever. Harry's already one hell of a Head. Then again, with five lovely and smart ladies, why am I not surprised?"

"I didn't want this," Harry began.

"We've already discussed it. You know your mother and I stand by you. You are not alone in this at all."

"I hope you will also help me…"

"Not much we can do until…"

"Being here, giving me advice, telling me when I'm about to make a mistake, that is a help. I have five lovely ladies, four destined to extend House Potter – should they ultimately choose to – but they were not in the last war. You two are eight years older than me and were and that will be a help – a help I did not have consistently in that other timeline. Sirius here was close, but it was only two years and even then we were separated and unable to communicate safely for much of that time. Oh my!"

"What?" several voices asked.

"Well, as Daphne and Hannah said, the full extent of what happened today cannot be known and won't be for some time. But I've been thinking 'bout what it could mean. First off, no déjà vu here. Either of you?" Harry ended looking at Hermione and Luna.

They shook their heads.

"So Sirius's grand entrance did not happen last time or if it did we never learned about it," Harry said. "In that memory uncap that led to nice doggie's ham sandwich…"

"Can't believe you caught me that way," Sirius moped.

"I also remembered that there were two wizards that effectively prevented you from having any hope of true freedom. One was Dumbledore. I don't know now if he knew you were innocent when you were sent off to that … place. I have no reason to say with any certainty that he did, but I would not be the least bit surprised if he did or at least suspected. What I can remember is after learning of your innocence from Hermione, Ron, this year's DADA professor whose name eludes me for some reason, and I; he did nothing. Said no one would believe us and I believed him but he didn't even try. Course he wouldn't. If you had been free, you'd be my full on guardian and Dumbledore can't have that. I admit Dumbledore did accept a letter from you as giving me permission to go into Hogsmeade, but that was about all that happened. It would've mucked up all his plans for my votes in the end to allow you to do more. So he made no effort to see you freed or given even a remote chance to challenge the Ministry's accusations.

"The other man who ruined your life was the Minister himself. He's the one whose posted a bounty on your head and has his Aurors out with orders to brings him your lifeless body and will be posting dementors at a school filled with children in the off chance they might kill you. Never mind that those things are a greater threat to the hundreds of students. What's a few students compared to being the Minister who saw to the capture and demise of the notorious Sirius Black? Well, what happened today might not do much to Dumbledore, but Dumbledore's scheme to keep you a prisoner of sorts relies on Fudge remaining in office and his ability to ignore the law and have you snuffed. If he loses his political seat or capital, we no longer have to worry 'bout him, only the Head of Magical Law Enforcement…"

"That would be Madam Amelia Bones," Hannah said.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"I thought it was Barty Crouch," Sirius commented. "He was when I got chucked into the pit. Seeing as he's not Minister…"

"No, it's Bones."

"She was with the Aurors back then," James commented. "A little stiff, but she was one of the good guys. She'd be fair, unless she's changed."

"Crouch got pushed aside," Hannah explained to Sirius. "It seems most people lost confidence in him when it came out that his son was a Death Eater and along with your Cousin, her husband and brother-in-law tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom. The Longbottoms've never been seen since although I don't think they're dead."

"They're alive," Daphne said, "if you can call it that. They're in the James Thickey Ward at St. Mungos."

"Permanent Spell Damage?" Lily asked in shock.

Daphne shrugged. "My Mum's sister worked there. Word is they went insane after being under the torture curse for hours. She says they're practically mindless. Mrs. Longbottom being only slightly less so than her husband. She says it's similar to someone who suffered from the Dementor's Kiss."

"The spell doesn't do that!" Lily countered. "You can be tortured for days and one of two things happens: either you recover in a few weeks or you die. You don't lose your mind. That's what makes the spell so evil: you can't hide from the pain. You can't lose your mind. I can't think of a spell that would leave you like that."

"Well, there was nothing to indicate it was a dementor…"

"I can," Sirius said.

"You can what?" Lily asked.

"Think of a spell that can do that. My family had a fair few family specials – spells only a Black could learn. They were nasty ones and that one sounds like one. I take it the Healers tried everything?"

"That's my understanding," Daphne said.

"The Black nasties can't be countered unless you know the Black countercurse. They may be mostly fine, just trapped somehow and unless someone knows the specific curse used and specific countercurse, they're stuck. If I could access the Black Library, I might be able to find out what might've been used… and its countercurse. Just hope it's not will specific if it is a Black nasty."

"Will specific?" Hermione asked.

"I was told a couple of the spells are what they called that. It means only the caster can counter it. There were debates as to what would happen if the caster died. Some suggested the spell would die with them and others that it could then never be countered. Not aware if they ever resolved that."

"And as a Black, only you can access the properties," James said. "That doesn't help. Wouldn't be surprised if the Ministry has people watching the area."

"I have a meeting with Neville…"

"We have a meeting," Luna corrected. "The invitation is to House Potter."

"And that's all of us," Daphne added. "Even Hannah, Ginny and Sirius assuming you placed Sirius under House Protection…"

"I did," Harry said.

"Neville's never said anything 'bout his parents," Hermione said. "Not that I recall, has he?"

"No."

"Maybe he doesn't want people to know. Don't ask me why he wouldn't, but you know he is a very private person maybe even more so than you, Harry."

"He could bring up Black nasties in response to what he's been doing this summer," Sirius suggested. "You know? Learning this and that and a bit about my family and the Blacks and oh! Those Blacks had some really nasty spells…"

"Might work. But assuming it was a Black nasty, we need to get you free to find out."

"There are other ways…"

"I'd rather you get free. We concentrate on that first and look to other ways if freeing you will take too long. Back to this Bones lady."

"If it goes as we think," Hannah said, "Fudge may survive this but be rendered little more than a figurehead. Anyone promoted under his administration stands to lose and many will try to cut any ties with him. This means that any of his initiatives – such as his zealous pursuit of Black – will be career suicide for anyone to continue. Madam Bones is fair. Present her with what we know happened … She'd demand a proper trial even if she was the eyewitness and knew the person was guilty. I doubt she thinks highly of Fudge's desire to kill first and ask questions later."

Harry nodded. "We'll have to wait and see. Bones? Any relation to…?"

"She's Susan's Aunt," Hannah said. "She's pretty much raised Susan after her husband and Susan's parents were killed near the end of the War. Sirius is right. She'd be fair. Course that won't help him if he's guilty…"

"I'm not!"

"Are there any in our class unaffected by that war?"

"My immediate family," Daphne offered and Ginny agreed.

"But you both lost relatives."

They nodded.

"And Bones is an Ancient and Noble Line and Susan's the last. Her Aunt is a Tyrell, a Bones by marriage," Hannah added.

"Great! You're not suggesting…?"

"She has a betrothal contract," Hannah said. "She knows with whom. She has no problem with it. But it's not you, Harry. When you first married, all contracts had to be forwarded to you. Aside from the five of us, has Gringotts or the Ministry advised you of any others?"

"I can assure you we never entered into such a contract with House Bones," James said. "Nothing against them. House Abbott approached us and had House Bones done so we might have considered it, but they didn't."

"Thank goodness for that! Five is plenty."

"So who's the lucky bloke?" Harry asked.

"No idea. It's a secret until she goes through with it. There may've been preconditions like ours, Harry. No sense in telling someone about a betrothal contract that might never come to pass, is there?"

"I suppose not. I wonder…?"

"What Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe Neville married Susan?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Just 'cause you married the lot of us," Daphne added, "it doesn't follow that Longbottom did."

"He's Lord Longbottom, right? That means he's emancipated. I'm emancipated 'cause I'm married. You all told me that's how it works. If you can have a wife legally, you're considered an adult as is the wife, right?"

"That's right," Daphne agreed. "But they're other ways to become emancipated. A valid marriage is one that does not require a hearing or something. Maybe there was a hearing?"

"We'd've seen it in the paper I should think," Luna commented. "The Prophet loves to print that sort of stuff."

"And Witch Weekly and," Ginny added, "well, Neville would be considered a catch of some sort. He is a Longbottom after all. Last of that Ancient and Noble Line. They'd've said something about someone like Neville being off the market…"

"Nothing's been in the papers 'bout us," Hermione countered.

"We don't know," Lily interjected. "It's best not to speculate about such things. I'm sure you lot will find out tomorrow."


	30. Chapter 30: Mirror Image

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER THIRTY: MIRROR IMAGE**

**TUESDAY, AUGUST 10****th**** 1993**

Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and into a sitting room of some kind. He really hated travelling by Floo even though he had only done so on three occasions, most recently the day before. He much preferred a broom or an Elf form of what wizards called side-along apparition to Floo travel. He wondered how anyone managed not to stumble since once it activated and you disappeared in a burst of green flames you were spun around and around until you were spat out at the other end. Naturally, this tended to make you very dizzy.

"Milord Potter," a voice announced and he saw an Elf in a uniform not unlike the ones worn by Higgins and Dobby back at the Estate. "I am Dalton, Head Elf of House Longbottom. Lord Longbottom awaits you in the South Salon. If you'll follow me?"

"The rest of House Potter has not arrived yet, Dalton."

"I beg your pardon, Sir. We shall wait then."

"With your permission, for reasons of security I would request that they be brought here by my House Staff?"

"That would be acceptable, Sir. House Potter is keyed into the Wards. But how…?"

Harry twisted his new ring. Among the many magics it possessed it could be used as a crude but perfectly secure communication device. It was tied into the rings his wives and betrothed wore and they would twist the same way as his ring would. In this case, if Harry twisted the ring one way it meant they had to come by Floo and the other meant the elves could bring them. He preferred to use the elves. While he was fairly certain the ministry could neither detect much less monitor his estate floos, he was not so certain about House Longbottom and as remote the chances were they were monitoring House Longbottom's floo, Harry was not about to risk the safety of certain members of his House namely his parents and Sirius Black. He was also concerned for his mother although he had not spoken to her about that. She was pregnant after all. He was less concerned about his girls' safety. Still, he was dusting the soot off his clothes and did not think his girls would appreciate having to do the same. In short order Dobby, Higgins and Albert the Younger (as the Head Elf of The Valley was now known) arrived with his parents and Sirius and the girls arrived with their personal handmaidens.

"I see," Dalton said. "Lord Longbottom would like a one-on-one meeting with Lord Potter before meeting with the full houses. Is that acceptable to you, Lord Potter?"

"I understand that is customary for an initial invitation?" Harry asked.

"Indeed Sir, but by no means required."

"I think it may be easier for us to begin one-on-one." Harry had talked about this before coming. If the Longbottom Elf had not suggested the traditional meeting between Heads of Houses Harry would have. Neville was a very nice person and a loyal friend and knew at least two of his ladies, but everyone agreed he was also shy and to suddenly invade his home "with a hoard" might prove counterproductive. No one had any idea what productive was aside from re-establishing the thousand year old alliance between the Houses.

Harry was led to what he assumed was the South Salon. Harry was dressed in informal muggle attire. He entered the Salon and saw his friend Neville who was wearing wizarding robes over what looked like informal attire.

"Hey Harry!" Neville said.

"Good to see you, Nevile," Harry replied. "Isn't there a formal way to do this? You're letters made this sound very formal."

"There is. A whole bunch of bowing and Milord this and Milord that. It's really … cold. It's also only truly required if we didn't know each other or we were enemies or some such."

"Good," Harry relaxed. "I've only begun learning this stuff this summer and … well, it'd seem weird having to do such stuff with a friend."

"We'd have to do it if this was some kind of society thing…"

"Ah! But as friends it would be more along the lines of shoving who and what we are in the faces of people we don't like and whose beliefs we don't like and stuff."

"That's what Gran's said," Neville chuckled. "No robes?"

"Aside from last year's Hogwarts stuff, I haven't picked any up yet. Was planning to at the end of the summer when I get my school supplies."

"Makes sense. I've had Longbottom robes for as long as I can remember, but that does not mean I like them. Okay, they're fine when it's cooler out but…"

"Bit much when it's warm?"

Neville nodded. "Have a seat?"

After they were seated Harry said: "I understand it's customary to bring a gift – small one of course – for the host or hostess, especially in the case of a first meeting between two Heads of Houses?" After Neville nodded Harry continued. "Usually it's a bottle of wine…"

"Gran would appreciate that," Neville said, "but she's probably ban me from my plants for a week if I accepted since by custom we're supposed to drink it."

Harry laughed. "I was going to say something similar. We're a bit young for more than a glass. I was going to suggest something more – well, something you can't get into trouble for."

"I consider that an acceptable alternative under the circumstances, Sir," Neville said. His tone was more in jest than anything.

A moment later, Dobby appeared with a tray. On it was a large, clear glass pitcher with a yellow colored liquid and ice in it, two large tumblers and a serving plate piled with biscuits.

"Is that lemonade?" Neville asked.

"Yep."

"I've had it a few times when we went to Blackpool. Love the stuff. But Gran's traditional so it's that thick pumpkin juice which is all they give us at Hogwarts."

As Dobby poured the drinks and handed them to the two wizards Harry replied. "If I ever have a taste of that stuff again, it's too soon. Guess I got a little spoiled this summer. But we'll get to that. By your letter, I assume you have taken your family titles?"

"This stuff is excellent, Harry," Neville replied. "I have. Bit of a story. Of course, it's really in name only for now but it does make me exempt from the Reasonable Restrictions on Underage Wizardry. Formally, I can now say I'm Lord Longbottom, Earls of Colne, Pendle and Marston and Barons of Tulhume and Halden Moor. You know you have a few of those yourself."

"Found out this summer: Earls of Finchley, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca and Baron of Loch Sheen. Two of them are recognized as members of the Muggle Peerage."

"Only one of mine is: Earl Pendle. Just this summer?"

"Never knew a thing 'bout my wizarding family before then aside from my parents were in Gryffindor and Voldemort killed them. Didn't learn that much 'til after I got my Hogwarts letter. My Muggle relatives never said much at all 'bout them and what they did say wasn't very nice."

"You do know that our families have been allied for ages?"

"Learned that this summer too. More than just allies as I understand. We seem to intermarry every four generations or so. My great-great gran was a Longbottom as are four other great grandmothers with so many numbers of greats."

Neville nodded. "Five of my distant grands are Potters. The last was my four times great Gran."

"Five of seven then. Also learned that seven Potter girls married a Longbottom, although it's been a while. Then again, it's been a while since there was a Potter girl. Used to be you couldn't swing a cat without hitting one. Last few generations, not a one. My Dad, Grandad and Great-Grandad were only children. But we're a little young to be talking 'bout marrying kids off, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to know if you knew that stuff. Would've told you if you didn't. Always bothered me that you didn't know this stuff. Then again … well you've seen the way the 'new money' prigs like Malfoy strut about. I'm not as old fashioned as Gran and think a lot of this aristocracy stuff is drop dead dull rubbish, but I do agree with the notion of 'quietly' wealthy. Rather people like me for me than because I'm Lord Longbottom."

"And I'm doubly cursed," Harry chuckled in agreement. "Least you're not The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Odd that," Neville said. "Most people see that and not the next Lord Potter – which would be similar I think."

"At school when we're older and girls start thinking that way," Harry replied. "Can't walk through Diagon Alley without people staring at me and it's been that way since I first went. It's almost creepy. The one thing I liked about France was they don't know The-Boy-Who-Lived at all. 'Course, the French Magicals don't like us Brits at all so we had to act like a Muggle Born since they seem friendlier and more helpful to Muggle Born Brits. Not that it was all that hard for me…"

"That's right, your letter said something about that. How was it?"

"Aside from the fact they mostly spoke French, it was wonderful. This has been the best summer I've ever had – even if it has been kind of like school and certainly weird."

"School?"

"From the evening I got … got to where I'm staying … I've been learning all kinds of stuff 'bout my family and history and stuff. No regrets. But had I not tricked Draco's dad into freeing Dobby here – my Head Elf – I probably would still be clueless about this stuff. Dobby's loads better at teaching history than Binns."

Neville chuckled. "There's not a plant in my gardens that could be worse at that. Tricked Malfoy?"

Harry then told the tale of how he freed Dobby, which led to the tale about how Dobby had bought him his original trunk. "All I wanted was a nice place to stay and stay away from my relatives. Guess you got to be careful what you ask for with an eager elf."

Neville chuckled. "Okay, that sort of thing hasn't happened to me. I already had four of those trunks from Granddad Longbottom and my parents. Six actually, but only four are developed. Granddad bought one as soon as they were available. Once he had more elves than work, he got another. Bought four more in the seventies as a long term investment and opened a third and my Gran opened the fourth when I was eight. You know getting real land for magical use is bloody near impossible these days."

Harry nodded. "Turns out my family was doing the same thing. Dobby didn't know this and I only found out after a trip to Gringotts back in June. Had four more trunks in operation from my parents and grandparents and three spares. The elves have placed those in operation as well. Bit much for just my House, but I've got loads of elves apparently so… I do like it."

"Better than a green house. Keeps me in rare magical plant cuttings and seeds, that's for sure. Don't need an allowance or Trust Fund when I earn my own income. Been doing so since I was nine, by the way. Yours interconnected?"

Harry nodded.

"Same here. Need an elf to get around. That or it's a long walk, not that I mind."

"We came up with something like a motor car. It looks like one, drives like one but it's all magical. I can get from the main house to the cottage in the Valley – which is the furthest point from my house by road – in about an hour. Elf or portal is faster, but you don't see anything that way and I like the ride."

"How'd you do that? Sounds like a brilliant idea, but you can't pop something like that into a trunk. Did you take it apart or something?"

"Nah. Made a suggestion to Dobby and he and some other elves popped about to various Muggle junk yards scrounging scrap metal, tires and stuff, stuff they could pop into the trunk, and several transfigurations and charms later and I have something like seven really nice cars – all convertibles which means the top can come off or be folded way to enjoy the view – and six that are large motor coaches. They only work in my Estate. As you said, you can't pop them out and they run off the ambient magic of the place. If you could get one into the real world … it would look nice, but wouldn't work, assuming the magic that made it didn't fade away and leave you with a pile of junk."

"Sounds … useful. Why so many?"

"Don't want to spend all my time there alone."

"Makes sense, Harry. Anyway, aside from … well, I always intended to invite you over. We're actually at my farm – those four trunks I mentioned. Something happened earlier this summer that I want you to know about. I could've waited 'til September 1st, but would rather a friend knew before hand."

"Oh?"

"And it's not that I got a new wand," Neville added clearly avoiding the topic.

"You did? What was wrong with your old one? I mean, Ron broke his when we crashed his Dad's flying car into the Womping Willow to begin last year, but…"

"My old wand belonged to my Dad," Neville said. "I still have it. But it wasn't working for me and when the other stuff happened, Gran took me out to get my own wand. She was … well, she's always been very protective of me. With my parents … well, I am the last Longbottom. I have other relatives, but they're all on my Mum's side of the family or Gran's. No other Longbottoms. She didn't take me to get my own wand right off. As I know I told you, there were those who thought I was a Squib and she didn't want … she knew I wasn't but wasn't sure, you know? Had I gone to Olivanders and was one… She didn't want that. Of course, getting a Hogwarts letter meant I couldn't be one. But with all that's happened to my family she was … cautious. Besides, family wands do work on occasion. She was surprised that mine was not a match at all considering I can do magic with it although it's bloody hard and leaves me knackered if I try too much. Says I must be one powerful wizard to get a stick of wood to act like a wand which is what an unmatched wand is, you know. New one's bloody brilliant, Harry. But Gran says I should still use the old one as well. Forcing magic makes it stronger, she says."

"I've been told something like that," Harry agreed. "I'm not sure if it's the forcing bit. But pushing yourself 'til you're tired from it is supposed to help build your magic. But this is not about a new wand, is it?"

"No. 'Bout two weeks after I got back from Hogwarts, Gran had a visit at our manor in Lancaster from a couple of old friends she's known for ages. It turns out they were long, lost relatives of hers and mine for that matter – very distant great-grans. They're now known as George and Mary Tennyson but were once known as…"

"Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel," Harry finished.

"You know of them?"

"Like you, met them not long after the start of the holiday," Harry nodded. "Like you, they're distant great-grans of mine. When they were known as Edward and Catherine Standbridge, their oldest daughter married my ancestor George Potter. She was his third wife, the first two having died in childbirth and she was the only one who bore him a son."

"Weird." Neville commented. "Um … well, they explained some things to us. Before, I wondered if I was going nutters or if I was a Seer or something. Turns out that wasn't the case – either of those bits. Had to write McGonagall as ask to drop Divination for something useful. Anyway, since my eleventh birthday and until they showed up I had this constant sense that everything had happened before…"

Harry did his best not to react.

"Bloody annoying 'cause…"

"You still didn't know what was going to happen next," Harry finished.

"You too?"

Harry nodded. "Pretty much ended right after I freed Dobby. Actually, it ended when I accepted Dobby as a Potter elf. Still happens on occassion when I look at the paper and some things happen that have nothing to do with me, but yeah. And they did explain that to me. You have any of those future memories uncap?"

"Not yet," Neville said. He seemed to relax. "Makes this easier. I mean that it happened to you too 'cause it's really unbelievable otherwise. So you can guess how this happened to me?"

"Same way for me. Something from years in a future; one we want to change."

"Have you had a memory uncap, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Few weeks ago. It's about that guy in the papers…"

"Sirius Black?"

Harry nodded. He could talk about this apparently. He'd have to ask Hermione or the Tennysons about how this was possible although were he to guess, he'd say it was probably because there was a Tennyson Fidelius over Neville's situation as well and those ancient people connected the secrets somehow so that they would be able to talk about it without bringing in Secret Keepers. Maybe Neville was his own Secret Keeper.

"My Cousin and Godfather…"

"But…"

"And a Godfather who takes such an oath to the child's parents…"

"Can't possibly do something that might ever harm the child – not knowingly at any rate. The oath would kick in and kill them and he's obviously not dead. But … then why's he in prison or why was he? The Ministry says…"

"And it's all a bunch of lies," Harry growled. "It's possible the Ministry doesn't know the truth but it's clear they never tried to find out. Black rotted away in that place for a dozen years and never did anything to get sent there except get caught being at the scene of a magical explosion. A Death Eater named Peter Pettigrew killed all those people and left Sirius holding the bag. Don't know how knowing this now helps things later, but you know me. I had to do something. But we'll get to that…"

Neville nodded. "Anyway, that was not all. Before the Tennysons showed up … well, I never said anything 'bout it 'cause … well, it really is nobody else's business and it's … well, it might not've happened at all but… Okay!" he sighed. "I was betrothed. Knew it and to whom before I ever got a Hogwarts letter. Gran set it up when I was little. She negotiated a marriage with the Greengrass family for their daughter Astoria. She's Daphne Greengrass's younger sister and is supposed to start Hogwarts this September. Gran also set up a line continuation contract with House Bones. I've known Susan for years and we're friends since we were little but I needed a Lady Longbottom to marry her and that was Astoria's role. Didn't meet her 'til this summer but I like her so… So I knew 'bout those two. If Tori's older sister had been anything like those other Snakes, I would've been inclined not to go through with those contracts. As far as I can tell, she's not. Daphne Greengrass never said much to me, but she's never been mean or that like the others.

"But the Tennysons told us there were other contracts out there as well. These were made by my parents before – before we lost them. Gran didn't know about them at all. It turns out I have something called Compatible Magic with a couple of other witches…"

"Really?" Harry gasped.

"Heard of it?"

"Yeah. Know what it can mean, too. Two witches? Bloody rare that."

"Yeah. As far as I know I'm the first with two. You know that sort of thing is detected upon the birth of the younger of the two, right?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, they're both in our year, but they're both older than me so…"

"So you're the first," Harry said. He did his best to hide any reaction. He was pleased he was not the only one out there in this situation and even more pleased that the other was his friend. And Neville was right. He was the first as far as Harry knew. Neville's potential bonds were detected upon his birth, a few hours before Harry's whereas Harry's second bond was not detected until Luna's birth over a month later.

"One's a Muggle Born, the other isn't," Neville said. "My Mum set things up so that we'd grow up together but something happened after I lost them – we don't know what – and everyone left forgot. Anyway, so once it was clear to the parents that we did get along and once the Muggles understood about such things and what it could mean for their daughter, the contracts were drawn up, although that brought in another girl and then a family we've been close to for ages wanted their daughter betrothed too and my parents agreed and, well I met two of them this summer and by mid July… Well, the bondings took and… and now…"

"Triggered all those contracts, did it? Left Hogwarts thinking maybe one day you might have two wives or a wife and a consort and now…"

"Yeah. Wanted to tell someone before school 'cause this'll be big. You don't seem … I don't know. I guess I was expecting…"

"This explains more than I thought. We're very much alike, Neville and there may be a reason why that is and it has nothing to do with our families' long, long alliance. Course, it may be a coincidence as well. But aside from walking 'bout Hogwarts for two years knowing about a betrothal or two, my summer's been surprisingly similar. And I do know why neither I nor they knew anything about it."

"Married too?"

"Four and a spare; or three Potters, a Line Continuation and a Betrothed who I'll probably marry next summer. And I take it you haven't made yours public either?"

Neville nodded. "Grigotts, you know. Not like we'd have any decent photos for the papers. That, and something happened those years ago and … well …"

"Best to keep it quiet until it's too late for whatever to mess it all up?"

Neville nodded. "Same with you?"

"Except we know what's messing with me, or who."

"You-Know-Who?"

"This has been subtle. Voldemort is in your face. No, it's someone who most people would know but never suspect. I can't say where you fit into this, Neville. Can't even say if we share the same enemy although it looks like we do. I can say that we don't think he'll accept what's happened this summer and leave us alone to move on to other things."

"So who is it and what do we do?"

"I think we should bring in the others, don't you?" Harry said. "Don't know 'bout you, Neville, but the Ladies are the brains of my House."

Neville nodded. "Gonna tell me who they are first?"

"What's the fun in that?"

"I told you!" Neville whined although Harry knew Neville well enough to know he was joking.

"Two out of six," Harry said. "You still have four mystery girls out there."

"Give me one of your five and say it's even?"

"Daphne Greengrass," Harry said. "My parents set that up and it was contingent upon my bonding with one of two of the witches who share compatible magic with me. So in that way we're also very similar although you're still the first. After all, I am younger than you and my only hint is one of my two bondmates is younger than me. Daphne was saying how it seemed her sister was never around this summer."

"She was home – or at her home – a fair bit but she was here a fair bit. They may have just missed each other. So we're even then. Bring them in first?"

"Sure. As I understand it I introduce mine to you and yours first, right?"

Neville nodded. Moments later Daphne entered, walked over to Harry and kissed him on the cheek.

"Lord Longbottom?" Harry said formally, "I'd like to introduce you to my wife, the former Miss Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin, now Lady Daphne Potter, Countess Designate of Abengale." After Neville bowed, kissed her hand and said it was his pleasure, Harry continued. "Daphne, my friend Lord Neville Longbottom, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Earls of Colne, Pendle and Marston, Barons of Tulhume and Halden Moor, Peer of the Realm."

"Milord," Daphne said with a curtsey.

"I have come to learn, Lady Daphne, that as a Greengrass you are clearly one of the few true Slytherins attending Hogwarts," Neville said. "To hide such charm, grace and beauty in that pit of snakes shows cunning beyond cunning."

"Thank you, I guess, Lord Longbottom."

"Neville, please. Harry's a close friend and I don't stand on formalities once the necessaries are done with."

"Astoria?" Daphne asked. "What are you doing here?" She gasped when Astoria stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Neville on the cheek.

"House Potter?" Neville said. "I'd like to introduce my betrothed Miss Astoria Greengrass. Upon our marriage – which will probably be the summer after next – she'll become Lady Longbottom, Baroness of Tulhume."

"Our parents set this up with Neville's Gran when I was about two," Astoria said. "I didn't find out 'bout it until after you and yours were off to France. How was it, by the way?"

"It was lovely," Daphne said. "But I've been home several times and had everyone over this past Saturday and everyone said you were away with friends…"

"I was," Astoria chuckled. "I'm glad they didn't say old friends seeing as I only met most of them after you lot were off to the Continent. Then there was this Fidelius Charm they used for the Summer, which may be why none of our big mouthed sisters said anything."

"Way to ruin the fun," Daphne pouted in jest.

"Of course, Daph, you can always forget I mentioned that just as I can always forget that you told me all about the trip to France and we can torture the little ones with accusations of keeping secrets from us."

"Okay," Daphne laughed.

"Hey!" Harry protested. "I like your sisters!"

"You didn't have to live with them," Astoria said. "Don't get me wrong. We like them too. But it's a sibling or sister thing to needle the younger ones 'cause you can bet they do the same to us."

"And play dress up with our clothes…"

"And nick our dollies…"

"And otherwise be a pain…"

"And…"

"And," Harry said, "I think only children Neville and I get the point. There are others and I think you'll find this interesting Daph. I'd say the same to you Astoria, but you already know who will be coming through the door."

"Probably the only one who knows everyone who might be coming through the door," she added sticking her tongue out at Daphne.

"See what I have to put up with," Daphne said to Harry.

Harry chuckled as he was soon joined by Hermione who kissed his cheek.

"Lord Longbottom – as Miss Greengrass already knows – may I introduce my wife and Bond Mate the former Miss Hermione Granger of Gryffindor, now Lady Hermione Potter, Countess Designate of Finchley? Hermione, Lord Neville Longbottom," and after repeating all of Neville's titles Harry added, "and you've met his betrothed Astoria?"

"Really?" Neville and Hermione seemed to say at once.

"Well, there goes that idea," Neville said. When Harry, Daphne and Hermione gave him a questioning look, he explained. "There was talk of a betting pool next year. You had to pay a Sickel per bet and had to bet what month between now and the end of our Seventh Year you two would get together. Of course, you could also choose Never, in which case you had to pick who each of you would get together with."

"And who would be running this illegal pool?" Hermione asked. "It is against school rules, you know."

Harry snorted. "'Fraid I didn't. There's always one of those floating about."

"Fred and George Weasley," Neville said. "Others suggested it, but they were going to run it to … to keep it fair."

"Let them start it then," Hermione said. "If it's set like you say, seeing as we got together no later than June 21st and probably earlier if you think about it – we certainly had our first kiss earlier although we didn't begin bonding 'till then, then anyone fool enough to put in their Sickels loses. Better yet, we tell them and allow our good friends – and only our good friends – to bet for before Third Year, so that they win and all the other fools lose!"

"I think you and the others are having a bad influence on our rule abiding Hermione," Harry laughed.

"Oh hush you!" Hermione said with a smile. "You know it'd serve those idiots right!" She then blushed. "Sorry Neville."

"No worries."

"And congratulations, Astoria."

"Thanks."

Another girl had entered from what Harry now saw as House Longbottom's side of the room – a door opposite the door he and his two girls had entered.

"House Potter," Neville said, "my wife and Bond Mate the former Miss Sally-Anne Perks of Hufflepuff, now Lady Sarah Longbottom, Countess Designate of Pendle." Once the long introduction was over, Sally-Anne spoke.

"My parents had no memory of this until after we got to Gringotts and were shown some of the paperwork. Neville wasn't there with us then, that came later. We were called in the day after we Muggle Borns returned from school. Once my parents saw their signatures, they remembered everything."

Hermione gasped. "It was the same for my folks as well, although they already knew Harry and I were close and likely to get closer."

"I was already pretty sure that House Longbottom was tampered with by the same bastard who's been mucking with House Potter!" Harry said. "That's too close to what happened to us to be a coincidence! Neville? Were there any surprise contracts? Ones signed between your Grand and one Albus Dumbledore?"

"No. Nothing like that. Why?"

"He's probably the one who messed with your older contracts. Did the same thing with Hermione's and another and as those contracts triggered others, that meant none of them would trigger or so he hoped it seemed. He made one after my parents died that would effectively have given him control of my House and certainly its votes. We've dealt with that, but not with him. We'll explain more once everyone's here and up to speed."

Neville nodded.

"He tried to steal our futures?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Something like that," Harry said.

"Neville told you 'bout the Tennysons and the déjà vu?"

Hermione gasped and looked at Harry who nodded to both.

"I wasn't having it for some reason at least not any more often than normal. We don't know why. Near as we can figure, we were friends then just as we are now," Sally-Anne said. "Neville's been a friend since First Year. He helped me and a few other girls with Herbology and we helped him with other courses although Potions seemed to be a lost cause. He gets it. He just can't do it if Snape's around."

"What? None of us blokes?" Harry asked.

"You're a friend, Harry. But let's face it, girls are prettier."

Harry laughed. "Who would've bet Neville's the stud of our year!"

"Neville's a perfect gentleman," Astoria said. "Having said that, he's also dreamy with serious hottie potential."

"You can get lost in his eyes," Sally-Anne added.

"Um … if you'll excuse me I need to find a bucket to throw up in," Harry quipped. "You never say stuff like that!" he said turning to his two.

"Not to your face," Daphne said.

"We'd rather not deal with the buckets," Hermione quipped.

"But we can, 'cause it's true for us as well."

"Definitely need a bucket!" Harry moaned.

"So," Hermione said changing the topic, "when did you bond."

"'Bout a week later or so. My folks and I talked about it. They remembered why they did it and said it didn't have to happen, but they thought it would be wonderful if it did. Besides, at our ages it's not like we really have to jump into it as it were. I mean, I do sleep with Neville, but not that way. We can wait 'til we're older and more comfortable before we do that sort of thing. So far, it's been really nice even if I do have to share. I guess it's a good thing I like all my new sisters."

"That certainly helps," Daphne agreed.

"House Longbottom," Harry continued after another minute of friendly banter and his next wife had joined them, "may I present my wife and Bond Mate the former Miss Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw – she's a year behind us although only a little over a month younger than us – now Lady Luna Potter, Countess Designate of Hwicca."

"So your friend Neville has a family like ours?" Luna asked after all the introductions.

"Surprisingly similar," Harry chuckled as did the others. "Amost identical."

"Really? Do his ladies prefer not wearing clothes at all when it's just them?"

"What?" the Longbottoms asked.

"We do," Luna said. "We've spent days and days at the estate without having to worry about what to wear because we don't wear anything at all. Harry does. We haven't seen him starkers yet. But if we don't have to, we don't. I was always sort of that way. But the others are that way as well. Of course, we didn't go topless on the beaches in France. Then again, only our Harry should see us that way."

The Longbottoms did not know what to say except it seemed that Sally-Anne was thinking about it.

"You are a corrupting influence," Daphne noted.

"I don't think so," Luna replied. "I prefer to see myself as … inspirational. Besides, it's what we like. Harry has never… He would not say anything if we didn't but we all like that he likes it when we do."

"I'm sure he does," Neville said.

"They went through many of the things we did, Luna," Harry said trying to change the topic.

"Oooh! You mean they had the French Word thing and Life Flashy thing too? And they've been victims of an evil wizard everyone thinks is good?"

"Don't know about the Life Flashy thing, but yeah," Harry replied. "She means the persistent déjà vu and the other thing was a sense of that future life passing before your eyes when you bonded."

"That happened too," Sally-Anne said. "It was a little disturbing. Would've been more so if the Tennysons hadn't told us to expect it. It happened to me even though I did not experience the déjà vu. The Tennyson's think it had something to do with the bonding or that I was somehow tapping into bits of Neville's future memories because of the bonding. We tried to remember what we could. We wrote down what we could, but even with their help, it doesn't make sense aside from saying that future is pretty bleak. That and Neville and I never bonded in that future."

"We didn't bond in that future either," Luna said sadly.

"House Potter? May I introduce my wife and bond mate the former Miss Padma Patil of Ravenclaw, now Lady Padma Longbottom, Countess Designate of Colne."

"Seems we're the Claws laughing now, eh Luna?" Padma said when the formal introductions ended.

"Indeed. True, we have to share with our sisters, but we did bag the only two Snorkacks at school."

Padma chuckled. "Indeed we did. Where they do live, Snorkacks are very rare, highly prized and very hard to catch," she explained. "Luna and I are sort of outcasts," Padma said. "We are top of our years in Ravenclaw, but most of them are and act like narrow minded Brits. Few have ever been abroad and never want to go abroad. If they had been in our world, they'd realize a lot of what Luna's Dad writes about is not as fantastical as they think. Some of it is. A discerning reader can tell the difference between what he writes for fun and what's more serious. Snorkacks are real, for example. If there's anything faulty with his stories it may be his theory that they're an invasive species in Europe. They're native to the Far East where they are called something else. Still, his concern that magical species may be moving to new parts of the world is not without merit and in a new environment without their natural enemies about, they can become real problems. But this is an island and no one thinks that can happen here."

Hermione snorted. "Guess wizards never heard of the North American Grey Squirrel or rats, come to think of it."

"Oh?" several voices asked.

"Neither are native to the British Isles," Hermione said. "Rats came from ships, most likely and certainly in the case of Brown Rats and the Grey Squirrel was brought here by some people who thought they were cute. They're all pests and have caused damage to the native environment. Some think the Grey Squirrel may well drive our native Red Squirrrel to extinction. They're other examples of plants and animals beging introduced places that have caused all sorts of problems."

"Really?"

Hermione nodded.

"You should see that Daddy learns of this," Luna said. "Muggles have studied it?"

"One might say out of necessity," Hermione replied, "at least those who are in those fields."

"As for myself," Padma said returning to her topic, "aside from not thinking the Quibbler is absolute rubbish like 'a good Ravenclaw' would, I made the mistake of telling my insular housemates that being a Parsletongue is revered in India. A person with that talent can make a very, very good living keeping the fields clear of dangerous snakes. They think I'm nutters."

"Parvati said the same thing," Hermione said. "We took her at her word about that. Lavender said that maybe its dark connotation in the West is 'cause most of the famous ones were dark and others who had the talent were not well known."

"Makes sense," Harry said. "Trait's been in the Potter family for a long, long time ever since an ancestor of mine married Slytherin's granddaughter or some such. Don't know if my Dad had it. I talked to snake in the Zoo before I even knew what Hogwarts was. I don't see it as dark except that snakes have a bad reputation in the West."

"It's probably 'cause they're dangerous and because the Old Testament says that Satan used to appear as a serpent," Hermione said.

"Doesn't help that they have no legs," Sally-Anne added. "People seem to get the goose bumps about things with fewer than two legs or more than four."

"_And I've had to deal with both creepies," _Harry hissed. The reaction was as he thought it might be. _"Ruddy Basilisk crawling in the school and a load of Acromantulas crawling about the Forbidden Forest."_

"_Acromantulas?" _Neville hissed back. _"Those are great ruddy Spiders, right?"_

"_Ron and I encountered a huge nest of them after they took Hagrid away."_

"_He must've loved that." _Neville laughed.

"Okay, that's creepy," Sally-Anne said.

"Why are you two hissing at each other?" Astoria added.

"We weren't hissing," Neville said. "Harry was telling us about the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest."

"There're Acromantulas in the forest?" Padma asked. "That can't be good. They're not native to Britain! They're no Ardites here!"

"Ardites?" several asked.

"Why were you two hissing?" Astoria asked again.

"We weren't," Harry said. "I was speaking parstletongue and he spoke back in the same."

"I did?" Neville asked.

"Doesn't anyone care about the Acromantulas?" Padma added. "How many? How big?"

"I thought you might be able to, Neville. You do have that in your bloodline if only from your five Potter something great-grans. And as for the spiders, there're a lot of them and some are bigger than dogs and one – which used to be Hagrid's pet – is bigger than a car."

"That's horrible!" Padma explaimed.

"What?" Neville asked. "That I speak to snakes or that there're great, ruddy spiders in the forest."

"The spiders! They're from the Far East too and were it not for Ardites, they'd kill everything! As for snake talking – you know that's considered a revered talent where my family is from. But those spiders? They have to eat and what happens when they eat what's in the forest? Ten months out of the year there's hundreds of us nearby at school! Without Ardites, they'll keep eating and breeding and eating and breeding…and growing!"

"Ardites?" several asked.

"Small bug," Padma said. "It prefers to lay its eggs on the backs of those spiders when they are big enough – the spiders I mean. The eggs hatch and the larvae burrow into the spider eating it from the inside and killing it. In the wild, those things are rare – the spiders I mean and they rarely get to be the size of a house cat 'cause the Ardites kill them off before they become a problem. But without them…"

"Hence the problem with non-native species my Daddy's been on about for years," Luna said. "Wizards have been very irresponsible that way. Of course, they don't like hearing that or reading that even if it's true. My Daddy's out east somewhere searching for evidence of a Snorkack migration. I could post him a note about the spiders and see if he could come up with some Ardites."

"Make it a lot, 'cause there're a lot of those things," Harry said.

"Um," Neville began, "House Potter, may I introduce my wife, the former Miss Parvati Patil of Gryffindor now Lady Parvati the Baroness Designate of Halden Moor."

"Okay," Parvati said when the formal introduction was over, "seems like I missed an intense conversation."

"We were talking about Spiders," Luna said, "and the balance of nature, talking to snakes, irresponsible wizards and running around naked."

"Don't see how they're related," Parvati said. "Tell me more about the running around naked."

Daphne snorted with amusement. "We call ourselves sisters, but Lord Neville really has sisters."

"It became a package deal once our family learned she had compatible magic with Neville. Our parents were not about to agree to a betrothal for one of us without having one for the other. It's not to say they meant that we'd both be betrothed to Neville here. It was more along the lines of saying they'd agree if they found a suitable match for me as well. Neville's parents made the deal for both of us. Guess they didn't want to wait around to see if there was another deal out there for me. Before you ask, I most definitely am not complaining. I think the girls here would agree that aside from Harry here, Neville's about the only boy around our age who isn't an immature berk. It also doesn't hurt that he's really nice and very, very cute."

"Wasn't like I was not going to have a few betrothals," Neville chuckled. "What's one more? Not that I'm complaining. I was friends with Parvati before we learned this and barely knew her sister. My little study club – as Sally-Anne and Parvati might call it, had a surprising lack of Ravenclaws."

"While I am loath to admit it, there is a bias in my house regarding whether anyone from another house can lead a study group," Padma said. "Besides, I was doing well in Herbology. Parvati was not – or at least not as well."

"Okay," Hermione said. "But why is it that only one of you bonded?"

"Fair question," Padma said. "Identical twins are practically identical. We share identical DNA. But we can have differences. That should be obvious seeing as we are in different Houses. Our fingerprints are not the same and, most importantly for bonds, neither are our magical cores and magical signatures. Hers is different enough that she does not share compatible magic with Neville."

"Or anyone else apparently. There're other forms of compatibility," Parvati said. "I may not be a bond mate of Neville's, but I know deep down we'll be fine. We're already very close. So spiders, snakes and running about naked?"

"We'll talk about that later, once we're all introduced," Neville said.

"House Longbottom? May I introduce my wife and Consort Lady Hannah Abbott, Baroness of Tinworth."

"Hey everybody!" Hannah said. "Okay, I'm guessing House Longbottom has a lot in common with us? Either that or Neville a stud and no one noticed."

"He is and no one did, aside from a few of us," Parvati said.

"But you're right about there being a lot of … interesting similarities between House Potter and House Longbottom," Astoria added. "It's almost creepy."

"So Roomie," Sally-Anne said, "Harry's yours?"

"Not exclusively, obviously."

"Never figured you for running around naked," Sally-Anne said.

"Luna did bring that up," Harry said when Hannah looked startled.

"It's a House Potter girls thing," Hannah shrugged. "I am a Hufflepuff after all. We _are_ loyal."

"Explains why you stood against the 'conventional wisdom' of our House 'bout Harry as expressed by one Ernie MacMillan."

"His argument made no sense. So what if Harry talked to a snake. He had no cause to go after Justin and if he was one to be that way, Hermione would've been an easy target. After all, they were together most all of the time. Now I might've believed the opinionated one had it been Malfoy in the Hospital Wing."

"Ernie had said nothing despite the rumors until it was a Puff that had been attacked. Fact is, none of us really thought that way until after Justin was attacked. It was only then that Ernie put two and two together and came up with eleven. Not that I believed him. I didn't know what to believe. Sorry Harry."

Harry shrugged. "I could understand Ernie and the others. I was just as worried and scared as they were. Some of the Gryffindors, however. They at least knew me better. They knew how I reacted whenever Malfoy went after Hermione – or any other Muggle Born come to think of it. Truth is a few of us were convinced it was Malfoy."

"Which proves why he's a legacy Slytherin and not a real one," Daphne said. "He's too much of a loud mouthed braggart to be cunning. I mean if you were going to do something evil like that, you wouldn't spend a year or more going off about it and making yourself the prime suspect. A cunning person would at least keep that rubbish to himself if not behave just the opposite. I thought it was Malfoy too only because he's the type to do such a thing not because he's cunning enought to pull it off. Whenever someone got it, he acted the same way he does when he gets one over on people he doesn't like. Who else could it have been? True, Harry did hiss at that snake and that was suggestive and it would be very, very cunning to be the hater of Muggle Borns whose best friend is one. But any thoughts of that vanished when Hermione was petrified. The truth is aside from Malfoy I thought it had to be a Firstie or a Fifth Year or higher."

"Why?" several voices asked.

"A vile and cunning First Year who knew how to do it wouldn't wait a few years to do it. I figured it more like to be an upper year who had learned how to do it and a Second Year couldn't possibly have known how. Then again, I also assumed it was a spell of some kind like one might find in some old, dusty, private family journal."

"It seems I'm missing and interesting conversation," a new voice said.

"House Potter?" Neville said, "let me introduce my wife, the former Miss Tracy Davis of Slytherin now Lady Tracy Longbottom, Countess of Marston."

When the formal introduction was completed, Tracey had a huge smile on her face and ran over to hug Daphne. "We did it!" she exclaimed. "We're both out of the Snake Pit!"

"Or in it," Padma said.

"Oh?"

"Among topics of conversation missed was the one where we all learned that our Neville speaks parstletongue just like their Harry."

"Really?"

Almost everyone nodded.

"No worries, Neville. You know what I would've been facing before you married me had I been in the Pit. Don't care about whether you can converse with snakes or not."

"The only ones I want to converse with are in this room." Neville said.

"Always the smoothie," Tracy said. "So I'm guessing a lot of the strange stuff we've been talking about since we got married to our Neville may've been happening to you and your new family?" Tracy asked Daphne.

"More, in fact," Daphne said it. "We've had memory uncaps."

"Really? Wow!"

"We'll talk about those in more detail when everyone's together," Harry said. "To do that completely, we'll need all the introductions as a lot of the details are covered by additional Fidelius Charms. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced – seeing as the Tennysons knew about the lot of us – that their Fidelius anticipated this so we don't need our Secret Keepers to reveal this to each other. Same can't be said for some of the other news which is under different charms in our House."

"Makes sense," Hermione said.

Tracy's references to the Pit had not elicited comment. By this time, there was no need. Each new family had heard over time just what went on in Slytherin House, or at least what the younger girls were led to believe might happen when they were older. Neither Daphne nor Tracy knew for certain that those things happened. They never happened in the Common Room and like all the Houses in Hogwarts, there was magic that prevented boys from entering the girls' dormitories. But nothing prevented girls from entering the boy's dorms – or being dragged off there. For the Second Years, it was commonly believed that without the right protection, they could well find themselves as frequent visitors to the boys dorms whether they wanted to be such or not. A boyfriend in Slytherin was one such protection, although it meant sleeping with that boy, not just dating him. Betrothals could be such protections, but that depended upon whether or not the boys feared the person or family to whom the girl was betrothed – particularly if the betrothed was not a Slytherin.

The fear was rape. It didn't take long in Slytherin House for a girl to get the idea that this was a real possibility and imagine the ways it could be carried out by an upper year boy and especially by a skilled one. There were all sorts of spells and potions that could work such that any real resistance was futile. It was also possible that such magic would remove any knowledge of the assault. The only clue that anything had happened would be the loss of time and state of the victim when she regained her senses. Rape was a crime in their world and grounds for expulsion. During their First Year two rather dim witted Sixth Year Boys had been expelled for the alleged rape of a Fourth Year. Neither Daphne nor Tracy knew for certain whether those things really happened (aside from the expulsion), but they had heard about such things from upper year girls practically since they first arrived and even more so going through their mentorships. That was not something you hoped was just a tale to scare the younger witches. They both wanted out of that House because they were otherwise marked as they saw it. Both of their families had been neutral in the War, which didn't gain them any respect from those whose families had strong connections with the Death Eaters or had been such themselves. Both had rather well known "Blood Traitors" in their pasts. They both thought that arrogant Pureblood Supremacist gits like Malfoy might, when they were older, see that as justification to teach them "their place." That veiled threat had already been made.

Neither of them wanted to take what they saw as the easy way out of that dilemma. The easy way was known and they had seen it. There were girls who would sleep with just about any boy who asked without hesitation. Those girls made no effort to hide their activities from their housemates. After all, they were doing it more or less willingly and all the boys knew they were, so why hide it? There was one who pretty much told the younger girls that giving it up was the only true protection. She even bragged about her detentions with their Head of House, suggesting but never saying that she had offered herself to him many times and it was far less disgusting than cleaning cauldrons. Neither Daphne nor Tracy wanted to know whether their house was really that way and neither wanted to take the chance.

Both Heads of House had already decided to request married quarters and were certain to get it. Generally, married or not, they were too young. You and your spouse had to be at least sixteen. But there was an exception to the rule for bonded couples. The younger ones needed to be together for the bond as consummation was not truly possible and even if it were, it had to be without protection and at the highest risk time of the young woman's cycle meaning pregnancy was a real risk. The rule was Bonded couples got those quarters regardless of their age. Another rule suggested that if the bonded couple held the quarters and should the husband take another legal wife, the new wife was treated "as if" bonded. The only question mark for all concerned were the betrotheds, but access trunks eliminate that question. Tracy and Daphne were determined to use these rules to ensure they never set foot in Slytherin House again.

"House Longbottom? May I present my betrothed, Miss Virginia Ellen Potter. I will explain this after we're all here – all the wives and such at least."

"House Potter? May I present my wife and consort, Lady Susan Bones, Countess of Airwryn."

Harry then explained at length about the marriage contract between Dumbledore and the Weasleys and why Ginny Weasley was now Ginny Potter, although Ginny as Secret Keeper had to reveal that she was his concubine. It helped that his ladies were calm about it because it was clear that House Longbottom were shocked about the whole thing.

"Ah!" a new voice said, "it appears we are all here and it appears I have missed some interesting explanations." A much older woman entered the room. She wore very old looking witch robes and a large, ugly hat with a stuffed vulture on it – a real stuffed vulture.

"House Potter? May I present my Grandmother, Madam Augusta Longbottom. She currently serves as House Longbottom Regent and holds the House Proxies in the Wizengamot."

"Madam Longbottom," Harry said once the full introductions were over and relieved that Ginny's complete status was omitted, "it is a pleasure to meet you. Am I correct in understanding that you also Hold House Potter's Proxies?"

"I do indeed."

"I understand that it is not required that I received notifications regarding pending legislation until I am seventeen?"

Madam Longbottom nodded. "I had hoped to meet with you before now to introduce myself. I was unable to locate you before you attended Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore has advised me that it would not be prudent to do so since you have started."

Harry frowned. "I would like notifications of legislation under consideration, Madam Longbottom. I would ask, however, that you use your discretion. I doubt I will find interest in everything under consideration nor will I find it educational."

"And what would you ask for?"

"Certainly any legislation that you feel would affect the interests of House Potter one way or another. Otherwise, only such items that you feel would benefit in the education of one who must one day hold a seat."

"I was thinking of beginning such with my Neville this year. I was concerned that doing so outside of school holidays might distract him from his studies which, at this stage in your lives, should be considered the priority. With all that has happened this summer with House Longbottom and, dare I say, House Potter, it is been brought home that neither of you are typical heirs. The long apprenticeship you should have enjoyed has been taken from you and in less than a decade it shall fall to you to maintain your House. But there is the matter of communication. I have heard that sending a post to Harry Potter is all but impossible."

Harry nodded. "I have learned that. In many ways, I'm not the least bit upset with that. But what mail I do receive is restricted in ways outside of my control. Address your correspondence to Potter Farms and it should get through. That address is good throughout the year.

"Now, House Longbottom, I would like to introduce three adults who are currently residing at my estate and under my House Protection. That is official and the statement to that effect is on file with Gringotts. When they are introduced you will probably understand why such statements have not been filed with the Wizengamot or Ministry at this time. Their identities are protected under a Fidelius so I shall ask my family Secret Keeper to introduce them."

"House Longbottom?" Ginny said. "House Potter would like to introduce you to three people about whom all the Wizarding World knows and believes are lies and falsehoods perpetuated in support of a nefarious plot against House Potter and which we now believe has adversely affected the interests of House Longbottom as well. May I introduce Harry's parents: James and Lily Potter and Harry's cousin and godfather: Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, Earls of Hangleton and Falthsome, Baron of Savoy."

A/N: Rats and grey squirrels are invasive species in England. The Black Rat (infamous vector of the Black Death) was native to Asia and migrated west following trade routes and other human migrations arriving in Europe during the Roman Empire. Brown or Norwegian Rats did the same thing but much later arriving in Europe in the 16th Century. Both probably got into England from ships (as did certain rat borne diseases such as the Plague). Grey Squirrels were deliberately brought in by wealthy land owners in the 19th Century for no reason other than as stated.


	31. Chapter 31: Family Relations

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N:

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: FAMILY RELATIONS**

**TUESDAY, AUGUST 10****th**** 1993**

House Longbottom was shocked to say the least. Everyone in the Wizarding World believed that James and Lily Potter had died under the wand of the self proclaimed Lord Voldemort on Halloween night, 1981. Their funeral had been the closest thing to a State funeral in memory. Augusta was shocked to learn that the hallowed graves held the remains of two hogs although the younger people found humor in this. Yet the proof of the vast "prank" stood before them: Lily and James Potter were very much alive.

"How does this affect House Potter?" Neville asked. There was a sadness in his voice. After all, his friend Harry was no longer a true orphan. For all intents and purposes Neville was.

"The title has passed to the next generation," James said. "It passed when we were still in a sort of magical suspension – a state of magical nonexistence. Harry wears the ring as Head of House. As you are well aware, such rings recognize no one but their rightful masters in the eyes of the family magic. I suppose Lils and I are to be viewed as his Councilors. While we haven't used that old title, it is what we have discussed with Harry."

Sirius Black's presence did not shatter such long held beliefs. Aside from Augusta, none of the young people had ever heard of him prior to the moment he made the news as the first person ever to escape Azkaban and the paper had been silent as to his suspected intentions. Harry revealed that the Ministry and others believed that Black escaped with the intent to finish the job that Voldemort had attempted back in the autumn of 1981.

"He has been with us for a little over three weeks if one counts Time Compression," Harry said. "As he is recovering from his stay at that place, he resides on the guest floor at my house at the Farm. Obviously, he harbors no ill intent towards me."

"Can't say the same about some other people," Black almost growled. "Pettigrew is still out there and if I can't kill the rat, I want to see him given my former accommodations. And learning what I have about our beloved leader, Dumbledore…"

"We can discuss this in detail later," Madam Longbottom said. "As it is, we are forced to have a late lunch. We shall proceed to the Veranda, I should think. Likewise, as our talks may well exceed the time we've anticipated, I would recommend we activate our own Time Compression wards before the end of supper. Is that acceptable to House Potter?"

"We'll have our elves pack us some clothes," Harry nodded. "I would request that our elves remain with us to assist?"

"That would be acceptable. Might you introduce them?"

Harry nodded. There were soon eight elves present. "My Head Elf Dobby, formerly an elf of House Malfoy. We have yet to truly tap his knowledge in such regard. Head Elf of the Valley Albert the Younger – my parents' former private estate which is now part of the entire Potter Estate. Head of my House Staff and Butler Higgins. Head of my kitchens Staff Burt. And my wives' Handmaidens and Potter Housemaids Petal, Blossom, Flower, Marigold, and Sunshine." Harry turned to his elves. "Please pack bags with changes of clothes for all of us and yourselves. We will be staying here for a week." With that the elves bowed or curtseyed and popped away.

"We have two other guests joining us," Augusta said. "I'm sure they will agree to remain for the week."

"And I'm sure many of you have met them," Neville added as he then led the way to the Veranda.

They soon exited the House itself and stepped onto a vast veranda that looked over the fields of Neville's farm. Everyone who had met them recognized the guests.

"Grammy! Grampy!" Luna exclaimed and ran to the older couple.

"You're not going away today?" she asked desperately. "I will see you again before school, won't I?"

The older man laughed. "Of course, Little One. We did promise. And Mary and I have made a decision which everyone here should know. Now's a good time?" George Tennyson turned to ask his wife.

She nodded.

"We haven't worked out the full details yet," George said. "For the few here who have not met us, I am George Tennyson and this is my wife Mary. We became George and Mary in 1926 at age eleven, the same year that our prior incarnations, Philip and Charlotte Denson, then aged 95 are believed to have passed away. I was truly born in 1325 and my wife in 1330…"

"You're Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel!" Sirius Black said. "Harry's told us about you, but…"

"At your service," George bowed. "And yes, few would believe it. We seldom reveal ourselves by choice, but if Harry has revealed that much, then of course you know why we have decided to reveal ourselves to certain of our varyingly distant grandchildren at this time. It was our plan to pass from this life to our next incarnation at the end of this summer. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Upon further reflection and while it remains prudent that George and Mary should pass from the world, we believe it to be important that you not lose our experience what with all that you are facing and need to do in the years going forward.

"So to answer our Great-granddaughter's question, regretfully this will be the last time you will see us as George and Mary. Ordinarily, we return at the age to begin magical school…"

"We still can," Mary said.

"Did you the last time? The time we want to change?" Luna asked with fear in her voice.

They nodded. "We were sorted into Hufflepuff," George said.

"This year?"

They nodded.

"Okay then."

"What's wrong, Little One?" Mary asked.

"I had a memory uncap about this year," she said. "The Ministry's going to post a bunch of Dementors around the school to try and catch Sirius Black. It won't work. He knows a way to avoid those things. That and things are already very different now since he's already with us and not on the run. But the Ministry doesn't know that and … and three students died. The first will be a girl – a girl who's on her first trip to Hogwarts when the train is stopped and those things are set loose. The other two will be Muggle Borns. I was just worried that…"

"Even as eleven year olds, we would retain all we know," George said, "or at least all we can remember and are quite capable of dealing with those things should they threaten us personally. Naturally, it would not be wise for two eleven year old Muggle Borns such as ourselves to let it become known we are truly capable of that. A direct attack can be written off as some form of accidental magic. Seeking out those things and dealing with them…"

"We're working on it," Harry said. "We're learning the Patronus Charm. If we were to increase the Time Compression to thirty days, most if not all of House Potter may well have it down before we get on that train."

"Can you teach it to us?" Tracy asked.

"What's a whatsit Charm?" Sally-Anne asked.

Harry described what the Charm was and what it could do.

"Useful if those things are gonna be about," Neville nodded. "We have more than enough charge time available. Thirty days it is then. After all, House Longbottom has always stood with House Potter in times of trouble such as what we're facing."

"Thanks Neville," Harry said appreciatively.

"No problem."

"So," Luna asked the Tennysons after a pause, "that means you'll be coming to school with us?"

"That was always the plan, Little One," Mary said. "The change will be you will know it's us…"

"One condition, though," George added. After Luna nodded he continued. "At least in front of anyone not present right now, you cannot call us 'Grammy' and 'Grampy.' Then again, that's easy enough."

"Fidelius Charm?" Hermione asked.

"That's what we're thinking. Even if Luna were to slip – and the charm prevents that – no one would realize it. When this visit is over, you will not see George and Mary again. You will meet whoever we become on the train ride to Hogwarts."

A tradition began at that lunch. On the veranda was a long table with chairs enough for everyone present. Harry and Neville refused to sit at the head and foot of the table as was general custom, choosing instead seats across the table from each other. The head and foot would be vacant, those chairs and settings moved to either side of the table and the rest of the families sat wherever they pleased. The two young "Lords" chose this arrangement so they could talk with each other over Lunch. They spent the lunch talking about their summer and at length about their farms. An outsider would have thought them farmers if it were not for the fact that there was little discussion about the weather. After all, so long as the magic in their trunks worked, the weather was perfect for their farms. It rained where needed, when needed and in the amount needed. They talked about their crops and their plans for expansion. Harry was at least five years away from being able to add to his estate, but he was already thinking about that. Neville, of course, had two additional trunks and was already at a point where he needed to seriously consider adding one of them and was inclined to add both. The one difference between the two farms was Neville had no livestock. Harry was just beginning to learn about that and what little he had learned was of interest to his fellow farmer. One would never suspect they had worries other than crops and what could be made from them and what they could sell them for.

"I'll have my elves bring a selection before we enter Compression," Harry said. He was talking about wines mainly. There would be other "adult beverages," but thus far all he had tried had been the wines. "They're pretty good, I think. Then again, I don't know wine at all. Had a fair few tastes in France and think Potter wines are at least comparable. Daphne, Luna and the Grangers are more familiar with such things and they all say it's good stuff."

"I'm sure Gran will appreciate it," Neville said. "We don't have an acre of vineyard here. Might be something I consider doing with the expansion."

"Takes a while before you're in production even with the initial set up," Harry said. "After all, while you can mature the vines that way, the wine itself takes some time to … well, to get good once it's in the casks and stuff."

Neville chuckled. "That much I do know. No worries there. Ten or a dozen years from now I should have something to show for it. Didn't know you were into plants."

Harry shrugged. "Been gardening since I was little. One of many chores my relatives set me to. Grew to like it 'cause they left me alone and there is a satisfaction to a healthy garden, don't you think?"

Neville nodded. "Plants can be tricky, so it can be a challenge. A lot of the stuff I work with isn't all that well known here so … Got an interesting set of cuttings from my Uncle Algie. He was going to get me some when I was older, but got it now when he learned of … well, all this. It's a magical plant called Mimbilus Mimiletona, native to Assyria or some such place in the East. Far as I know, no one here knows anything about it so figuring out how to plant and grow it and what can be done with it should be fun."

Lunch ended and there was a discussion about the similarities between the two Houses. Harry was certain that Dumbledore was messing with both Houses for some reason, but had no clear idea what that reason was. They would have thirty days here and he figured it would be a good idea to set his girls to the task with the help of the Tennysons and anyone else and asked that the elves bring his file with the contracts and such so they could be compared with the House Longbottom contracts to see if there was something that connected the two. He held off revealing the Prophecy. He knew it was important, but he felt they needed to look into this first and get a clearer picture before they changed plans. He was almost certain their plans had to be modified somewhat. They had made plans assuming only House Potter was in play and now it seemed that somehow House Longbottom was as well. There was one thing, however, he was willing to reveal now because it needed a plan as well. He left that to Sirius.

House Longbottom had gathered in a salon. House Potter already knew this so some of them were off getting their things unpacked, but Harry was here as well. Sirius stood before them.

"My guess is Lord Longbottom wanted to keep this quiet," he said. "Milord Potter feels we should discuss it, particularly in light of the fact that his parents are not nearly as dead as everyone thought."

This got a chuckle.

"It may also be true that Lord Longbottom's parents are not nearly as incapacitated as we are led to believe…"

"What?" Neville exclaimed.

"The Healers have tried everything!" Madam Longbottom added.

"I'm sure they have. But Frank and Alice may well be victims of House Magic – specifically House Black magic. Bellatrix LeStrange was, after all, raised a Black and her father and my mother were brother and sister. I know she had access to our libraries when she was younger and, having seen many of the tomes, I can assure you that the libraries have works on magic that … well, it's not about tickling charms. Vile stuff. Many of it designed not to respond to typical treatments.

"Trained as I was, what happened to Frank and Alice is not the result of overexposure to the Crutiatus Curse. My guess is you were told that 'cause the Healers have no better ideas. That curse either wears off in time – as in a few weeks at most – or it kills you. This is not what happened. Frank and Alice are the only people I've ever heard of to be … well, to have reacted that way to the curse. I won't say that curse wasn't used on them. Bella had a thing for that one. Never passed up an opportunity to play with it. But I think there was another curse involved. I think it was a Black invention and, if it's like many of my family's special spells, it has its own counter-curse, one that can only be found in the Black journals. Doubt Bella bothered with those. But those in my family who were into spell crafting usually came up with their own counters."

"So the answer's in the House Black library?" Augusta asked.

"It may be there. Without looking, I can't say it's there. But if there's an answer, it's the best place to look. Unfortunately, my current state is a problem."

"How so?"

"All of Wizarding Britain is after me. The Ministry has a price on my head that … well, it will inspire a fair few to seek me out who otherwise would never be bothered. We already know they are or will plan to post dementors at Hogwarts in their hopes to catch me and finish me off. Right now, the only place outside of Harry's farm and perhaps here where I am truly safe is Gringotts."

"You could floo from Gringotts…"

"No doubt the Black floos are being watched especially after what happened yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" several voices asked.

"There was a bit in today's paper," Harry said. "It left out the good bits. But it was true that Sirius here was spotted at Gringotts and their speculation as to why he was there was spot on – he was claiming his titles and such. Didn't mention that a senior ministry official was thrown out of the place or that the Head of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creature was killed…"

"WHAT?" several voices asked.

"… or that the Minister for Magic came very close to starting another Goblin War." After the shock wore off, Harry recounted what he had seen the day before.

"Never thought Fudge was bright," Augusta said, "but a Troll's not even that stupid."

"The point is Sirius was seen there. That means, Goblin wars aside, the Ministry is no doubt keeping a close eye on the Black properties or at the very least the suspected location of those properties. We're pretty sure that means the floos are being monitored as well. So long as he's a fugitive, it would be very difficult for him to get in or get out without winding up dead."

"And right now only I and perhaps a handful of others can access those properties," Sirius said. "When we talk of those I can trust that list is shorter. It's no more than one person and I haven't seen her in over fifteen years and have no idea if I can trust her. The only thing I can say with confidence about her is that she's as opposed to what my family stood for as I am.

"Believe me, I've given this some thought after Harry caught me…" Sirius then told the group how that had occurred and about the subsequent prank wherein he was led to believe he was either dead or had completely gone 'round the twist. He felt a lightening of the mood was in order and the story certainly worked. He then told them how he came to learn about Neville's parents. It had arisen when the Potters had told them how they avoided death that night and Harry had said how it was by pure chance in some ways he had even found them. Harry was quite pleased to have his parents back, even if they were still trying to get to know each other and figure out what their relationship should be. Daphne and Hannah had known from their parents about the Longbottoms as that had been in the papers back then and the families had known each other. Harry had felt guilty that he had his parents back and his friend Neville did not. When hearing of what the papers said about their condition, Sirius had known it was not as it appeared. His concern was it might have been a LeStrange spell, although he doubted it. The LeStrange brothers were brutes. Family spells required both skill and a fair bit of intelligence which were two things those men would never be accused of possessing. He suspected Bellatrix. That meant it was a Black spell, most likely because as a witch, her mother's family would most likely deny her access to their grimoirs. The same could be said for House LeStrange. Traditionalist families tended to be that way.

"The list of those who may be able to access the Black properties was short and now it's shorter," Sirius said. "At Gringotts when I assumed my Lordship, I was able to alter the wards. I could not add anyone to them, otherwise I would've added the Potters. James and Harry are members of House Black and as things now stand, James is Heir Apparent. But neither had been granted access beforehand and I'd have to be at one of the properties to grant permission. I just need the Signet Ring to deny permission. Right now, aside from myself the only persona alive who can access the Black properties is one of Bella's two sisters. I can't trust the other. That one's married to Lucius Malfoy…"

"How can you trust any of them?" Augusta asked.

"Bella was the oldest and Narcissa was the youngest. They were daughters of my Uncle Cygnus – who was a right bastard if you ask me. Cissa's two years older than me. In the middle is the one who might be trustworthy. She was betrothed to Lucius Malfoy. They were in the same year at school and the Christmas Hols after her sixteenth birthday they were to be married. Instead, she ran off with a Muggle Born and married in Scotland. Her parents and my parents claim to have disowned her but as I learned at Gringotts my Grandfather, who was Lord Black then and until he died a couple years ago, did not. I guess he felt too many of us were disowned, dead or in prison to go about cutting off another line. The cousin I'm speaking of was named Andromeda. Her friends called her Andi. According to Gringotts records, she married a Muggle Born named Ted Tonks who's a solicitor or some such…"

"Andi Tonks?" Augusta asked. "I know her! She's a Healer at St. Mungos! She's about the only one taking any real interest in trying to help Frank and Alice."

"Any chance she could…," Neville began.

"Have you activated…?"

"I was going to wait until after diner, Gran. I wanted to give our guests a chance to remember to get anything they forgot to get or their elves failed to bring."

"You're with me, Neville!" Augusta commanded.

"Gran?"

"We're going to St. Mungos to invite my dear friend and her family to dinner. You did say knowledge of Sirius Black is under a Fidelius, Lord Harry?"

Harry nodded. "And my parents."

"Neville? I need you to come with me 'cause only you can grant access through the wards to the Farm."

"Oh, of course. Let's go then."

The two of them left the room as quickly as the older woman could walk. When they left, Padma stood.

"I think I speak for all of us," she said, "by that I mean Neville's wives. Thank you, Lord Black. This means a lot to our Neville and his Gran."

"Haven't done anything, yet," Sirius said.

"No. But you are trying. As we understand aside from that lone Healer at St. Mungo's, no one cares to try."

Nymphadora Tonks was nineteen years old. She was a little over a year out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she had been in Hufflepuff House. Two weeks after finishing school, she had entered Auror Training. Aside from one week at Christmas, she had not been home at all until just a little over a week ago. She was on a one month Holiday which she knew was called "Drop Month" at the Training Academy. For the better part of the last year she had gone through the most intensive training she could ever imagine and she had almost two more years of it in front of her. If she stayed with the program, she would complete training and be rated as an Apprentice Auror in May of 1995. This month off was called "Drop Month" because the vast majority of voluntary drops from the training occurred during this month away from the hell of the Academy. She had been told that as many two-thirds of her remaining class might fail to return come the first Monday in September. The vast majority who did would survive what was to come. Those who could not or would not willingly put up with almost two more years of this would never make it as an Auror and so they would not be missed by the instructors. She was determined to be one of the few who would return, but deep down wondered if they all thought that now.

She really had no plans for this month off. She had never bothered to make any. Some of her classmates had. It had been all they had been thinking about since their prior week off. She wondered whether any of those who had made plans would be back. For the last week, her time off had been spent watching the telly, reading books that had no real point to them and going to a couple of picture shows with her parents. She was certain that more than a few of the classmates were out spending their Auror pay at various clubs and bars, chasing members of the opposite sex (in most cases) and otherwise raising hell. All she wanted was quiet and no need to think or keep to a schedule. She had planned nothing more than reading her current trashy novel when her mother had come home from St. Mungo's early followed not long after by her father who was also home early.

Her mother told her to pack a bag for a week. They were "going on Holiday." This confused the girl. She had specifically asked her parents about their plans for this month when she had arrived home and they had not said anything about a trip anywhere. They would take some time off to spend with their only child, but not trips. What made this sudden change even more odd was that her parents never did anything on the spur of the moment, at least not anything like taking off for a week. Because of their jobs, such spontaneity was not possible. Her mother was a Healer and there never seemed to be enough of those, her mother had said. Her father was a solicitor who worked "both sides of the fence," meaning he practiced in both the Muggle and Magical worlds.

"What's going on?" she asked. She had a lot more questions, but this was as far as she got.

"And old friend of mine stopped by work," her mother replied. "She says she may have some information about a problem that I've been working for some years with no success. It's one I'm determined to resolve, but it's gone nowhere. She wouldn't say much more, just that I was invited over to her place for … for a week or so and, well why not bring the family as there are other friends there and such and some potential client for your father. So, seeing as you have no plans, get packed!"

"This makes no sense!" the Auror Trainee protested.

"You have better plans?"

"No, but…"

"Then get packed. They expect us by floo in half an hour."

This was how Auror Trainee Nymphadora Tonks found herself stumbling out of a floo and into an entry hall lined with portraits of generations of witches and wizards. Silently she cursed herself as she regained her balance. This was clearly one of those Manors she had heard about since she was little. It was also clearly a very, very old family if the portraits were any indication. Before her stood a boy or young man. Clearly, he was not a boy but neither was he a man. He was shorter than she was, but not a midget like the Icle Firsties back at school. Definitely still a lower year however, she thought.

"Healer Tonks?" he asked. His voice was not the high pitched one of a Firstie, but clearly was not the mature one of an older student. Her mother answered briefly. The boy gave his mother an odd look before smiling. "Lord Longbottom," he said extending his right hand, "Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. Welcome – however briefly – to my ancestral manor. This way, please."

"I was not aware there was an active Head of House Longbottom," her mother said.

"I received my Title about a month ago," the boy said. "We've chosen not to publicize yet. Seeing as I can't assume my full responsibilities for some years – and for other reasons – there's really not much point."

After a moment of silence where Nymphadora was sure her mother was sizing up this pint sized "Lord," she remembered her manners. "My husband Theodore," she began.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir. We could use the advice of a good solicitor on some minor matters."

"I would…," her father began.

"We expect you to ask for a fee. No worries there."

"And my daughter Auror Trainee Nymphadora…"

"MOTHER!" Nymphadora whined.

"I do not see what your problem is with your name, Daughter! It is an old and proper name for a witch."

"Emphasis on old, Mother," Nymphadora replied. "You didn't have to live through the creative nicknames they came up with at school!"

"If I had named you something common, such as Anne, you would still have to live through a variation of that. I told you that when you were eleven and every year thereafter and surely you saw that…"

"Perhaps I should leave?" Neville suggested.

"I apologize, Milord," her mother began.

"Please. Neville is fine. Mr. Longbottom if such familiarity makes you uncomfortable. Once the forms are satisfied, I reserve the full formalities for people I don't like. This way please… We will be staying at the Farm."

"Someplace different?"

"In a manner of speaking," the boy answered leading them into a large study. A large steamer trunk lay on the floor. He walked over to it and tapped it with his wand before opening the top. "This is the way to the Farm," he said. "Ladies first."

Nymphador went first. She looked into the trunk and saw a ladder extending down to another floor or something. She climbed down into a smaller and very plain room with two doors and not a stick of furniture. She was wondering what this was about as her parents and that pint sized Lord climbed down and the Lord closing the top behind him.

"Just so you know," Nymphadore said to Neville, _"I _would appreciate it if you didn't address me by that 'N' name."

"Is 'Hey You' fine?"

"Cheeky bugger…"

"NYMPHADORA!" her mother scolded.

"Tonks is fine," she said ignoring her mother.

"Very well, Tonksizfine," he replied. "I'll need a drop of your blood to key you through the wards."

"You do realize blood wards are…," Mr. Tonks began.

"Not if they're Goblin made," Neville finished. "There are many wards, but the command wards are Goblin made. Such wards are impossible to trick with any known magic."

"They're also ridiculously expensive," Mr. Tonks countered.

"Their cost is a function of warded volume, I'm told," Neville said. "I kind of understand what that means. The warded volume is that trunk you entered so it's not terribly expensive. Don't ask me to explain the volume beyond this door. I'd guess this room is an expansion charm, but it's the exterior volume that matters not an expanded interior. What's beyond this door, whatever and wherever it is, is still within the real world volume of the trunk for that is the only part of this estate that truly exists out there."

"And how large is this space beyond the door?"

"Sixty-two and a half square miles."

"You're joking!"

"Well, I haven't measured it. But I have no reason to doubt it. It's interconnected with three other trunks of similar size making a complete land – or whatever it is area of two hundred and fifty square miles. Just prick your fingers with this needle and when you're done, I can key you in."

"Ow!" Tonks said when she did so. She decided to tease this boy. "Will you kiss it and make it better?" she asked as she handed him the needle.

"Don't think my wives would appreciate that – kissing a strange girl I only just met…"

"Wives?"

"Did you say wives?" Mrs. Tonks asked. "As in more than one?"

"Wives is more than one," he said. "Five actually. And a betrothed. So I'm definitely not looking to add on."

"Aren't you too young for even one?"

He shrugged. "Soul bonding with two of them."

"Not too young then," Mr. Tonks said. "If indeed there are two – and I'm not doubting you – that's a valid plural marriage which means he could have more than two even so young. There's no legal upper limit if it's a valid plural marriage."

Neville nodded. "It is valid. While there may not be a legal limit, I'd say there's a practical one."

"Wives cost money," Mr. Tonks nodded.

"Money is not the limiting thing."

"The sex?" Tonks asked.

"I'm a bit young for that, don't you think? There's more to being a husband than money and sex and it's that more that sets a limit unless I want to be a right bastard and not give a damn."

"Must make you rather unique. I mean being so young and married a few times and this place and all."

"Thought so too, 'til this morning," Neville replied. "A very good friend and dorm mate of mind is here with his family. We're almost the same age. I'm not quite three hours older than he is. He also has two bondmates. That and two other wives and a betrothed as well and he's recently taken up his title as Head of an Ancient an Noble House and has a few trunks like this one. So, I'm not all that unique at all, am I? Least I now have someone who can understand all this – what I'm going through that is even if he is as clueless about this as I am. This way," he finished leading them through the door into the house beyond.

"I've seen you," Tonks said just before she and her parents were properly introduced to the black haired boy with glasses standing before them. "You're Harry Potter."

Harry seemed to look away at someone and said to whomever it was: "A year of Auror training, huh?" He then looked at her. "I do hope, _Cousin_, that you never read or believed those ridiculous books supposedly about me…"

"Cousin?"

"You're Great-grandfather was Pollux Black, was he not."

She looked at her mother in some confusion and she nodded to her. "I suppose," she said. "We don't talk much about that side of the family."

Harry snorted. "Given the more commonly known ones, don't blame you. Pollux's younger sister Dorea was my Grandmother who was not a dark Black like he was. I think the only reason why she was not disowned as some Blood Traitor for breaking her betrothal agreement by marrying my Grandfather was he was Heir to another Ancient and Noble House. You're a solicitor, right Sir?" he asked turning to her father.

"I am. Ted Tonks is the name."

"Pleased to meet you, Sir. Among other things we may be asking your opinion about, I have an issue with these authors making tons of money writing lies about me. I mean, okay maybe they can. Who am I to say what they can and cannot write? But I think they should be paying me for that, don't you? Haven't seen a knut from them."

"I'm sure we'll have time to discuss that. I won't be able to give you a definitive answer, only a probable one and there's the issue of…"

"Fees? Not to worry."

"Um … well, if it's a question of litigation, the losing party pays all fees. I'd be reluctant to bring suit if the case seems questionable seeing as you'd be stuck paying the other side's solicitor as well and … well, if they knew of your probable finances they might work that much harder…"(A/N 1)

"What about getting them to stop?"

"That's a Chancery case. Different kettle of fish entirely. Different fee structure."

"I suppose," Harry replied. He really had no idea what the man was talking about.

"This is my wife Andromeda," Ted said realizing the legal stuff was over for now. Harry shook her hand as well.

"Manners," he said. "Keep forgetting that stuff. I am Lord Harry Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and a bunch of other titles I can't do anything with yet."

"The Boy-Who-Lived," Tonks smirked.

"And one title I wish no one had ever thought of," Harry added acidly.

"And this is their daughter," Neville said with a mischievous grin. "She prefers to be called Tonkizfine."

"I do NOT!"

"You said you did."

"I prefer to be called Tonks as opposed to that other name."

"Bit of a mouthful, that," Neville said. "Tonks-as-opposed-to-that-other-name?"

"That's not what I meant! I meant I don't like being called by that other name!"

"Then why did you tell me you preferred Tonkizfine?" Neville asked.

"Oooh! If … if …."

"Neville, why are you…?" Harry asked.

"She doesn't like her given name for some reason. It's Nymphadora, by the way."

"Not common," Harry nodded. "But definitely better than Tonkizfine, I should think. Certainly easier to say than the other one."

"Amusing as this is," Andi said, "I think you should stop teasing my daughter even if her attitude and behavior has earned it."

"Yes Ma'am," Harry and Neville said.

"That was unexpected, Neville."

"What?"

"Um … giving an Auror trainee the … um …"

"Yeah. Well, I got six girls who don't want me hiding behind whatever. They want the world to see how lucky they are and…"

"Know what you mean."

"Besides, she started it. Now before she has another go, don't you think we need Mrs. Tonks to meet the person who might have an idea how to help my parents?"

"Um… right," Harry said. He waived his hand and his parents, Sirius and Ginny came over.

"So," Andromeda said, "Augusta was rather vague. What is it I can learn here?"

"Here? Not much I'm afraid," Harry said. "This man," he continued indicating Sirius, "can allow you access to materials that might provide the answer. We can't say that they will, but nothing else has worked, has it?"

She shook her head. "So what do you think I've missed?"

"Black magic," Harry replied.

"I don't know any darker kind than an Unforgivable like the Cruciatus and I have researched other dark spells. Lord Longbottom's parents' situation cannot be explained by that Unforgivable. No one has ever had their reaction to it. Had it been only one of them, I might have agreed with my colleagues that it was anomalous. But two? With all the case studies we do have over the centuries? No one has ever exhibited their reaction which tells me it was something else."

"We agree," Sirius said.

"The problem is I've come across nothing in the literature that exhibits the same presentation. Moreover, everything we do have literature regarding can be countered eventually by known counter curses, potions and other spell damage treatment regimens. The Longbottoms do not respond to any known course of treatment and, as there is no real evidence of damage aside from their exhibited condition, I fear we're dealing with something either very unique, very new or both."

"Or very old and secret," Harry said.

"Such as?"

"As I said, Black magic."

"We already talked about…"

"You misunderstand," Harry said calmly. "By Black magic I mean as in family magic."

"The Ancient and Noble House of Black, to be precise," Sirius said. "I know for a fact that your sister Bellatrix spent untold hours in that family library pouring through old family magical journals…"

"How…?" Andromeda asked. "Merlin! Why didn't I think of it?"

"Probably because that family all but forbade its members from revealing its private magic to outsiders and Bellatrix was not alone that day. The LeStrange brothers and that Crouch boy would be considered outsiders in the Black family. The fact that dear Bella was married to one of them does not change the family prohibition. But, as Bella proved, she was not loyal to her blood."

"There was that," she nodded. "Not that it mattered. I was cast out of that family. I could never have accessed those journals anyway."

"Were you?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Of course I was! My parents made it abundantly clear when they learned I eloped with Ted to avoid that marriage to Malfoy. And if that wasn't clear enough, my Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion did the same thing."

"Magically speaking, they do not matter."

"Of course they … wait. Are you telling me …? Are you telling me that it was never ratified by Lord Arcturus?"

"It never was. My guess is … imagine the shame of an Ancient and Noble House ceasing to be because its Heads disinherited every possible heir and line of succession. House Black was dangerously close to doing that. I believe Lord Arcturus saw that, although it did not stop him from disinheriting our Uncle Alphard sometime later."

"There are a hundred and twelve living descendants of Lord Phineas Nigelus Black," Harry said. "Through disinheritance and disassociation, should Sirius Orion Black pass on without a child, there're only three in the line of succession. Death and a dearth of children have reduced several houses to a Head and maybe an heir and no others. House Black is close not for that reason, but for their inability to tolerate each other and insistence upon being good little inbred purebloods and Pureblood Supremacists. Rather pathetic, don't you think?"

"I'm not arguing," Andromeda said. "It has been a dysfunctional House ever since Phineas Nigelus became its Head."

"Doesn't help that it is believed or at least suspected that Phineas Nigelus was somehow responsible for the death of his older brother Sirius who died at the age of eight. Of course, Phineas was only six at the time, so one might discount that," Sirius said.

"Except he was a right piece of work his whole life right up to his murder in '25," Andromeda countered. "Or execution, depending upon your point of view. It's said he was killed by the father of a Muggle Born witch who was a student at the time because my ancestor as Head Master took her to his bed. Again, no proof. How do you know of this Mr…?"

"The same way I know that you, Mrs. Tonks, were never disowned and that there are spells in the Black journals that are virtually unheard of outside of the family. The same way I can list all the people today who can access the Black house in London or Black Manor and aside from the current Head of House, the only other person who may access those properties is you."

Harry made some signal and a red haired girl was standing next to him. The Tonks family had yet to be introduced to his family. Moments later, three blondes and a brunette were there as well. Tonks thought they were young, no older than Harry. "Mr. and Mrs. Tonks," Harry said, "I would like to introduce my wives." He did so formally, introducing the four girls by maiden name, then their married name and titles. This left the red head. "And this is my betrothed Ginny, the former Miss Ginevra Weasley and now Virginia Potter. Ginny?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Tonks," Ginny said. "The man standing next to Harry is his Godfather and he lives on the Potter Estate and is currently under the House Protection of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter…"

"And the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott," the girl named Hannah said. She had been introduced as Harry's wife by Line Continuation and the Regent of that House.

"And Longbottom," Neville added. "And I dare say before the evening is out maybe House Bones as well as the Regent of such House is my wife and Consort."

"Her Aunt's Head of DMLE," Regent Hannah Abbott said. "Susan may wait to get her Aunt to accept that position." Neville nodded.

"This is," Ginny continued, "Lord Sirius Orion Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black."

Andi Tonks gasped but aside from what looked like tears forming, made no other reaction. Ted Tonks paled and stepped back a bit as if threatened. Nymphadora looked stunned for a second, then seemed to reach into a pocket for something. A look of determination was on her face as she drew a wand. That was as far as she got. Something picked her up and stuck her to the wall several feet behind her. Her parents looked on in surprise as Harry walked over followed by a House Elf.

"I hope you weren't thinking 'bout hexing my Godfather," Harry said in an even tone. "My Head Elf does not take kindly to people who threaten me or my family, especially in my presence. One couple who had made my life miserable for years had their bones broken and healed over and over again I'm told. He even stuck a beloved, long lost relation to the wall when the woman was angry with me and behaving in a threatening manner. Were you trying to harm my Godfather, _Dora?_ You can let her talk, Dobby."

"He's … he's … He's a killer! And you're protecting him?"

"My Elf Dobby hasn't killed anyone, have you Dobby?"

"No, Great Harry Potter Sir. It not beings necessary yets."

"I meant that man!" Dora said indicating Sirius.

Harry shrugged. "I have no doubt he's killed in the line of duty. He was a Hit Wizard during the War. That's what they did!"

"But he betrayed your parents. They're dead because of him! And he killed their friend and a dozen Muggles and just yesterday a few more people including McFadden, Head of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at Gringotts!"

The young people laughed and Sirius Black looked confused.

"And who told you this?" Harry asked. "I know you were too young to have had anything to do with what happened back in '81. I was at Gringotts yesterday and saw everything that happened and you weren't there as I recall."

"Um…"

"Let me guess. You found out from your Auror friends?"

"I got a letter from the Department this morning about it."

"I see. From the Ministry then?"

"From the Training Academy. We were told to keep a look out for him while on Holiday and this letter added information to that including what he looked like and what he was wearing – and what he did at Gringotts." Harry then looked at the young people.

"Sounds like Fudge is trying to cover-up the fact he nearly started another Goblin War," the girl named Hannah said.

"And that he doesn't have the full support of the Departments," another red head said. "That would've been in the papers today unless a key department head seemed likely to publically refute the lie – such as my Auntie who you told us was there."

"Goblin war?" 'Dora' asked.

"Sirius was long gone when the Minister and his lot arrived including the dead idiot," Harry said. "This would not've happened at all if some idiot Senior Under-something of the Minister hadn't tried to hex Sirius in the back in the middle of the Grigotts Lobby. Needless to say, the Goblins were not amused. She was thrown out of the bank, barred from ever setting foot in it again under pain of death and had her vaults confiscated. It was sometime later our so called Minister showed up and made it worse. McFadden was shot by bank security – Goblins – when he tried to curse the Director and Head of the Goblin Clans of Greater Britannia…"

Dora gasped and visibly paled.

"And Fudge did nothing to stop the idiot, nor did he apologize. The only smart thing he did was leave after the damage was done but before the Goblins decided his actions meant war. Still, the Goblins are going to the I.C.W. with this."

"That's not good," Mr. Tonks said. "The Goblins have gone to war over less…"

"But… but Black was convicted," Dora said meekly as if hoping something was true.

"I was never even tried," Sirius said. "I had a brief talking to by the then Head of Magical Law Enforcement and was chucked into Prison. Never heard from anyone again that wasn't some guard bringing what they tried to pass off as food or dragging me of to be hosed down for my monthly – I suppose it was monthly – exercise and cleaning at least not until that Fudge fellow started stopping by to gloat I guess."

"Not that it matters," Harry said. "He couldn't be guilty of betraying my parents to their death if they never died, could he?"

"Everyone knows they're dead!" Dora said.

"Just like everyone knows Sirius is a Death Eater and killed all those Muggles? Just like they know that my magical Godfather betrayed my family? Just like many seem to know that the Ministry did nothing wrong at Gringotts yesterday? It seems to me that what 'everyone knows' is a pack of lies. Don't ask me who's lying or why. I don't know and in some cases I don't care. But the more I learn about it and the more I see of it, I don't think our government could function if it ever told the truth. It certainly wouldn't survive the fallout. For example, Ginny?"

Ginny then revealed the Secret about Harry's parents.

"I've come to the conclusion there are two rules that must be understood," Harry said after the shock wore off. "Rule One: our government lies. Rule Two: if you ever think it's telling the truth, refer back to Rule One. Basically, I will never believe anything they say unless I knew it to be true before I heard if from them or their Ministry of Lies and Propaganda otherwise known as the Daily Prophet."

"Wouldn't be surprised if that's what the Daily Prophet really is, now that you mention it," Hermione said.

"So if the Daily Prophet said that Minister Fudge does not bake Goblins into pies?" Luna asked.

"Right now, I'd see that as strongly suggesting the opposite is true," Hermione replied.

"So," Harry said to change the topic. "Do you think you can behave, Dora? Or do we have to take your wand for the remainder of your visit?"

"I'll … I'll behave. Or at least I won't do anything about…"

"Your Head of House?" Sirius asked. "The most wanted man in magical Britain and all that?" he added.

She nodded and with a nod from Harry, Dobby dispelled the magic that had pinned her to the wall.

"Now that we're all introduced, might I suggest dinner?" Neville finished.

"Harry?" Luna asked. She was in bed with Harry and Hermione as usual although the others were not with them. The bed was not nearly large enough for all of House Potter to share comfortably. "Are you asleep?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know. But … well …"

"Are you okay Luna?" Hermione asked with concern.

"Memory uncaps are not a lot of fun, are they?" Luna replied. "I guess they might be if they were nice memories but if they were nice memories why would we bother to send them back?"

"Luna …?" Harry began.

"One of the girls who dies this year 'cause of the dementors is here, Harry," Luna said.

"Oh?"

"I'd like to think that now that she's with Neville she's safe from that but I can't say."

"Who?"

"Sally-Anne. She died at the Quidditch Match going to the loo I suppose."

"Oh my!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We need to get rid of those things before the match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw," Luna continued. "That was when it happened and all I can remember is that it was later in the school year."

"You know our plan may well have those things gone much sooner than that."

"There's still the girl on the train, Harry."

"And we are working on that one."

"And the other girl on the Hogsmeade visit, but that's later too. I think we should bring the Longbottoms in on this…"

"Might not be a good thing to say that Sally-Anne dies," Hermione noted.

"I agree," Luna said. "She died in that other timeline and things have already changed so there's no reason to believe she is certain to die in this one. No point telling her she's going to die if it can't be avoided and no reason to worry her about it if it can be avoided."

"If the things are still about at that match, we can tell her then," Hermione suggested.

"Or once we get rid of them for good," Harry added.

A/N 1: In Britain, in civil cases for monetary damages the losing party is stuck paying all the lawyers in most instances.


	32. Chapter 32: To Chatch a Thief

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And the Olympics in London open with James Bond and the Queen parachuting from a helicopter... One commentator described the opening as a Bilbo Baggins acid trip... (No. It was not me.)

**CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: TO CATCH A THIEF**

**TUESDAY, AUGUST 10****th**** 1993**

"So what we have are theories that fit the facts, but not the certain truth," Harry said.

There was less than a week left in the thirty day Time Compression at Longbottom Farm and all of the residents and guests of the farm were present. Nymphadora Tonks was now known to all as "Dora." For some reason, no one had thought of that derivation of her name before. Her parents called her by her given name which had been a point of embarrassment for years. At school she was either known by unrelated nicknames – which she chose not to reveal – or increasingly rude derivations of the first part of her given name which she absolutely despised. No one had ever called her Dora and when she was told that Dora is a common and accepted derivation of Theodora, Dorothy and Dorothea and is also a derivation of the ancient Greek word for gift, she came quickly to accept it in place of "Tonks" – at least within this group of family and friends.

Her mother and Sirius had been somewhat close before she had started Hogwarts and Andi always had some difficulty believing the things that had been said about him. She had no such difficulty believing about his pranks. But the idea he could be a Death Eater and betray the Potters had always seemed off to her. As a Healer, she had taken charge of seeing to her Cousin's recovery from the ravages of Azkaban. She had praise for the efforts already done by the Elves of Potter Farms, but Sirius was her family. Aside from her Husband and daughter, he was the only family from her youth she had not grown to despise so he had become a project for her, not always to his delight.

She also had checked on Lily Potter who was now beginning to show. As a result of Time Compression, she was now around half way to her delivery date or would be once normal time resumed. There were no problems and she was far enough along to learn whether it would be a he or a she but the Potters decided to find out when it was born. All they did know is that it was an it and not a they, not that they had any reason to expect twins.

The Tennysons had been coaching all the young people in magic. Everyone was now studying occlumency under their tutelage. Sirius Black remained their primary teacher when it came to certain kinds of spell casting. Harry and his girls had come in working on the Patronus Charm but once the other Hogwarts students had learned of the Dementors that would most likely be about when they returned to school, all were now working on the spell. They practiced the spell every day and always at the end of any spell casting lessons due to its ability to tire them out. House Potter was already producing corporeal charms and working now at sustaining them. Harry's was a stag, similar but larger to his father's animagus form. Hermione's was an otter. Luna's a rabbit which she named fluffy. Ginny's (second after Harry in producing one) was a horse. Hannah's was a fox and Daphne's was "some kind of cat" but not one that any recognized for certain although Luna thought it might be a panther of some kind. Not all the Longbottoms had succeeded yet, but those who had not were very close.

Aside from their training and just being a group of young people on Holiday, the other big project had been putting together all of the pieces of the puzzle. This involved everybody - mostly. Harry and his ladies decided the information regarding Sally-Anne should not be shared unless it was absolutely necessary so it was now under a Fidelius Charm. It turned out there was another with future memories in House Longbottom: Susan Bones. It was agreed they needed to figure out what might be going on and have a plan of some kind going forward. In the planning department, the immediate priorities after they left would be helping Frank and Alice Longbottom, a task that fell primarily to Andi Tonks, and the ultimate exoneration of Sirius Black which required more than just the capture of a rat but the rat was the key and at least until they returned to school, it was a task that only Ginny could hope to accomplish.

"I have left out a bit of the puzzle. I might be wrong to have done so, but it didn't seem… It explains why some things happen but since we can't do anything about it, it doesn't help us change things. Still, you all need to know it. Ginny?"

Ginny then stood and wrote on a board that everyone could see.

"What's that?" Neville asked. House Potter knew what it was as did the Tennysons, but Sirius, the Tonks and House Longbottom had not been shown it before. In Sirius's case all he knew was that something like it existed.

"It's a prophecy, Neville," Harry said. "Don't believe in such things myself. I mean if it's real and certain to happen, why bother with anything? Why would we bother sending memories back? Doesn't it make sense that some nutter of a fake Seer predicted that future? In reality, I believe they are all rubbish and yet they are all dangerous. Giving those who believe in any merit in Divination," he said looking at Parvati, "they are not so much predictions of a certain future than statements describing a possible future. A prophecy is a possibility then and not a certainty. It can be a tool either to prevent that possibility or to turn the possible into the probable – if the right people or wrong people know it. That is what is happening here. My life and to some extent Neville's life has gone the way it has gone because of this drivel."

"Seventh month means July?" Parvati said. "This was made before you and Neville were born?"

Harry nodded. "We don't know how long before. We know from the Tennyson's uncapped future memories where they learned it that it was made by our current Divination Professor when she was speaking to Dumbledore about taking up that position."

"We also know," James said, "that he had no use for Divination before. When Sirius, Lily and I were in school, he openly discouraged students from taking it as an elective and was quite open about his plans to do away with the course altogether once the Professor who was teaching it retired. From Dora, we know that was not the case when she was in school afterwards. When we were there, he gave a talk to all the Second Years about electives and during that talk strongly suggested that we not waste our time with that course. Dora said her talk was from her Head of House…"

"So was ours," Harry said.

"And ours," Padma added.

"And ours," Tracey and Daphne said in unison. "And Professor Snape said nothing about Divination one way or another," Daphne added. "If he was derisive about any of the electives, it was Muggle Studies but that was because he knew it was so inaccurate and out of date that it was useless. He told us that while his mother never hid magic from him, he was raised in the Muggle World and knew that the course was useless. He said we learn more History of Magic sleeping through Binns classes than we could hope to learn about Muggles taking that course."

"The point is," Harry said, "something happened to change what Dumbledore opinions of that course and it happened around the time of this Prophecy."

"Seventh month's July, right?" Neville said. "We were born at the end of July. I could've been…"

"We don't know that for certain, Neville. We don't know that it means July or that July or something else entirely. But what we do know is that there are two wizards who believe that and have been working hard based upon this drivel: Dumbledore and Voldemort. We know Voldemort knows part of it and Dumbledore all of it. Voldemort was coming for both of us probably to kill whoever this One was before he had a chance to be a problem."

"Albus Dumbledore was the one who told your parents to stay at the Manor, Neville," Augusta said. "That was after they refused to consider his first option which was an out-of-the-way and unknown place under a Fidelius Charm."

"But they went under one," Neville said.

"That was later. After a near all out attack on the Manor."

"We agreed to that Fidelius option," Lily said. "We were certain we'd be safer at a Potter property, but it would mean that Harry, Hermione and Luna had to be kept apart and you three were already close. We later learned Dumbledore slipped us both a loyalty potion. We had an access trunk at our hideaway just in case, but that was before I came up with my plan. Once that plan was set up…"

"We'd still go to the Valley for some peace," James continued. "We were less concerned about using it as a bunker or some such. Again, as Lils said, we now think that was the loyalty potion."

"I'm certain Voldemort was after both of us, Neville," Harry said. "He obviously was after me. He certainly didn't stop by that night for a polite cup of tea. Bellatrix LeStrange was the worst of his bunch and they had to drop the wards at your property to even get to your parents. That attack occurred less than three days after the one on my parents suggesting a plan was already in motion. Voldemort wanted both of us dead and Dumbledore wanted both of us safe – or at least under his control more or less. Who knows? Maybe he made those attacks possible somehow to find out who this One was? It doesn't matter. The point it we have two powerful wizards believing in this Prophecy and acting on it and since they think we have something to do with it, for that reason it's important to us. The good news is it seems Voldemort is now fixed on me alone. I can't say the same's true about Dumbledore given what happened in the weeks following the attack at Godric's Hollow.

"We don't know what Dumbledore's long range plans were before my parents supposedly died. We are fairly certain they changed that night. As you know, by that time my parents had already begun seeing to it that Hermione, Luna and I grew up together."

"We were thinking of including Daphne and Hannah as well," Lily said. "We would've if things had not been as dangerous as they were."

"The marriage contracts had already been signed as had the Longbottom contracts with the Patils, Perks and Davis families."

"And Neville had those girls as playmates as well," Augusta added. "I had forgotten that. After Harry told us about a lot of this back when we all first got together here, Neville, his Ladies and I poured through the journals we have here. They're not many as most are in the Manor. But there were references to visits between those families for the purpose of getting the kids together back in 1981. My Frank and Alice had taken precautions such that I thought the risk was acceptable…"

"We also learned some details from Madam Longbottom we did not know until we came here," Harry said. "The morning after my parents supposedly died, Dumbledore asked for and received temporary guardianship over me. That's not so unusual. I certainly could not take care of myself and wills take time to sort out. But what followed is suspicious. We had assumed that Dumbledore somehow hid my parents' wills."

"Which was not truly the case," Augusta picked up. "The day after the funeral, which was the day before the attack on my family, Dumbledore petitioned the Wizengamot for permanent Guardianship over Harry Potter. We all knew he had no grounds or so we thought. We had all seen the Will. I held the Longbottom proxy even then because it was not safe for my Frank to take his seat. Dumbledore was not listed as an option. The list included the Grangers, Lovegoods, Greengrasses, Abbotts and us."

"In other words people who were either unknown to Dumbledore," Harry said, "or political rivals of his faction."

"At least in issues not related to Death Eaters and Voldemort," Augusta nodded. "And even there I had disagreements since Dumbledore seemed most opposed to the use of force to deal with the problem. But he seemed to be the only one in a leadership position who had been willing to treat them as a threat from the first. Anyway, we had at least seen the Will and I could think of no reason to grant Dumbledore's Petition and neither could anyone else – aside from his own faction who pretty much vote however Dumbledore votes. He wasn't fool enough to think it would be granted simply because he was Dumbledore and had asked politely. In the end, he did a very good job of convincing us that will was either a fake or a fraud."

"How?" Lily asked. "That's pretty much what we set out about Harry. More important, we made it clear he was not to have any contact with what was left of my side of the family under any circumstances!"

"He told us you left a substantial amount of money to a known Death Eater and a Werewolf," Augusta said. "He said you may not have known about the Death Eater, but you certainly knew about the Werewolf. Naturally, he said, a Head of an Ancient and Noble House would never leave money to such dark recipients. He never said who those people were, but everyone thought by then that Sirius Black was at least the Death Eater in question. Everyone could imagine that an Imperius Curse was involved. And those who could care less about leaving money to a Death Eater were also the ones who could not tolerate leaving a Knut to a Werewolf. No one voted against Dumbledore's Petition. I abstained, which means there was no vote one way or another from House Longbottom. The Will was ruled invalid as it was procured under fraudulent circumstances and Dumbledore got his Guardianship."

"There's every reason to think that Dumbledore knew he would succeed in having my parents' will tossed into the rubbish bin," Harry said. "I was already with the Dursleys. He had already set up the Wards on the place." He then described the wards and what they did.

"But if the Wards are based on your mothers sacrifice… She didn't die," Sally-Anne said. "She had to die for them to work, right?"

"We don't think it was that extreme," Lily said. "I was willing to die to protect Harry. I had that plan in place, but did not know if it would work. Magic is intent based. Hence, since I intended to risk my life to save Harry, and did in fact do so, that may have been all that was necessary."

"The day that Dumbledore gained permanent Guardianship over me," Harry continued, "was the same day Neville's parents were attacked. We don't think the two events are truly related. We don't think Dumbledore set it up. But we can't say he didn't have something to do with it either. What we do know for certain is that in the week following his getting his way in the Wizengamot, there was a rash of amnesia. The Grangers and Lovegoods forgot all about me and their contracts and that their daughters shared compatible magic with me. According to what Neville, Sally-Anne, Padma and Parvati have told us, it seems the same happened with their families. Madam Longbottom may not have known about those contracts before the attack…"

"I sure would've looked into that sort of thing afterwards," Augusta said. "We can assume that I did and suffered a similar attack of amnesia as you put it."

"We think the Weasleys objected to the contract they signed for Ginny and suffered a similar, although not identical fate. We know why Dumbledore did what he did to House Potter. The Contract for Ginny makes that clear. He wanted to make sure I could and would never become a political rival. He has made no effort to teach me anything about my family or what that all means. Best way to keep me in the dark about it would be to place me in the custody of my Muggle Aunt and her family who knew nothing about it. They were quite surprised at who I really am when they found out earlier this summer. Whether they now regret the way they raised me is another question…

"What we don't know with any certainty is why Dumbledore also messed with House Longbottom although I have a guess."

"And that is?" Augusta asked.

"My parents told me that Neville's parents told them that Neville shared compatible magic with two witches about his age and my parents told Neville's the same was true for me. As you know, Madam Longbottom, House Potter and House Longbottom have been allied for close to a thousand years and have intermarried something like ten times…"

"Indeed. It's been a few generations since the last one. Both Houses preferred to wait a few generations between such matches. One might say it's high time for another one, and there may have been a betrothal between the Houses had one family had a girl instead of a boy."

"More often we serve as each others' godparents," Harry said. "At least this has been the case with the heirs. Dad is Neville's godfather and Neville's Mum is my godmother. By law and custom, unless a Will says otherwise, custody of an orphaned child goes to a godparent and a godparent can exercise control of a proxy. My parents Will did not exclude either Sirius or your family from having custody over me, but it said that would only happen if the Grangers or Lovegoods could not do so for some reason. Apparently, the same was true with House Longbottom. Had Neville's parents died, custody would be given to one of the families of his bondmates. My parents did not know who Neville's were nor did Neville's know who mine were, but they knew of it and it apparently was agreed that they would support that arrangement.

"That means the Longbottoms knew I was supposed to go with another family – one mentioned in the Will. We think this may have been true of the Perks and Patils as well. My parents told me that the Grangers and Lovegoods knew they had a godson who might come to them who was … well who also had two potential bondmates. It was therefore necessary for Dumbledore to erase all memories of that. No one was to find out that they were supposed to have custody over me. With Sirius in Azkaban, Neville's parents in St. Mungo's and the other memories capped, there was no one left with a legitimate claim to my custody or guardianship."

"But it was not known then that the Longbottoms would not recover," Andi offered.

"It's possible he zapped their memories too," Harry suggested, "and certain that he would've done so had they recovered."

"This doesn't make sense," Padma said. "What does this have to do with the Prophecy?"

"It seems very little," Harry conceded. "The Prophecy was what led to this, it's what got him interested in Neville and me. This, however, we think he came up with when things went all pear shaped. He saw my parents' death as an opportunity. When he first spoke to me about Voldemort, while he did not say it outright, he certainly left me thinking that he always though the bastard was not dead and had returned. But this was after there was no doubt about that. Voldemort had survived and had tried to return." Harry then recounted the important events of his First Year for those who had not yet heard about it.

"I think that shook him up a bit," Harry continued. "His plans for me do not make much sense unless he believed I had already fulfilled the Prophecy. Obviously, he now thinks otherwise. Perhaps he set things up that first year as a test of some kind – a test of the Prophecy. Perhaps last year was another such test." Harry then recounted the last two years events.

"But as to what he did to me a dozen years ago? That was an opportunity that fell into his lap. I wouldn't be surprised if he would've done that regardless of what he still believed about the prophecy. Long term, his plans for our world cannot come to pass so long as the Moderates continue to block his attempts in the Wizengamot. Madam Longbottom currently exercises the House Potter votes and he has made little progress towards his idea of an ideal society in that time."

"If anything, he seems to have given up," Augusta nodded. "Everyone thinks it's because he's old."

"But it could be because that's what he wants his opponents to think," Harry said. "Had we not dealt with Ginny's contract, he would have that as a secret weapon. He would have thirty-four votes handed to him on a silver platter as soon as Ginny and I were married assuming I was at least seventeen and therefore capable of changing my Proxy Holder." Harry had already explained Ginny's contract to everyone. "Under his indirect control, I might well drag House Longbottom's thirty votes with me. Loss of Potter votes alone would be a major blow to the Moderate Faction and we would be replaced by Dumbledore's Liberals as the group that tends to control things. House Longbottom's votes might well give them a majority."

"And how would that happen? I can't see House Longbottom just changing sides that way," Augusta countered.

"That's speculation on my part. But, if our House alliance remained, it then becomes possible if not probable that it would remain in the Wizengamot as well. He went after House Longbottom for a reason and that reason is connected to why he did what he did about me. I must think he intended at the very least to keep House Longbottom from interfering with his plans to gain control of my House votes and maybe, through that control, then have some influence in how House Longbottom votes."

"That plan seems scuppered," Neville noted.

"It might've been to a degree when Dumbledore learned that Voldemort was not well and truly dead," Harry said. "We think dealing with that problem is a little higher on his list of things to do."

"In the other timeline," Geoge Tennyson said, "there's some evidence that suggests that he may have continued to move forward on the Vassalage front, but it was not as aggressively as it could've been. Harry did marry Ginny to the exclusion of the other contracts. But that was after Dumbledore had died and the Liberal faction did not survive as a united block following his death. The fact is many didn't survive the war that followed.

"Right now, Dumbledore seems well and truly more focused on Voldemort than his Greater Good as he called it since he cannot move forward on his plans until Voldemort is dealt with. In that other timeline, Harry and Ginny married after the time set forth in the Contract so it could be argued and seems to have been the case that the Vassalage clause became unenforceable. What did happen is Harry had no interest whatsoever in his House Seat and left it entirely to a Proxy. He had not been raised to respect that seat so it meant nothing to him. Over the next few years, he grew to loath politics and politicians – not all that surprising really. He had not learned to understand the importance of a seat or the agendas of the factions within the Wizengamot. He killed Voldemort and defeated that cause, but rather than capitalize on that politically, he took no interest whatsoever in politics. Effectively, he passed his votes over to the Traditionalists – for his chosen Proxy voted with them more often than not himself not being politically inclined and being wary of change. That meant meaningful change was not possible, paving the way for another generation of Pureblood Supremacists to pick up that banner and start another war."

"And how do you fit into this?" Ted asked.

"Messengers, I should think," Mary Tennyson said. "It was our yet to be invented magical process that allowed to send information back from that future to this present. We ourselves do not know precisely how we got involved with Harry, Neville, Hermione, Luna, Susan and Padma. We know it was a long time from now when events had moved beyond any hope of changing or preventing the disaster that had befallen the world. We were given a more complete overview of that timeline, for we were not key players that could've made a significant difference had we acted differently whereas those six and especially Harry and Neville could have.

"We can't say what needs to be done, only what needs to be prevented. The Pureblood Supremacist ideals must be destroyed. It was that philosophy that brought about the end of all things. We can say that Dumbledore's Greater Good is not the answer. It never matured in that timeline. He died before it could and no one chose to take up that banner. That leaves us with the Radicals, who no one apart from them listens to, and the Moderates or something else altogether."

"Why is Dumbledore's way the wrong way?" Andi asked.

"He would have us under a form of dictatorship. It would not be a solitary ruler, but a group or Council of them, but it would be a dictatorship nonetheless. That Council would not be hereditary or Pureblood by design, but it would be a ruling elite nonetheless. It would be an oligarchy – old people. They would be like Dumbledore: having obtains multiple Masteries and having decades of accomplishments and accolades under their hats before rising to the ruling Elite. They and only they would have any say in how the rest of the Wizarding World lives. There might still be a Ministry to do the day-to-day stuff. If the Wizengamot still existed, it would become advisory at best. That council would do what it thought was for the best without regard to any other considerations. Even if it did improve things, even if it was benign, it would be despotism nonetheless and sooner or later some unscrupulous soul would join it and take over. Since this elite could not be countered or removed, there's nothing to stop it from doing what it likes or to protect the rest of us from its avarice. Even the current system, as flawed as it is, at least has some form of check even if that is nothing more than the divisions within and between the various factions in the Wizengamot. History shows that as flawed and infuriating as it can be, an inclusive form of governance is better in the long run than an exclusive form. His is more exclusive than what now exists just as the Pureblood Supremacists idea is more exclusive than what now exists. The only true difference between Voldemort and Dumbledore is their idea of who that ruling elite should be."

"So we have to change everything," Dora said.

"Not everything," Harry replied.

"Everything's quite a bit, don't you think?" Luna asked. "I'm not sure we'd want to change everything, do you? I mean if we changed everything, Harry wouldn't be Harry anymore, would he? I wouldn't be Luna anymore and I'd miss me. I might not even be a girl anymore! That's not a pleasant thought. I like being a girl."

"Still, it's a bit much," Dora continued.

"Yes," Luna replied. "But it's not like we have really change anything right away, is it? Besides, change is a good thing. Life would be pretty boring if everything remained the same, don't you think?"

"Fortunately, we have time," Harry said. "The changes … we don't even know what they are. I'm sure we all have ideas of some things, but we have years to turn those ideas into a plan and then into the changes.

"Ever since the Flamels hit us with this, I've been wondering about a lot of things. Mostly, why now? Why not sooner? Why not later? I guess much sooner and I'd still be hoping to be normal. I was still hoping to be normal even at the end of last year, but last year showed me I'm not. A normal eleven year old doesn't go after a Mountain troll. A normal eleven year old doesn't hang out with a large man and his baby dragon. Not even in our world.

"For as long as I can remember, I was different somehow. It wasn't my fault, I just was. I was different than my Cousin Dudley. He got a bed and his own room. I slept on a board in a cupboard under the stairs. He got to go out and play. I worked. I scrubbed floor, cleaned and later took care of the garden and cooked. He had friends in school. I wasn't allowed to have any. Then I find out I'm a wizard which explained why I was different from them. I know you can't really choose to be one. You're born that way. To me, I thought well I'm not normal in that world, maybe I can be a normal wizard, whatever that is. That, of course, was before I learned of all that Boy-Who-Lived rubbish which set me apart again. The only ones who truly saw past that stuff are in this room. My best mate Ron learned to see past it, but not at first. Hermione did from the start practically and certainly after we became friends. Neville did as well. The rest of you? Well you weren't all on about it like a lot of people.

"Then there's this summer when I learned of my true heritage. If none of this other stuff had ever happened to me, if Voldemort had never existed and I had grown up with my parents; normal by any definition except one that I make for myself was never in the cards, was it? I was heir to an Ancient and Noble House with a seat on the Wizengamot and ten percent or more of the votes, not to mention a fair bit of money apparently. There's only one person I know who's like me: Neville. And like me, unless you knew that about Neville, you wouldn't know 'cause he didn't make any kind of deal about it at all.

"We learned about compatible magic and more about betrothal contracts than I probably ever wanted to know about and other things. Then, arriving here we learn we're not the only ones. This summer, what happened to me happened to Neville as well. Like me, he shared compatible magic with two other witches about his age. That alone would have made either of us somewhat unique. Our research showed that sharing compatible magic with anyone is extremely rare and ultimately bonding with them rarer still. Until Neville and me, no one had two bond mates. Throw in the other betrothals, however they came about, and … when was the last recorded plural marriage?"

"Over eighty years ago," Susan said. House Longbottom had done far more outside research at places like the Ministry over the summer. "That was a … um … simple case of a Line Continuation. It's been much longer since there's been one with more than two wives. Although our laws allow for it, it's seldom ever done."

Harry nodded. "So, Neville and I were born different than anyone else for some reason. Had nothing happened back then, we'd still be different. I'd still be at least betrothed to four witches as would he. We would've been raised knowing that and being encouraged to accept that. We would've shown up at Hogwarts knowing that. School stuff aside, we wouldn't've been normal Firsties at all. But in that other timeline we now know we never knew about that – or at least not until a long, long time later when it was too late to… Well, bonding can only happen when we're young. If it doesn't happen by our mid-twenties or so it will never happen. It didn't happen in that timeline.

"Things began to happen differently the morning after I went down into the Chamber to find Ginny. The first thing for me was I accepted Dobby as my Elf. I know that didn't happen before. The next happened when Hermione was off studying and exams were cancelled and I spent hours with Luna down by the lake. We became friends years before we did in that other time. Luna then went home and Hermione went with me to that place. She kissed me at some point, something else that hadn't happened before. We didn't bond then, but I was determined to see her and to see Luna during this Summer. Didn't know why at the time, aside from the fact that spending any time with them was a much nicer idea than spending it at the Dursleys…"

"My change happened about that time," Neville said. "Sally-Anne had been part my … um … study group for Herbology and stuff. She kissed me to thank me before I left for home. She wasn't the only one. Parvati and Susan did as well. Although it was on the lips, it wasn't really like a boyfriend – girlfriend thing, but I knew I wanted to see them all, and especially Sally-Anne this summer. Didn't know anything about the bonds. I knew I was betrothed. But those were not arrangements that … well, it was like if I didn't marry before I was twenty-five and had no … well no real serious girlfriend, then I was to marry Astoria and Susan provided they were not married as well. Twenty-five is considered somewhat old to still be single in our world, you know…"

"So, here we are married at twelve or thirteen," Harry continued. "This gets back to why now? We can't even begin to really do anything about that future until we're old enough to take our seats in the Wizengamot. Even then, even with the sixty-four votes between House Potter and Longbottom, even with the sixteen votes of House Bones and Abbott, we'd only have about a quarter of the votes so we'd have to work on getting others to agree with us and that takes time as well. And that assumes we went in with a plan.

"My first memory uncapped and it was about Sirius and the truth about him. I definitely wanted to help him. I did the last time. I probably would in any time and probably would even if he wasn't a cousin or my godfather or my Dad's best friend. He was innocent and no one wanted to believe that and that's wrong! Still, why help him at this time? Keeping him from dying a few years from now does not seem to require me to know about him now, does it? I was tricked into doing something foolish then and Sirius came to help me and died. If I didn't fall for the trick, that wouldn't've happened and I certainly don't need to know that now, do I?

"Then there was the incident at Gringotts and I began to see why I sent that stuff back to me now and not later. That incident never happened in that other timeline. What it showed me is a way to get started on the ultimate plan.

"Our first priorities are getting rid of Voldemort and getting Dumbledore out of our lives. But our long term goal is preventing the Wizarding World from starting its own destruction. Our whole society is the problem and doesn't even know there is one. Sirius's little adventure will begin to show people that things aren't right. I'm guessing my plan in that other future was showing them that they had thrown an innocent man to the dementors. That too will not go down well. That he's also almost the last of an Ancient and Noble House will not go down well. If the Minister's stupidity with the Goblins and Sirius's innocence were to come to light at about the same time, a lot of people who otherwise would not think about such things would start to question everything."

"Probably would be the end of Fudge as Minister," Susan said.

"Not to mention that House Black has twenty votes of its own which have always supported the Traditionalists," Sirius said. "I shift them to this group, and you have a third of the votes right here in this room."

"That's not as important as the questions these things raise," Harry said. "For whatever reason and whether you believe that prophecy or not Neville and I were born different. You could say we were born having access to the tools to make this world better and all we lacked was … well, we didn't know that or anything last time. We know it now. So, the immediate plan is to get the people to begin to seriously question the supposed leaders and everything else. The Goblin stuff cannot stay quiet."

"Once the I.C.W. hears about it, things will be very hard to hide or dismiss," Hannah agreed.

"In the meantime, we move forward with our original plan for Sirius, except now with the backing of House Longbottom. The truth needs to come out this year and preferably early this fall."

"Much as I do like my current living arrangements," Sirius said, "I would like to go to a real pub and it's not like there're many … um … social opportunities on the Farm."

"That true, Padfoot," James said. "You better get yourself hitched! I really don't want to be the one to repopulate House Black and I don't think my son wants another wife either."

**Thursday, August 26****th**** 1993.**

Ginny had arrived at the Burrow and found it empty. She knew her family had returned from their trip to Egypt the day before. She figured her Dad was probably at work but could only guess at where her Mum and older brothers were. She entered with her Elf Sunshine and an access trunk. Sunshine knew where her room was and immediately went up the stairs to put the trunk there. The elf would remain until the rest of her family showed up. She looked at her mother's magical clock like thing that showed where all the Weasleys were. It had spoons instead of hands, each with the name of one of the family clearly visible. Instead of numbers it had stuff like "Home", "School", "Work", "Travelling," "Shopping" and others. Ginny saw her spoon was now pointing at "Home." Her Dad's, Bill's and Charlie's pointed to "Work" and all of the others were pointed to "Shopping."

"They're probably off getting their school supplies," she thought aloud. She and the others had been to Diagon Alley a couple of days earlier to get their school supplies and new uniforms and such. The real highlight for her and the others was an otherwise unnecessary stop into a shop called "Magical Managerie." Hermione said she wanted a pet, so they all went. They came out with several. Ginny fell for a black kitten, a female she named Sammy. Sunshine was probably setting Sammy up in her bedroom right now. Hermione had taken a shine to a fully grown cat that the owner said no one wanted. It seemed to hate everyone it met, except Hermione. It was a boy cat that already was called Crookshanks and it too found a new home. In fact, it joined a house that now had three other kittens.

Then she remembered her "mission." She tore up the stairs to Ron's room and went in. "Bugger!" she exclaimed. Beside the bed was the cage that held the Rat her family called Scabbers but who Ginny knew was really Peter Pettigrew. The cage was empty. That silly brother of hers probably took the thing with him for some reason. That had better be it. If the rat had run off or something, that would make things difficult. She went back down the stairs to wait for her family while her elf made her some lunch.

She was flipping through her "sort of" birthday present. It was a photo album of her summer. There were pictures of her and the others in France, London, at Windsor Castle, at the Grangers and the Farm. There weren't many pictures of just her. Often she was pictured with Harry and if not then with one of her new sisters. There was a large picture from Longbottom farm of everyone she had met and spent time with that summer. That picture was taken at her birthday party which was held at Longbottom Farm since the thirty day Time Compression had actually gone past midnight so their last few days were actually happening on her birthday. She still had her pampering trip with Mrs. Granger and the others on the real day. She was at the center of the picture and there was a rather respectable pile of wrapped presents in front of her, including several from her family that had been mailed to her via Gringotts. She had liked all her presents, but two she treasured. They were both necklaces. Harry had bought her a very elegant and probably expensive one. She doubted she could ever wear it at Hogwarts, but Harry said there may be occasions to do it outside of school and he certainly hoped she would consider wearing it next summer when they got married. She liked that idea a lot, to say the least. Her brother Bill had also bought a necklace. This one was not as fancy and could be worn at school. It had a scarab on a gold chain (she wondered whether it was real gold). Bill's note said it would protect her from all kinds of hexes.

There was another picture with her in it with her family and what looked like a huge field of Elves. That one had been taken a few days after her birthday when they all had gone to the new Elf Village on the farm. It was still under construction, but already many families had moved in to the finished cottages. That was the day when Harry had done his first true bit as Lord Potter. Hundreds of young elves needed their formal naming and bonding to House Potter. There were several elves that also needed their "marriages" to be formally recognized. Every elf on the estate, over two thousand of them, was there for that day.

She remembered the ceremony. There really wasn't a set way to do those things, but Harry decided there would be at Potter Farm. For the Naming, the parents brought their child or children forward. Harry asked the parents their names and what they were requesting. When they said a name for their child, he then asked was there a name "by which your child is already known?" In most cases there was and that became the first of their Potter names. The "unnamed" children ranged in age. The oldest were from Old Farm and the oldest was not quite fourteen and already an Apprentice. The oldest from the Valley was eleven. Only the very youngest, one of which was only three days old at the time, had yet to have a name in which case Harry asked: "Is there a name by which you wish your child to be known?" In only three cases were the parents unsure and Harry was left to choose the name. "From this day forward, you shall be called Eric Carpyson Brewer Potter." "From this day forward, you shall be called Margie Anniesdaughter Milker Potter." The other names identified the young elf's parents and what they did so that the full name became more personal and unique. Once the children were all granted their names, the weddings followed. When the last of the many couples was recognized as married, the entire household sat down in what would be the village square for a community dinner.

Ginny and the others learned that this was not the way many if any handled it. Harry's parents had not done it this way. The new elf was brought to the cottage and named. Often only the mother was there as the father was off working. Marriages were just the two elves who asked to be mated and the witch or wizard said nothing more than "So be it." James was very impressed with what Harry had done, making it a big deal both for the elves who were getting married or having their children named as well as all the other elves of the estate and all the human residents of the estate.

Harry explained at the time: "I married my girls at Gringotts. It was just me, them and their parents really. Only Luna had more of her family there. It seemed … cold. By magic, I am Head of House Potter and these elves are my family as well. This is our community. Naming an elf child is recognizing a new member of the entire community just as marrying a new elf couple is recognizing that. They should all be allowed to be a part of it because it touches all of them in a way, doesn't it?"

No one was about to argue otherwise.

She heard a sound which she knew was the Floo. She thought of going over to see her family, but she was half way through the sandwich Sunshine had made for her and knew better than to leave it with Ron about. She sat at the table in the kitchen. She caught a glimpse of her brother Percy heading up the stairs muttering to himself and then her brothers Fred and George walked into the kitchen and saw her.

"Well, well," Fred said. Ginny knew which it was. She was one of the few these two could not fool.

"Hey Fred," Ginny said.

"The prodigal sister has returned," George added with a smile.

"You're looking good, Sis."

"Thanks."

"Mum didn't say you'd be back," George added.

"Didn't say you wouldn't, either," Fred continued.

"Didn't say much at all, 'cept you were with a Healer or something…"

"…'cause of whatever it was that had happened."

"What did happen?"

"We never asked that before."

Ginny shrugged. "Dark magic of some kind. It was pretty awful and … well, I'm glad I had the summer I had to get over it." She still had nightmares and knew she was not completely over it, but she knew she was a lot better than might have been the case. "Where's Mum and Ron?"

"Still at Flourish and Blotts," Fred said.

"Care of Magical Creatures Book's a ruddy nightmare," George added.

"Mum was all on about our…"

"Derth…

"Of electives…"

"What with Big Head Percy taking the lot."

"She's not so keen on it now."

"Big Head Percy?" Ginny asked. "While I don't disagree, what'd he do?"

"Made Head Boy, of course," George said.

"We thought he was full of himself before."

"We were wrong."

"As strange as that notion may seem."

Ginny chuckled.

"He's still mad at us," Fred said not in the least bit upset about it.

"Can't understand why," George added. "It's been a couple of weeks."

"What did you do?" Ginny gasped.

"You should mean which," Fred said.

"There was the time we tried to seal him in a tomb."

"After seeing 'bout thirty of them, they became rather dull."

"Needed to spice things up a bit."

"Percy wasn't pleased."

"Neither was Mum."

"But we think it's his badge," Fred finished. "He still hasn't figured out how to change it back."

"Okay…," Ginny drawled with a grin, "what did you do?"

"Well, it wasn't really Percy, you know?" George said.

"All it said was Head Boy."

"Seemed rather … pedestrian."

"So we changed it so it was more…"

"Percy," George finished. "Fits him perfectly now."

"Perfect fit for perfect Percy."

"How did you…?" Ginny began.

"Well, he's not really Head Boy, is he?" Fred said. "Nothing like Bill."

"So we corrected the oversight the school made."

"It now says the truth…"

"There for all to see…"

"Big Head Boy!" they concluded together.

"I heard that!" and angry voice called down from upstairs. "So help me you two will be spending the year in detentions!"

"Yes mother," they called back.

"You take that book straight upstairs and don't open it!" Ginny heard her mother say.

"Why would I want to?" she heard Ron reply.

"And put Scabbers away! And then you best get started on those assignments you've been avoiding all summer!"

"But there's days…"

"You're not allowed to leave this house, touch a chess board or broom or even have second helpings until they're done!"

"Fine!" Ron grumbled and Ginny heard him stomp up the stairs. This would add a complication. If he was stuck doing his assignments, he'd be in that room with the rat all the time. She needed to think about this.

"Can't believe they'd assign such a book to children!" her mother muttered loudly entering the kitchen. Ginny knew which book her mother was talking about. She had been there when Hermione, Daphne and Hannah had to get it. Harry had gotten his copy as a birthday present from Hagrid so they already had figured out how to tame The Monster Book of Monsters, emphasis on the first "Monster." The store had to keep the books in a cage of all things and until they saw their book list, they thought it was just Hagrid's idea of a neat present. Somehow Hagrid knew it would be assigned for the course on Care of Magical Creatures. Ginny was tempted to tell her mother that all one had to do was stroke its spine and it wouldn't behave like that anymore – at least not to its owner and their friends. But she would then have to explain how she knew to Fred and George.

She heard a gasp. Her mother was standing and staring at her with a shocked but very pleased expression on her face. "Hi Mum!" she said. Her mother rushed over and hugged her despite the fact that she was sitting.

"It's so good to have you home, Dear! Why didn't you write us to tell us? Oh. Well never mind. Do you need to go shopping for your school supplies? How was your summer?"

"Mum! Please! I didn't write you 'cause they didn't want me having anything sharp," she said with a wink. Her mother understood this was not true, but said to keep the twins from knowing what was really going on and it was consistent with the cover story about her spending the summer in the care of a Mind Healer. "I already got all my school supplies and my summer was nice. France was wonderful."

"You were in France?" the Twins asked.

"You were told she was being treated overseas," her mother said.

"Yeah, but France isn't really," Fred said.

"Just across the Channel," George added.

"We thought overseas meant the Americas…"

"Or India…"

"Or someplace exotic."

"No, it was France. But it was really nice," Ginny said.

"Heard that the French girls are really…"

"George! None of that!" her mother scolded.

"That was Fred, Mum." Fred said although Ginny know her mother had guessed right.

"You both know who I meant!"

"French girls are really what?" Ginny asked hoping to sound innocent.

"Don't you two answer! And don't you encourage them, little Missy! I suppose that time over there worked," she huffed. "The three of you are thick as thieves again and we only just got back!"

"Hey Ginny," she heard Ron say. She looked up and there was her other brother. "I take it you're not mental anymore?"

"Ronald!" her mother scolded. "What a thing to say to you sister!"

"I was just saying I'm glad she's home," Ron protested.

"No," Ginny said, "you said I was mental."

Ron shrugged. "They said you were. Even for a girl…"

"Ronnikins, Ronnikins," George said shaking his head. "Just 'cause you think something…"

"Doesn't mean you should say it," Fred finished.

"For once I agree with your brothers, Ronald," her mother said. "Why aren't you up working on your assignments like you were told?"

"Can't I say hello to my sister?"

"What's that thing?" Ron asked. It was after dinner about which Ginny had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was glad to be home for now and now her Dad was home as well, although he was complaining about how the work had piled up while they were away in Egypt. She had missed her family and until now had been the only one in House Potter who had not seen her family since that day at Gringotts. On the other hand, she had forgotten what life at the Burrow was like. It was loud. Now that she thought about it, it was rarely quiet. Someone was always yelling about something. The raised voices were seldom angry ones unless it was her Mum or more recently Percy who was tucked away in his room yelling at the top of his lungs about how it was too loud and he needed to work so shut it, thank you very much. The Farm was never this loud and not nearly as this chaotic even though it did have more people. That and there were always more than two conversations going on at the same time. While Dad complained about the pile of work, Percy complained about his brothers and Fred and George were trying to tell Ginny all about their trip to Egypt and all the pranks they tried to pull of Perfect, Big Head Percy. Ginny wondered whether this was the difference between having a house full of boys or girls.

"It's a kitten, Ronald," Ginny said. She was sitting on the couch in the living room and her black kitten was curled up in her lap. She had told the others that her Healer had suggested that having her own pet would be beneficial to her recovery.

"You mean a cat?" he practically shrieked.

"No. I mean a kitten. It's still a baby."

"You can't have it!" he said as if he was in charge.

"What?"

"It's a cat. Scabbers is a rat. Cats eat rats and Scabbers was here first!"

"It's a kitten. It's no bigger than Scabbers. And if you kept Scabbers in a cage like Mum's always telling you to, then it couldn't eat Scabbers even if it could although…"

"What?"

"Sammy's a smart kitten. She probably knows that your rat would give her a real tummy ache."

"Mum?" Ron bellowed. "She can't have a cat, can she?"

"Ronald, you keep that rat where you're supposed to and there should be no problem!"

"But Scabbers was here first!"

"Ronald! Go to your room and do your assignments like I told you!"

"But Mum!"

"But nothing. Never did like that thing! Filthy creature. Keep Scabbers in its cage for once!"

"Fine!" Ron stomped up the stairs.

Ron being all but confined to his room continued to vex Ginny. Unless Ron had really changed, she'd be lucky if he finished before they had to head off to school. Fortunately, she was able to spend the night in what she now thought of as her real room back at the Farm. That was the great thing about the Access Trunk and the other one being that it seemed try as they might, the thing totally vexed the Twins the one time they tried to take a peek at this new thing in her room when she was not there. So long as Ron was stuck in his room supposedly working on his assignments, Ginny could do nothing about the rat and this frustrated her. This was not their only chance at Scabbers, but in many ways it was their best one or at least the one that would result in the fewest suspicions from the rat's so called owner. Ron was always letting the thing run lose around the Burrow. He was not so cavalier at school because it was crawling with cats. Many of the girls in Gryffindor had cats after all. When the idea finally struck her, Ginny was surprised she had not thought of it before. It was so easy! She went to sleep that night content.

**SATURDAY, AUGUST 28****th****, 1993.**

"Good Morning, Miss," Sunshine said. It was earlier than Ginny usually got up, but she wanted to be dressed and all of that earlier so that it appeared as if she had just woken up for the day when she came down to breakfast at the Burrow. "Your clothes are all laid out."

"Thank you, Sunshine. And your task?"

"It's done. It was no trouble at all, Miss. It's in stasis now."

Ginny smiled.

"Why's that thing out of your room?" Ron asked icily at breakfast.

"What thing?" Ginny replied.

"That thing!" he said pointing at Sammy who was curled in her lap. She was at the breakfast table eating her plate full of eggs and bangers and such and passing small morsels now and then to her kitten.

"She needs her breakfast too," she said.

"Fine! But put it away when you're done. Scabbers is loose somewhere!"

"Ronald, I told you to keep that rat in its cage!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"He was in his cage! He got loose!"

"You have a bad habit of not latching that thing. I have no idea how many times you've been told and it still gets loose. You had better hope it's still in the house, not that I want that! There are fox and hawks and such around here who would see your pet as a nice meal, Ronald."

"Fine! I'll find him after breakfast. But tell Ginny to put that cat away!"

"It's only a kitten, Ronald. And I'm sure Sammy'd rather have bits of bacon and bangers as afters than your mangy, old rat!"

"I'm sure you're right Dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "Why I ever allowed such a thing as a rat… Percy Dear?"

"It's not my rat anymore!" Percy complained.

"I wasn't suggesting it was nor am I suggesting that you help your brother find the beast. Not at all. What I was going to say was that your father and I are taking Ginny out for the day. I expect this house to be standing and things to be in one piece when we get back. We should be back for dinner."

"What about lunch?" Ron complained.

"You're old enough to make your own sandwich," Mrs. Weasley said. "Besides, you have those assignments to finish."

"But what about Scabbers?"

"I'm sure it'll turn up. Thing's like a bad Knut, it is. You need to finish those assignments. And Percy?"

"Yes Mother?"

"Your job is to see to it he does just that. He's not allowed to see a broom, much less touch one. And if that means you have to get out of your own room, then that's what you will do!"

"Yes Mother." Percy was clearly disappointed about that.


	33. Chapter 33: Murder on the Hogwarts Ex

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Okay, sports distraction's over. So, as it's been two weeks: ...

**CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: **

"**MURDER" ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS**

**SATURDAY, AUGUST 28****th****, 1993.**

Molly Weasley had missed her daughter terribly all summer. Because of the oath she and her husband swore they could barely talk about what had truly happened. To their sons Ginny was with a Mind Healer because of what had happened to her over the school year, but she and Arthur knew the truth. Ginny was no longer theirs. She was now a Potter and a concubine and it was their fault in the end that it had come to this even if they could not remember what had happened when their daughter was just a baby. Molly would like nothing more than to let Albus Dumbledore know what she really thought about him and his ideas. She was sure Arthur wanted the same. But Arthur was Dumbledore's Vassal, a status he had inherited from his father who had placed the family in Vassalage during the last war and therefore incapable of such things. Her brothers had been the man's Vassals as well, but she was not or at least she was not independent of her marriage to a Vassal. Still, she was not about to make a scene if it might harm her or her family. All summer long she had hoped Harry would let their girl visit them but deep down thought that might not happen. That contract must have seem to the boy to be the worst of betrayals and she could not fault him if he still held a grudge.

Then Ginny was there! Her little girl was home sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich! Molly tried not to make too much of a fuss over it knowing that Ginny never had liked being fussed over. It was hard, especially after a summer of wondering whether Harry would keep his word about the visit. He was under no obligation to do so. But he had and Molly was delighted that Ginny would be home with her first family for the rest of the Summer Holiday.

During a brief moment alone with her daughter that first day, Ginny had suggested they might be able to spend some time seeing where she was staying. She said that Harry had extended an invitation to them, but not to her brothers. They were still keeping things quiet. Molly couldn't blame them. A man who would do what Dumbledore had done and wanted to do could not be trusted. She agreed on behalf of Arthur and herself. She was surprised that Ginny said they would leave from her bedroom at the Burrow on Saturday morning at around ten. They would be gone only a couple of hours, but Molly decided it best not to let her boys know this. She was certain Ron would try and skive off his assignments and she was determined to catch him at it. She couldn't be too obvious about this which was one of the reasons why she had put Percy in charge. The other was she was still disappointed with the Head Boy.

Percy was the oldest of her children at school. As such, she expected him to keep an eye on his younger brothers and sister and it was obvious he had not. She had confronted him about it the day after they had returned from school and all he had were excuses. He felt Fred and George would do that. He had not noticed anything off – odd that considering his three younger brothers had. They missed what was really going on, but they noticed their sister was not herself and tried in their own way to help. He was a Prefect, he had responsibilities. And his sister was a Gryffindor! She was one of his charges and he failed her. How many other Gryffindors had he failed that year? Did he honestly think all he had to do as a Prefect was strut around and act important? She was so angry with him she had said nothing about his becoming Head Boy and had not even scolded the twins about what they did to his badge. She wished they would not pick on their brother like that, but deep down she admitted this time they had a point.

She and Arthur now stood in Ginny's room. It looked barren, just as it had looked from the moment they had returned from Gringotts. Aside from her clothes and a few other things, all that said this was their daughter's room had disappeared. But their daughter now stood before them although Molly noticed that the bed had been made. Ginny rarely made her bed without being told to which told Molly that it was entirely possible the girl was not sleeping here but not where she was spending the night nor how she got there.

"I need a drop of each of your blood," Ginny said holding a needle.

"Why?" Molly asked.

"Sounds a little … dodgy," Arthur agreed.

"I don't understand all the details," Ginny said. "I've learned quite a bit this summer, but ward schemes are still above me and the others. Harry seems to understand the most, but not the details. The wards we must pass through are complex. The main wards are Goblin made. They hold all the other wards together and it's those Goblin wards that control access. As you know…"

"Blood," Arthur nodded. "They're into it. Very well, Princess."

As her parents pricked their fingers and allowed the needle to absorb a drop of their blood, Ginny said: "As you should know, blood can't be faked. There's no magic that can trick these wards which means … well, we're really safe if we need to be."

"How are we going to get there?" Molly asked handing Ginny the needle.

"Through this," Ginny said as she seemed to shove the pin into the lock on the trunk at the foot of her bed. "It's an Access Trunk," she explained. "We don't know exactly how Harry's Trunks work. We think the Access Trunks are mostly an elaborate expansion Charm and the door leading to the main trunk is a portal of some kind. What's beyond the door is Harry's farm. We don't know really where it is. We think it's separate from this world yet connected by the trunks. Again, don't ask how." She opened the trunk and climbed down inside. "It's perfectly safe," she called up.

Molly looked around as Arthur climbed down. "It's not much," she said. "You've been here all this time?"

"Um … not 'til the day I came home. I live beyond that door in that other place wherever it is. This is just a cloakroom. Close the lid, Daddy. We don't want the twins getting too curious. I'd hate to think what the wards might do."

"Right," Arthur Weasley said closing the lid behind him. "Um … we can get out, right?"

Ginny chuckled. "Of course, Daddy. This way."

Molly gasped at the Entry Hall. It was huge. She would not have been the least bit surprised if she had been told that it had more room than the entire Burrow. There was a large set of double doors on one side and another directly across flanked by a wide stair on the other. The side they had entered had several smaller doors. Each had a label which Molly read: "Abbott," "Granger," "Greengrass," "Lovegood," "Harry Potter," "Weasley," "The Valley," "Mountain House," "Potter Cottage," "The Old Farm," "The Lake," "The Island," "Garden House," and "The Stables."

"It takes a little getting used to," Ginny said. "But don't worry. You can't get lost."

"What are those?" Molly asked indicating the labeled doors.

"Well, the ones with a family name on them are Access Trunks like mine and they're at the home of the parents. The one that says 'Harry' is the exit from this main trunk and that trunk is currently at the Grangers. The other doors are portals to the other houses on this Estate. Potter Cottage is currently in use. The rest are guest houses, should we have more guests than can stay here at the main house or something like that."

"This is a bit much. And the tapestries?"

"The tapestries and portraits in the public rooms are copies of other ones. They're all of Harry's ancestors dating back to before Hogwarts. It's quite a history and far more interesting to learn than what they teach at school. We can take a look at this floor before going upstairs to see my room, okay?"

"What's this room we're in?"

"We call it the Entry Hall 'cause this is where you enter the estate from Outside and those large doors lead out to the Gardens. They were added not long after I arrived. The doors by the stair lead to the rest of the Public Rooms on this floor. Mrs. Greengrass thinks this was also intended as a ballroom, but we haven't had anything like that. Shall we?"

The tour of what Ginny called the Main Floor took a while, mainly because Arthur kept asking about various things. The recreation room fascinated him with all sorts of Muggle looking games. Molly was surprised that there were three dining rooms. There was a Kitchen, she was told, but you needed Harry's permission to see it. Ginny called it Harry's kitchen. She explained that Harry liked to cook on occasion and it was agreed that was his room. Of course it helped that he was the only one living there who was any good at cooking.

Ginny had led them into one of two parlors off of a very large room. Ginny told them this one was called the "Ladies Parlor" and it was where she and her "sisters" hosted their guests, although today was the first time Ginny had guests. To Molly's surprise, Ginny did not seem the least bit upset by this.

"I understand why it had to be this way," she had explained earlier. "I probably understand now better than you do. I've had a wonderful summer and before you ask Harry has been a perfect gentleman to all of us. I'd like to think it was meant to be this way."

"But he said … you might have to …," Molly began.

"That was then," Ginny said. "And at that time that was the case. The wards that also protect us can only be maintained so long as the youngest member of Harry's family spends at least a month at his Aunt's house each year and is not yet seventeen. We did spend the month there. We spent our nights in here and here was in Harry's bedroom there. But we never had to deal with those people and neither did Harry except once. We still believe we need those wards, but I no longer have to be the one to see them extended past my seventeenth birthday and before you ask, no. There are no other brides or betrothed's out there. Good morning, Lily,"

Molly then saw they were not alone in the large parlor. There was a young woman seated in a chair with a book on her lap. The woman was clearly older than Harry and the others by several years, but much younger than Molly and Arthur and Molly could swear she was probably pregnant.

"These must be your folks," the woman said with a smile. "I'm Lily Potter," she added after standing up and offering her hand to the Weasleys.

"Arthur Weasley," Ginny's father said, "and my wife Molly. We are … or were Ginny's parents."

"You'll always be that, Daddy," Ginny said. "I may not be a Weasley anymore technically, but I'm still your daughter."

"Thanks," he said softly, clearly trying not to be overcome by emotions.

"Lily Potter is it?" Molly said. "You have the same name as Harry's mother, you know."

"I should know. I am his mother."

"That's impossible…"

"But true, Mum," Ginny said. "She is Lily Potter."

Recognition and realization dawned on the faces of the elder Weasleys.

"But your dead! I was at your funeral. You were in that casket," Molly protested.

Lily gave her a mischievous smile that reminded Molly a little too much of her twins. "What you saw was a transfigured pig – as in one of those hoofed animals raised so we can have ham, pork and bacon. It was a complicated bit of magic and the last thing I remember was Voldemort casting the killing curse and then James and I woke up in our bedroom in the cottage and almost twelve years had passed. We had been under a stasis charm all that time and still would be had Harry not claimed his inheritance and gained access to our Trunk – which is not unlike this one."

"But if … if … none of this would've …"

"Harry did not know about us," Lily said. "He could not have known until he came to our cottage. He did not even know about the trunks until after what happened and didn't find us until his birthday. It was luck really. We told no one what we were planning. We didn't know if it would work to be honest and didn't find out it worked until Harry revived us a few weeks ago. There was no way he could've even guessed that we might still be alive. He did what he had to do to preserve his heritage and when he did it, he was as certain as the rest of the world that we were dead."

"I have no regrets, Mum," Ginny said. "I meant it when I said this summer's been wonderful. I spent a year at school and made no friends. Now I have five of the best friends you can ask for and several more on top of that. That could only have happened here and could only have happened if things happened the way they did. And, thanks to Lily here, I only need to remain a true concubine until next June. That's when Harry and I will be married – with a proper wedding to follow when we're older just as that contract he did sign says."

"Thanks to…?"

"I'm expecting," Lily said. "I was about two months along that night and was still that far along when I was released from stasis. Yes, I've seen a Healer and she'll be here for dinner with her family."

"You look further along than…"

"Not quite half way home," Lily said. "These trunks have a Time Compression feature and it does not affect the little one so it ages based upon the time it experiences and not the time outside of the Trunks. We've used that feature a few times since Harry brought us 'round so I'm further along now. I would've been due in late February or early March. Now it's not later than mid-January and I dare say we'll probably use that feature again before then so it may well be before the end of this year."

"It's why I won't have to be the one," Ginny said. "Harry's new brother or sister will be the youngest Potter living on the Estate once it's born, extending the wards out to 2010 or so. Of course, we hope they're not needed that long. Please have a seat."

The elder Weasley's sat down and an Elf maid popped into the room the instant they were seated.

"This is my friend and Handmaiden, Sunshine," Ginny said. "Among her duties are taking care of my rooms, my things, me and my guests."

The Weasleys were stunned.

"I think some tea would be nice, Sunshine."

"Of course, Miss Ginny," the elf said and a tea service appeared. As the Weasleys made their tea Ginny explained that the tea was grown here on the estate. The tea plantation was only about two miles from where they were and they had over two thousand acres planted. Her parents surprise mounted as she described the full extent of the farms and Estate.

It took the Weasleys a little while to get over what they had been told. They had no idea what sort of life Ginny was living. She had been almost literally dragged off to goodness knows where and all they had know was about a small house with bars on a second floor window. This place certainly could never be described as little and the Farm outside was huge by any definition. And yet, while elegant, the house or manor or whatever it was did not scream old or particularly rich. The tapestries and paintings showed an ancient heritage, but this place looked new and its furnishings and appointments were nice looking but clearly functional. There were no expensive, decorative pieces of anything that they could see. Still…

"This must've cost a fortune," Arthur couldn't help but say.

"Harry could afford it," Ginny said. "It was paid for from his Trust Vault and he still has a lot more left sitting there. Besides, as he sells most of what's grown here, it will pay for itself in a few years." She then chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Molly asked.

"You should've heard Harry and Neville Longbottom talk a few weeks ago," Ginny said. "Neville's situation is very similar to Harry's and he has a large Trunk Estate as well. They reminded me of the old Muggle farmers in town talking about their farms. If you closed your eyes, you'd never know they were really a couple of young wizards still in school."

"Where is Harry, by the way?" Molly asked.

"It's Saturday," Lily said. "My husband and his friends have dragged my baby off to further corrupt him."

"What do you mean?"

"Golf. They're off playing golf. I can't see the allure of that silly game. Then again, never saw the allure of Quidditch either and at least they're not doing that."

"It's not safe for him out there," Arthur said. "There's a madman…"

"Harry's here on the Estate. There are nine of those golf courses here. I think he may be at the Valley course which is about twenty-five miles or so from here, but I don't know. My husband and his best mate were talking about playing there 'cause they've played it a lot and the other haven't."

"Others?"

"Harry, Bob Granger, David Greengrass and Ted Tonks."

"And where are his other … Ladies?" Molly asked.

"Where I'd be if I wasn't… They're at the stables riding with the other sane people. Well, Luna, the Tennysons and the Greengrass's youngest are probably out on the North Lawn. They don't ride. So for now it's just us."

They talked for several minutes, mostly about the summer. Lily had not taken part in the trip in France so Ginny spent time telling her parents all the places they had seen.

"I still can't believe…," Molly began at one point. "All this time and none of it was true…"

"It was true enough," Lily said. "In the eyes of magic we were dead. We were frozen in time and there was no trace of our magic anywhere, just as there would be no trace had we actually died. Harry could not have claimed his legacy otherwise. But he did and the Potter Ring recognizes him as Head of House so it is as if we died. But yes, it would seem quite a lot of what people believe to be true is anything but that. For example, everything you've heard about Sirius Black is false."

"WHAT?" the elder Weasleys said. Lily then told them about what really had happened back in October and early November of 1981 and that Sirius Black never had a trial.

"He's Harry's Godfather, you know," Lily concluded. "As in he took the magical oath and all that."

"Then who did all those things back then?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"But he died that day!" Molly protested.

"Even less of a death than we suffered," Lily commented. "No, he just made it look that way. He's been hiding all of these years right under the noses of our world. But thanks to your daughter here, we've caught him. He currently is in stasis and when we're ready, the truth will come out."

"How did Ginny help?"

"Simple really," Lily said. "She lived in the house where he was hiding."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Molly countered. "I think I'd know if there was a strange man hiding about our place!"

"He was not hiding as a man. Few people knew this and he certainly never registered it, but he's an animagus. Ever since that incident where he killed all those Muggles, he's been living in his animal form…"

"Don't tell me he was one of my roosters!"

"No. He's a rat … in more ways than one, come to think of it."

"A … Scabbers?"

Lily nodded. "Under the best of circumstances, a rat might live past its fourth or fifth birthday. Four years is a very old rat. I take it that rat's been about a little longer than than?"

Molly nodded. "Percy found him. Percy was… My word! It would've been just before Christmas that year! I have a murderer skulking about my house, living with my children all this time?"

"So it would seem" Lily replied. "And the last two years sleeping in the same room at Hogwarts as my son, the boy his Master failed to kill that night and Neville Longbottom, a boy we also think You-Know-Who was after. But as I said, Ginny here took care of your rodent problem."

"Actually, much as I'd like the credit, it was Sunshine," Ginny said. "Mum's set Ron to finishing his summer assignments so sneaking into his room's a bit of a problem and… Well, I didn't want to do it in the dark either. Sunshine nicked him last night."

Molly actually chuckled. "So in a way that filthy thing has run off. I shouldn't laugh. Ron does care about it, I suppose. He's going to be unset not finding his rat."

"So long as he doesn't blame it on Sammy. I can't believe he'd think a kitten would take on a rat, much less even know how to eat one!" She then laughed. "Ron would probably hate this place."

"Okay…," Lily said slowly, "why do you say that?"

"I hope it's not about his hang up about money," Molly said.

"I wasn't thinking about that, Mum. To be honest, I really haven't thought much about money or wealth at all since coming here. Odd, really. But this place doesn't … it doesn't seem rich or something. It's big, but it's a home and not one of those fancy places for showing off, you know. No, I meant the cats. Sammy's one of five that live here. Hannah has a girl kitten named Sheba and Luna has one she wanted to name after me, but I convinced her to name her kitten Snowflake because it's all white. Hermione and Daphne have boy cats named Crookshanks and Thor. It's clear Crookshanks is the leader of sorts. But I swear those two remind me of cat versions of Fred and George…"

The Weasleys stayed for a week. Actually it was only a little over two hours as the trunk was placed under Time Compression again. This was the last Saturday of the Summer Holiday after all and while they planned to have the families over as often as possible during the school year – again on Saturdays, they did not know how often that would be. After all, Saturdays were also the days of Quidditch matches and Harry was the team Seeker and Hogsmeade Weekends which the older children would be able to enjoy. Harry didn't think it was fair to Luna and Ginny, but those two and all the adults convinced him he should go out with the others on those days.

Molly was right. She no sooner arrived back at the Burrow when she suspected trouble. She found Percy in his room working on something and not keeping an eye on the others. Ron was nowhere to be found in the house. He, Fred and George were all in the apple orchard on brooms. It was not a pleasant Saturday afternoon for the four boys.

**WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1****st**** 1993**

Harry had arrived at Platform 9 ¾ by floo. His parents had wanted to come along and see him off, but they all agreed that someone might recognize them and that would be awkward to say the least. Even with the Fidelius, they did not want to take unnecessary chances. After all, the Charm hid the secret which was the truth that the Potters were alive, not the memory of them or what they looked like. Nothing prevented an observant person from drawing their own concludions even if no one would believe them. Besides, while most of his girls would be arriving with their own families, Luna's father was still on expedition. But the two of them were not alone either. With them were a boy and girl about to start Hogwarts for the seventh time since 1527. Nicholas and Perenelle were now Peter Parker and Amanda Crosby. Even Harry was not so clueless as to fail and recognize that Nicholas Flamel had chose the name of a fictional Muggle character whose alter ego could climb walls and cast webs and was known as Spiderman. Peter/Nicholas said it came to him when he heard about all the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. Luna had received a package from her father and a long missive about the dangers of non-native magical species especially ones that were not put off by the new environment. Luna already knew this. The letter was more to provide her with arguments should anyone ask about her package. Inside was a thriving colony of female Ardites that had been placed in stasis when they were just about ready to lay their eggs. Luna planned to release them into the forest their first Saturday back.

They had arrived early, much earlier than Harry had arrived either of the last two years and there were not many families about. Harry led the group to the back of the train and spied a compartment with a grown man in it. The man was shabbily dressed and pale. He was seated by the window and seemed to be dozing. The door to the compartment was closed and they had seen no other students yet.

"My guess is that's got to be him," he said to the others.

"You sure we should…?" Luna began. "I mean they're plenty of empty compartments."

"We've practices that spell a lot, but never faced off against one of those things. He did it the last time."

"I have no doubt you'll be able to," Peter/Nicholas said, "and I'm sure we can in a pinch. But it is a skill that might raise questions. You can deal with him when the time comes. Sharing the same compartment will mean they will assume it was him and not a bunch of students who are years away from their O.W.L.s."

"But if a whole bunch of…?"

"As annoying as it is, this is a society that will believe a convenient lie over a disturbing truth. A bunch of young students casting that spell is a disturbing truth because it calls into question their beliefs about what can and cannot be taught and when."

Harry nodded. "We'll get the compartment sorted," he said. They had a plan for this day. Actually, they had two plans. One plan was one they hoped would not be necessary. Harry called Dobby who immediately set to work on the compartment while he and Luna waited outside. It would be expanded to several times its size along the length of the train, but still would remain the same width. Actually, the modified compartment would be no bigger outside than it was. Dobby was only expanding the interior so that it could seat a lot of people. At the far end from the door, there would be a snack bar that Dobby would man for the trip. To anyone unaware of the redesigned compartment who looked in uninvited, all they would see was the man currently seated facing the rear of the train. Harry's girls, the Flamels and Neville's family would join them in this compartment and their friends could enter as well. The Flamels, meanwhile, would round up the First Year Muggle Borns, at least the ones at risk.

"Dementors, as horrible as they are, are very simple minded and incapable of decision," Nicholas had told them. "When faced with choosing between two people, it will be unable to do so. The best defense against their 'Kiss' is not to be alone. The First Year Muggle Borns, who know no one, are the most likely to be alone in a compartment. As long as a compartment has at least two students, they'll be safe from that. It still won't be a pleasant experience, however."

"But in my memory the girl was sharing the compartment with me," Luna said.

"Where were you seated?"

"She was by the door and I was by the window."

"That probably was enough distance so that the dementor did not have to decide."

Regardless of what happened, Luna had already prepared an eyewitness account. Some details would be added later based upon what happened and if any student suffered the Kiss, that would be included. This account would be sent to her father and to the Daily Prophet. The copy to her father would be under her own name. The one to the Prophet was under Susan's name. The name Lovegood would not interest the ministry mouthpiece as they had little respect for The Quibbler or its publisher. Susan Bones, however, was another matter altogether and a scathing story of renegade dementors that suggested either the Ministry had lost control of the things or was setting those things on a train full of children; that was a story even the Prophet might find hard to bury.

Minerva McGonagall was dealing with yet another example of why Albus Dumbledore needed to sort out his priorities. She understood why he had yet again dumped practically all of the school administrative tasks in her lap and she understood all too well that as Deputy Headmistress, she could be expected to be assigned at least some of the administrative load. Some Headmasters preferred to spend their time away from school soliciting donations, arguing for curriculum changes or about the standards of O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s and later Masteries. Many took a keen interest in the other schools with an eye to improving theirs. Minerva had no issue with that. But Albus was not one of those. She knew he did some of it when he had the time but he also had responsibilities as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards or ICW and those roles had little or nothing to do with students or education and took up much of his time. It was telling that when he was removed from his position as Headmaster for a time just the last year, it had made no impact upon the school in terms of day-to-day administration. Minerva admired and respected the man, but felt he could not serve as Headmaster and in those other important roles without one or more of them suffering as a consequence and, in her opinion, the loser in this juggling match far too often was Hogwarts. The school certainly would have been if she had not been able to handle it. But she was stretched. The Headmaster did not teach classes. She taught all seven years of Transfiguration which had her in front of a class an average of five hours a day, five days a week for nine months of the year and goodness knows how many hours grading homework and preparing lessons. Even after almost forty years, this was not something she could do without any preparation.

She understood something was up. She knew it had to do with whatever had happened at Gringotts about three weeks ago. If the Daily Prophet was to be believed, Sirius Black had walked in bold as brass for some reason and no one stopped him. Not that she was surprised. The Goblins were not about to let a little thing like a Wizarding criminal record and nationwide manhunt interfere with their business or customers and wouldn't act against a Wizard just because others thought him a criminal. As long as Black had not violated Goblin law, they could care less what he was like outside their walls. But the rumors were that something had happened and emergency meetings in the Wizengamot and across the Channel near Paris supported that conclusion. Albus had written to say he should be there for the Welcoming Feast but not to delay it on his account and that he would probably be gone again the next day.

When Albus acted as Headmaster, he was a very good one in Minerva's opinion. She had no doubt he was better than most she had known both at Hogwarts and at other schools in Britain and in Europe. She felt even at his age he could probably do quite well as Headmaster while also doing quite well in one of his other positions. But no one could do all three well. Something had to give and right now it was the school.

She looked at the stack of mail before her. On top was a pile of envelopes from Gringotts which struck her as odd. Mail from Gringotts was not odd in and of itself. The school received detailed accounting statements every month and payroll notices and similar, but never on the first of the month. Likewise, the school received notice of tuition payments, but they were due before September 1st. She had no idea what these were about and opened the first one and read it.

She could hardly believe it. She walked over to the fireplace, through in some powder and stuck her head into it once the flames turned a magical green. "Poppy? If you have a minute I need to see you!"

The modified compartment held a large and boisterous group of students. The professor still slept on the original bench at one end. It seemed Dobby had cast something similar to a silencing charm around him, but not identical. The sleeping professor could still hear everything, but it was as if the noise of the group was from nearby compartments, not the one he was in. The Flamels had managed to round up a dozen Muggle Borns who would begin first year with them exactly as Peter/Nicholas had foreseen so Harry hoped there would not be a dead or mindless student aboard when whatever was going to happen happened. His five girls were there as were Neville and his group including Astoria, the only rising First Year who was not a Muggle Born. She was hanging out and talking to her new classmates. Some additional students from the rising third year were present, almost all of them girls who were friends of the Third Years in either House Potter or Longbottom. Only one bothered Harry. Lavender Brown was the gossip queen of their year and best friends with Neville's wife Parvati. But he knew the secret would be out soon. He just hoped it would last until at least after dinner. Also present was the rest of his Quidditch Team and Fred and George's good friend and well known yet still unindicted coconspirator Lee Jordan. It was a nice crowd spread out in the extended compartment and the snack bar was a hit with everyone despite the lack of candies.

Harry was sitting on a bench along the wall facing the windows between Luna and Hermione when Ginny walked up to them holding her kitten.

"You find Ron?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said somewhat resignedly. "He's sitting with Dean and Seamus two cars up. I told him a little 'bout this… Well, I told him you were back here, but he didn't want to come."

"Oh?"

"Well, I said I was sitting with you as well and he asked if my cat was with me and I said yes and he said you could always sit with them and I left."

"Okay, what's his problem?" Hermione asked.

"Guess he doesn't like cats," Harry quipped.

Ginny sighed. "He's certain Scabbers ran away 'cause the rat was afraid of my little Sammy, can you believe that? Sammy's not that much bigger. Mum's been telling him that it's his own fault for not keeping that cage bolted and besides, Scabbers was old. It was probably his time which was why he left."

"Time for what?" Luna asked.

"To go off and snuff it," Ginny said, "although Mum was not so…"

"Cavalier?" Hermione offered.

"Something like that."

Harry shrugged. "He sits with Dean and Seamus and I get to sit with a bunch of pretty girls near a snack bar. His loss."

"Oi, Fred!" One of the twins was walking past with Alicia Spinet, "Harrykins is talking 'bout pretty girls!"

"Got it in my bag," the other said.

"Hate to eat and run, but there's money to be made!"

"What was that about?" Neville asked who was nearby.

"My brothers are probably starting another betting pool," Ginny said. "Probably about Harry's love life, if I know them."

About two hours later, while a fair number of the young people were dozing and others talking quietly so as not to wake those who were asleep; the train lurched violently amidst a squeal of metal. Everyone was tossed about a bit. No one clearly knew what was happening although those who had spent that time at Longbottom Farm had a disturbing suspicion.

"We're there?" a rising First Year boy asked.

"Not hardly," Hermione said. "We're 'bout three hours out."

"Why are we stopping?" someone asked.

"Not much of an Express if it stops," another voice added.

"Is it just me, or is it getting colder?"

It was getting colder and the atmosphere was getting depressing. Soon they could see their breath as they breathed. Some were shivering and a few of the youngest were beginning to whimper. Harry was trying to keep a clear head, but it was hard as images of his time at the Dursleys from before Hogwarts kept popping into his head. "They're coming," he said. "Wands!"

House Potter and House Longbottom drew wands.

"It's harder when they're around," Astoria said. Harry knew what she meant.

"Not the memory, the feeling," Neville said. "It's the last to go."

"If that door opens, cast," Harry said. He truly hoped it would not open. He knew of dementors from his future memories but had no actual memory of them. He was beginning to think that he now knew why and wondered how Sirius had survived those things. There wasn't one in the compartment and they did not know how close one might be, but this was awful enough. They could hear some people screaming outside of the compartment. Harry looked around and saw that all of the rising First Years had been gathered behind him and the others. The sounds of screams was coming closer although it was hard to tell how close. The Professor remained asleep. Harry saw the handle on the door turn. "Wait for it," he whispered to those near him. He could not know if any of them were capable. As Neville had said, he focused not on a memory, but the feeling. The door was now opening and then it seemed to glide in.

It was only a second or less but it seemed longer. The thing seemed to floated above the ground. It wore tattered, black robes and a hood, more like a cowl, was pulled over where the head would be. It turned to face Harry and the others, ignoring the professor. There seemed to be no face, no head beneath the cowl, only blackness. Slowly it started to move towards them, towards Harry.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry said forcefully holding on to the feeling he had felt through most all of the summer. A bright light filled the compartment and the dread and depression vanished in an instant. He wondered if it was just him. Between him and that thing stood the spectral stag he had seen countless times in practice and then the stag charged. It seemed to impale the cloaked demon, but that couldn't be, could it? Nevertheless, a high pitched and inhuman scream filled the compartment, as did several spectral animals, all racing forward. They seemed to ignore the apparent struggle between stag and demon and flew out the door heading off down the train's passageway. The stag was shaking its head violently from side to side and still the thing screamed. It moved back and forth with the Stag's head even more violently until there was a noise almost like a "Pop." The robes fell to the floor, empty of anything and the stag charged out the door following the spectral menagerie.

"What the…?" the sleeping Professor said leaping to his feet and drawing his wand. "Wait here," he commanded before heading out into the passageway himself.

"What the bloody hell was that?" a high pitched voice asked from behind him.

"Dementor, I would suspect," Harry heard Hermione say. "Never seen one before, but it fit the descriptions I've read."

"You all didn't think magic was all fun and games, did you," Harry said trying to calm down as he stared at the empty robes. "There's some nasty stuff too. That's about as nasty as anything I've experienced."

"It looked like death 'cept without the curvy knife thing," another voices said, this one shaking.

"It's believed the image of death in art is based on those things, but they aren't it," Hermione said.

"Chocolate," another voice said. Harry glanced back and saw Perenelle passing out pieces of brown stuff he guessed was the confection. "It's an interesting chemical cocktail," she said. "One of its effects is that it makes you feel better when you're feeling down. Read it in a book once," she added by way of explanation and to cover her real knowledge of the topic.

"It seems to work," a voice said, although it sounded like that person had some in his or her mouth.

"What were those white things?" a girl asked. "They were nice. Where they animals 'cause they looked like animals."

"They're called a patronus," Neville said. "It's a magical projection of positive force. Think of it as very, very happy magic. It's supposed to drive those things away."

"Where'd you lot learn to do that?" Oliver Wood the lone Seventh Year in the Compartment asked. He was also the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and had been teaching a number of the new students – all boys – about the magical sport with the help of Fourth Year Chaser Katie Bell. "They don't teach that 'til N.E.W.T. Level Charms!"

"Only 'cause we've had such brilliant Defense Professors," Tracy Davis said sarcastically. "The standard curriculum is supposed to include it beginning in Third Year. Given the last two Defense Professors, a few of us got together with a private instructor over the summer."

"I can't even do that yet," Oliver countered. "It's…"

"Draining," Neville replied. "It's a powerful charm, but it drains you more than most spells would."

"That was not supposed to happen," Harry added. He had walked up to the robes and was tapping them with his foot as if to see if the thing was really gone. "Neville's right. It's a powerful charm that drives them off if done right. It has no physical substance. It's not supposed to be able to gore those things and rip them apart."

"Then why did that one?" a voice asked.

"No idea," Harry mused. "Seems to be the story of my life. If it can't happen, just wait. It will happen to me."

Some of the people in the room laughed.

Albus Dumbledore had not forgotten about his plans for House Potter. Far from it. But for over two years now, it had become a much lower priority and certainly something that could wait. After all he had not really thought of moving forward with it until the Weasley girl had reached Bonding Age and she had not even begun to … well, he did not like to think about that. It meant the earliest he could consider encouraging a relationship was not until next school year. The truth was, once he had found it necessary to obliviate the girl's parents when they had second thoughts and refused to act reasonably – they had gone so far as to state they'd sent all their children to St. Michaels before ever considering going through with the terms of the Contract – Dumbledore had resigned himself to the fact that he would have to wait until Harry's Sixth Year, which was when he could set Severus on the unsuspecting couple without having to let the girl's parents know about it. That was still more than soon enough seeing as the boy could not truly exercise control until later. But he had not thought of any of that in a long while.

Like most everyone else in the Wizarding World, Dumbledore had believed that Voldemort had died that night in Godric's Hollow. He had known when the wards protecting the Potters had collapsed and had sent Hagrid there by portkey to find out what was going on. He had others in the area, but none were as trustworthy as Hagrid. Then Hagrid showed up at Hogwarts with the child, the only survivor of that attack. Dumbledore saw a new opportunity. Believing the Prophecy fulfilled, he had set in motion a spur of the moment plan to deal with House Potter once and for all. By controlling the heir, he would control the seat and the votes and thirty-four votes would shift the balance of power away from the Moderates and their Muggle ideas and to the Liberals and his Greater Good.

True, there had been some bumps to smooth out. Getting Guardianship over the boy had been easy. He had the emergency Guardianship the next day which allowed him to place the boy at the Dursleys. He placed the wards on the home to protect the boy from any retaliation. After all, if the boy died, thirty-three of the House Potter votes would die with him. True, this would hurt the Moderates, but it would not truly shift power into his hands.

One look at the Potter Will and he knew getting permanent Guardianship would not be an issue unless challenged. He believed that Black was the Potter's Secret Keeper and therefore had to either be a Death Eater or in league with them, otherwise how could the Secret have been revealed? He also knew that another primary beneficiary was a Werewolf. Those who might allow the Will despite its benefiting a Death Eater would join the majority in the Wizengamot regardless of affiliation and reject it because few could believe the Head of an Ancient and Noble House would leave such sums as described to a Werewolf. The Will was either a fraud or procured through fraud. That Dumbledore knew this was not the case was both irrelevant and not likely to ever see the light of day. But there were still loose ends in those Marriage Contracts. Those people might not know about the Will, but they would know they had a legally enforceable claim to the boy. Nothing a memory charm could not fix.

It then became a simple question of keeping Harry ignorant of his heritage until it was too late. This was the other reason for leaving him with his mother's sister. That woman had no clue who the Potters were or what that could mean and, coupled with her pathological distrust of magic, Harry would arrive at Hogwarts without any idea about anything in the Wizarding World. The one potential problem was that Dumbledore could not control the Sorting Hat. It would sort Harry where it sorted Harry. He figured there was a good chance the boy would be sorted into Gryffindor as his parents had been and as the last five generations of Potter had been, but this was not certain. Gryffindor was the best option from Dumbledore's perspective. Of all the Houses, it was the one least impressed by titles. You made your name for yourself by what you did and not who your family was. The absolute worst possibility would have been Slytherin. Many of the students there practically memorized family lineages, theirs and anyone else in their House. Fortunately, Harry was sorted into Gryffindor. Unfortunately, so was his potential Bond Mate. But Dumbledore dismissed that as something not in need of attention. She was an outcast and even if she seemed friendly with the boy, there was no reason to suspect they would bond. Having the ability to do so and actually doing so were very different things. He paid it little attention. Then again, the whole plan against House Potter was no longer top priority.

Everything changed three months before the boy arrived to be sorted. Quinirus Quirrell had returned from a couple of years of travels abroad to assume the position as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. House Potter was not the biggest threat to Dumbledore's Greater Good, just a historical irritant. The greatest threat in recent years was Voldemort. Dumbledore knew that somehow, Quirrell had found something of the man all thought to be dead and somehow that man, while not alive, was also not dead. Over his long life, Dumbledore had developed the ability to detect a person's magical signature. It was not a particularly useful talent. The person had to be physically close to detect anything at all. Even then, the talent was of little use unless you were familiar with the signature to begin with and the person standing before you and the signature did not match. It was a good defense against polyjuice potion and he had been able to detect an animagus by recognizing their human signature, but little else. When Quirrell returned, Dumbledore detected two such signatures, one of which was that of a man he long had written off as dead. This now took priority over any of his other plans. Moreover, he guessed correctly that Voldemort's goal was to get to Hogwarts to kill Harry Potter. In addition to the Prophecy, which told Dumbledore that should the boy die by Voldemort's hand, all would be lost, there was also the fact that it would destroy House Potter. Dumbledore wanted control of that House, not its destruction. Besides, while he had suspicions, Dumbledore needed to know how Voldemort had managed to cheat death.

He needed a distraction and a trap. He had to tempt this form of Voldemort with something of greater value than killing the boy as soon as possible. He also needed a trap to capture Voldemort. He suspected Voldemort could free himself of Quirrell with ease and be gone. He needed a trap in a place that nothing, not even a spirit could escape. For Dumbledore, the next few months and for all of Harry's First Year that had followed, he had spent his time setting and building this trap to catch his prey. The bait was the Philosopher's Stone. It was not the real one although Dumbledore doubted that mattered. Only two people on Earth really knew anything about the real stone including what it could and could not do and neither of them was named either Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle or Lord Voldemort. But what it was rumored to be capable of doing; that was another matter entirely. The Stone was used to distract Voldemort away from Harry. Harry had to live to fulfill the Prophecy that obviously was not fulfilled the night his parents died. Voldemort had taken possession of Quirrell knowing full well that such possession would only be temporary and would kill the host leaving him once again a disembodied spirit. The Stone promised much, much more. It was one thing to kill the boy who had defeated him and remain defeated. It was quite another to regain a body and live again. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would choose to wait to kill the boy if waiting allowed his to return to his former power and have a second chance at his goal of dominion over all.

Quirrell knew that the stone would be at Hogwarts within days of Dumbledore's deciding to set a trap. The whole faculty knew, for they would be enlisted to help build the trap. Aside from Trelawney, Kettleburn, Babbage and Binns but including Quirrell, every Professor would add their talents to the trap and only Dumbledore would know all of the traps and tricks. It should have been all but fool proof. Many of the obstacles would stump most witches and wizards. Some were potentially lethal.

Another person might have thought the entire convoluted scheme was some kind of test for one Harry Potter. It was not that at all. It was a magical obstacle course designed to keep Voldemort interested and lead him into a trap. It had to be hard enough to be credible to Voldemort, but not completely impossible and it had to delay him long enough for Dumbledore to get into position to spring the final trap. That meant some of the obstacles had to be lethal, many had to be tricky and a few had to be such that a mistake would make the Stone unobtainable.

The first obstacle was the student body. Dumbledore's seemingly unwise warning about the Third Floor Corridor which seemed to have been made to deter students was made with exactly the opposite intent. Dumbledore knew full well what would happen. Scores of students would be trying to find out just what it was that made that corridor a place where one might suffer "a most painful death." It would be weeks before the curious and foolhardy either sated their desires or grew bored with it.

The next trap was the door itself that was warded. Any wizard with even a rudimentary skill at ward breaking would detect the ward and know it was an alarm and Voldemort's skills were hardly rudimentary. He would know that until the ward was deactivated, anyone opening the door would set off an alarm in Dumbledore's office and several other staff offices. All Heads of House would be alerted as would Madam Pomfrey and they would know who opened the door. If it was anyone other than a student, there would be a staff member there quickly. It would take hours to study and more hours to deactivate this ward without triggering the alarm and with the parade of students looking for an adventure, such time was not available. The Troll on Halloween was set loose to get the entire student body out of the way to allow Voldemort to study this problem. It failed because Snape had got there first and because a couple of First Years had found and defeated the Troll much sooner and more easily than expected. It took months for the interest to die down to the point for Voldemort to work his way past this first obstacle.

Dumbledore had believed his plan that would lure Voldemort deeper and deeper into a trap could not fail and it nearly had not. Fluffy and the flying keys were not as obvious obstacles as they seemed and failure to figure the right way past them would find the person in an inescapable trap caused by a detectable yet unbreakable cascading ward array. It was unbreakable because you had to get past the associated obstacle without triggering the wards to even find the runes that controlled the wards.

McGongall's chess set would stump many a wizard as she was a very accomplished player and her transfigured board was her equal. It had nearly stopped Voldemort in his tracks and it took him six games to win and open the way forward. Snapes riddle was so obvious that Voldemort did not trust it and resorted to detection charms which took time as well. It had taken Voldemort twelve hours to negotiate the labyrinth to reach the final obstacle, one which Dumbledore felt that only he could get past.

But Dumbledore had assumed too many things. He assumed that the person navigating the labyrinth would go it alone and not as a team, that it would be a person who would never cooperate with another. He assumed that any student who attempted the labyrinth would make a critical mistake and find themselves trapped or facing his forewarned "most painful death." He assumed no one could easily beat McGonagall at chess and finally that he had eliminated the possibility of luck being a factor. With the help of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry had made it through the entire labyrinth in a little over an hour including the final obstacle, arriving at the mirror only fifteen minutes behind Voldemort and getting the fake stone in seconds.

This past year, when the Chamber was first opened, Dumbledore knew exactly what was going on but was at a loss to explain it. While he suspected a student was the source of the attacks, he never suspected a student was possessed by a diary or anything close to it. He suspected for years that the monster was a basilisk. The problem was his usual source of information about what was moving about the school – the ghosts and portraits and elves – were not immune to the creature. Ghosts had been incapacitated, portraits petrified and still had not been reanimated and several elves had died. Moreover, it did not matter if he knew what the monster was since he had no idea where the Chamber was or how to get into it; problems Harry solved within minutes of learning from a petrified Hermione that the monster was most likely a basilisk.

But the last two years had shown conclusively to Dumbledore that Voldemort was not dead and indeed was trying to become whole again. Moreover and more disturbingly, Dumbledore now knew how Voldemort had cheated death and that he had without a doubt more safeguards than one would consider prudent. Until all of them were found and destroyed, one could kill Voldemort over and over again and he would still be able to return. Voldemort had to be defeated. Harry had to be the one to defeat him for the Prophecy was clear that only Harry could do so. Dumbledore's plans for House Potter weren't worth a Knut so long as Voldemort was kicking about. He wanted to focus on that. But that idiot Fudge had stepped in it and now it seemed all of his time was split between the Wizengamot trying to sweep it all under the table and the ICW itching to stick it to magical Britain. If he was not very capable, Britain could be subjected to painful sanctions. He did not need this distraction, not now.


	34. Chapter 34: Secrets Revealed

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: SECRETS REVEALED**

**WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1****st**** 1993**

"Is everybody in here alright?" a voice asked. Harry looked up for the first time in he did not know how long although it probably was only a few minutes. While he had heard everything that was going on around him and even participated in the conversation, he had somehow become fascinated with the robe on the floor. The source of the voice was the man R.J. Lupin according to his trunk; the man who had been asleep on the bench in the compartment since before the train had even truly started loading up with students for this trip. Voices called out that they were okay.

"Nothing a little chocolate couldn't help," a voice said behind him. Harry guessed it was one of the first years.

"I stand amazed," the man said. "I had been led to believe this school as suffered from a drought of poor or worse Defense Professors."

"You were not misled," Oliver Wood said. "If anything, they began as bad and have been progressively worse."

"And yet, before me is a most confusing picture. First off, I am pretty sure this compartment did not look this way when I boarded…"

"Expansion charms," Harry began.

"Yours?"

"Not exactly. Dobby?"

Harry's Elf popped to his side. "Would kind Sirs be wantings in a snack? Beverage? Dobby be havings a large choices of juices at the snack table. If Sirs be wanting somethings more adultsish, Dobby cans be accommodating, Sir."

"This is my elf Dobby, Sir," Harry said. "I asked him to modify this compartment so my friends and I could ride together."

"You do realize I am going to be one of your professors," the man said.

"It's why I chose this compartment, Sir," Harry replied. "While most of us like to think we're well behaved, I knew that the Weasley Twins would probably join us and they're said to be the legendary Marauders closest rivals."

"Now Harrykins," one of the Twins said. "Only closest rivals?"

"We'd like to think we are building upon greatness…"

"Not merely following it…"

"Or simply repeating the feats of merriment of yore."

"Why just last year, McGonagall herself told us…"

"That's she's already gained more gray hairs from us in our first four years…"

"Than she did from said Legendary Marauders in their first four…"

"Suggesting, however…"

"That we may yet fall short in equaling their final three years."

"Having known the Marauders personally when I was your age," the professor chuckled, "I shall be keeping an eye on you two. I would be loath to dock points or assign a detention unnecessarily. But I will not hesitate if I catch you in what I deem to be a pedestrian prank."

"I do believe that is a most refreshing attitude from a member of the Staff, Fred."

"Indeed it is George. Most of his soon to be colleagues would see us docked for even thinking…"

"Even looking like we might be thinking…

"About thinking…"

"About maybe considering…"

"Actually engaging in…"

"Prank-like activities," they finished together.

The professor laughed. "Well," he said, "in my day Professor McGonagall was Professor McGonagall and she took a keen interest in the activities of the Marauders. Of course, that may also have been because they were in her House. I, on the other hand, was just their lowly roommate and their year's Prefect who tended to look the other way lest he become the attraction and not the spectator."

"Perhaps some pointers?"

"Suggestions?"

"I'm afraid that would be crossing a line," the Professor said. "Back to my original point, I was told that the quality of instruction in defense has been lacking and yet … and yet unless I was mistaken, when a dementor attempted to enter this compartment, there were quite a few corporeal patronus charms case, far more than I can see upper years. And you knew that chocolate would aid in recovering from the effects of exposure. Not to mention this," he added indicating the robe on the floor. "Is this what I think it is?"

"It's all that's left of the thing that came in here," a voice said. "That great, white deer tore it to pieces."

"I have heard tell of a patronus powerful enough to harm a dementor, but not one that could destroy one, much less two."

"Two?" several voices asked.

"Indeed. Ten or more of the charms from this compartment had cornered another dementor at the end of this carriage and the stag finished it off as well. This is all that was left," he dropped another robe on top of the first. Harry had not noticed it. "I must say, I've never heard of anything that can destroy a dememtor so don't ask me how it happened now. May I ask who the casters were and their houses so that points may be awarded? Mind you, you will have to await your first lesson as the awarding of points cannot be official until after the beginning of the term?"

Eleven hands rose in the air.

"Name, House, patronus form and year, if you please beginning with you, young man," he said looking at Harry.

Harry glanced at Neville who nodded. "Dobby, seal the compartment," he commanded and there was a flash of magic. "Much of what follows may be under a Fidelus charm, Sir," Harry explained. "For that our Secret Keeper will be asked to reveal such information. Much of what is not will probably become public perhaps as early as tonight, but … better yet, Hermione? Our names and status?"

The professor noted a girl nodded and began uttering a long incantation. He recognized it. "You can do that too?"

Harry nodded. "She can. We know that for certain. We were taught it and other things that many think we're too young to learn. We're of the opinion the many are too lazy to teach. Are we set?"

"Aside from the final setting of the Secret Keeper," the girl nodded. "Same as before?"

Harry nodded and turned to the Professor. "Lord Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Earls of Finchley, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca, Baron of Loch Sheen, Sir. Gryffindor, rising Third Year, the Stag." Harry noticed the man's jaw drop and heard some gasps from behind.

"Lord Neville Aloysius Longbottom, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Earls of Pendle, Colne and Marston, Barons of Tulhume and Halden Moor, Sir. Gryffindor, rising Third Year, the bear."

"Lady Hermione Potter, Countess Designate of Finchley, Sir. Gryffindor, rising Third Year, the otter."

And it continued through the wives of Harry and Neville. They were followed by four others.

"Miss Virginia Ellen Potter, Betrothed of Lord Potter, Sir. Gryffindor, rising Second Year, the horse."

"Miss Astoria Greengrass, Betrothed of Lord Longbottom, Sir. I've yet to be sorted. Rising First Year, the Wild Boar."

"Mr. Peter Parker, born as Nicholas Flamel 1326. Again a rising Firstie for the seventh time. The Hawk last is my wife Perenelle now known as Amanda Crosby."

"Mine was the swan," the girl indicated.

"They're my Great-grandparents," Luna said. "Or at least they were a few days ago."

"You know, Luna, we have a lot of distant Great grandchildren in this room," Amanda/Perenelle said.

"But I am the most recent," Luna said brightly.

"You are indeed."

"What's with the Virginia Potter, Ginny?" George asked.

"Our parents betrothed me to Harry after he lost his parents," Ginny said. "Dumbledore signed on Harry's behalf. Had that contract remained as it was, I would've cost Harry his Head of House status. He saved my life end of last year and was able to make me a Potter without marrying me or adopting me so that the contract can't do that. Were I still been a Weasley when we get married – which will be next summer – he would lose everything he was born to when he turns either seventeen or twenty-one. It's more complicated than that, but that's the short version. Mum and Dad didn't know it'd do that when they signed. We think they found out and were obliviated."

"What's that mean?" a voice asked.

"It means having your memory erased," Hermione said.

"You can do that?"

"I can't. But yes, it can be done with magic. Magic can do all sorts of wonderful things, but it can also do some horrible things. It's like technology. We can save and improve lives with technology, and we can kill millions in an hour or less as well. Like anything, magic is not good or evil. That distinction lies within the magician."

"Well said," Peter / Nicholas said.

"I take it then that you taught these young people?" the Professor said after a long pause looking at the former Flamels.

"We taught them the Fidelius Charm and are teaching them Occlumency – something we will help our new classmates here present with," Nicholas/Peter said. "The patronus charm was taught by Lord Potter's godfather Sirius Black."

"But…but…but…" the Professor began.

"Ginny?" Harry said.

Ginny walked forward, stood beside the Professor and looked at the crowd of faces. "Everything you have ever read, everything you have ever been told about The-Boy-Who-Lived and what happened in Godric's Hollow that night in 1981, aside from the fact that Voldemort popped by for a visit – and not a friendly one – is a lie. James and Lily Potter did not die that night, although they were in no state to do much of anything until this past July 31st. Sirius Black was not their Secret Keeper, that was Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black did not kill Peter, nor did he kill a dozen Muggles, nor was he ever a Death Eater or supporter of Voldemort. He was and is Harry's Godfather. Pettigrew killed those Muggles and faked his own death in such a way that Lord Black was framed for it all. And whatever you may have heard about Lord Black's visit to Gringotts last month, aside from the fact he was there and was seen, is also a lie."

"So the bit about Harry surviving the Killing Curse?" Katie Bell asked.

"We don't know what really happened that night after my parents' spell was triggered and they were replaced by doppelgangers," Harry said. "Basically, they had prepared for that attack. What people found later and thought were my parents were actually a couple of elaborately transfigured pigs as in the barnyard kind, bacon and all. There was a third one that was supposed to replace me, but that didn't happen. I have no memory of what did happen and last I checked, Voldemort's not given any interviews. To say I survived actually being hit by that curse is pure speculation. Aside from a dead body, that curse leaves no sign at all and in my case … there wasn't the dead body, was there?"

The Professor sat down. "James and Lily are alive? How?"

"The how is complicated," Harry said in a kind voice. "I can't even begin to describe what they did beyond what you've been told already. When Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at each of them, it triggered the magic. James and then Lily were transported to the Valley. At the same time, their doppelgangers replaced them. The curse hit the doppelgangers which were already quite dead. My parents were transported to a place under a stasis charm. Neither they, nor the elves could lift the charm. They assumed that either Sirius Black or their other friend Remus Lupin would come to the Valley where the elves would take them to where they were to lift the charm. I think they'd say there was a flaw in their plan. Namely that neither of their friends ever came. It was only by pure happenstance – namely my bondings and marriages that resulted in my gaining the Valley as a marriage present – that I was able to do it instead."

"And Sirius? He's innocent?"

"Well, he didn't do anything they say he did or anything that should've seen him chucked into Azkaban without a trial. But this is Sirius Black. Innocent and Sirius Black are contradictions."

The Professor snorted. "I didn't know. All this time… My best friends…"

"Sir?" a voice asked.

After a few minutes, the Professor gathered himself together. "This is under your Fidelius, right?"

"We haven't set the parameters, Sir," Hermione replied. "So it is."

"What's a Fidelius?" a voice asked.

"It's a type of charm that can be used to keep secrets. The details are complex. Essentially, once I set the secret, only the Secret Keeper can tell others. That's why Ginny told you about Sirius Black and Harry's parents 'cause for now that information is under that kind of charm. Ginny, as Secret Keeper can tell others. The rest of you will know, but cannot tell. You magic prevents you. It is so effective that those witches and wizards who can search your thoughts can never find it. There are potions that can force you to tell the truth, spells that take over your will, none can get to the secret from anyone but the Secret Keeper."

"Wicked!" the Twins said.

"It's an easy charm and yet exceedingly hard at the same time. The more people who know of the secret before the spell is begun, the more complex the secret, the harder and harder the spell becomes. So in all probability, if you two are thinking of hiding the school loos from the Slytherins, you'd need to be Merlin like to succeed."

"You're no fun," one of them said.

"You were saying, Sir?"

"The Marauders were known as Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," the Professor said. "Later on, there was a fifth one who was never named, at least she never had a Marauder name. Prongs is James Potter. Padfoot is Sirius Black, Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew, the one who betrayed his friends. The unnamed one was a Prefect and later Head Girl: Lily Evans now Lily Potter. Finally there's Mooney, also a Prefect. Prongs would become Head Boy. So, you two would be usurpers of Marauder notoriety, you may see why McGonagall does not think your final years will be as interesting. Are either of you Prefects?"

"That would ruin our self-image," one of the Twins said although no longer convinced.

"Not to mention our carefully crafted reputation," the other said.

"But it would've given us the perfect cover," the first said. The two shrugged. "No worries," one said. "We have that covered."

"Oh?"

"The unknown suspects who never get caught: Lee Thomas and Alicia Spinet are Prefects."

"Should not have told me that…"

"It'll be under Fidelius," Hermione countered.

"So, Wise One," a Twin said, "who is or was this Moony chap?"

"His name is Remus Lupin. He is me."

Two jaws dropped realizing they were in the presence of greatness.

Albus Dumbledore had actually arrived much earlier than he had thought. He now felt as if it would have been wiser or at least less stressful had he arrived at the last minute. He stared at the documents before him, as he had in private for half an hour before calling this meeting of his four Heads of Houses and Madam Pomfrey. The papers were notifications from Gringotts about several students with supporting documentation. There was a stack that included five such notifications that really did not bother him. It was the stack of four that had him concerned.

He had placed gaining control of House Potter way down upon the list of things to do and things to watch. He now knew this had been a mistake. His schemes assumed certain things, things he thought he had well in hand. Obviously he had missed something very important. His plan worked only so long as Harry remained in the dark about everything at least until he married the Weasley girl, at which time it would be too late. His work all those years ago was to eliminate complications, and Harry's bonding with either of those two witches was a significant complication as he would gain access to his House files, including the Betrothal Contract for the Weasley girl.

Somehow he had missed Harry getting close to Granger. He knew they were friends. But it was a long way between friendship and a bonding even where there was compatible magic. And yet here was the notification. They were bonding. He had completely missed out on the Lovegood girl. How did that happen? But again, she too was bonding with Harry. Those bonds had been turned into marriages the next day and the parents of Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood's father and Great-Grandparents had agreed to it, not just back then but just two months ago.

Any other attempt to subordinate his contract to another one would fail. There was a clause that prevented Potter from getting out from under Dumbledore's thumb on his own. Were he to enter into his own betrothal or run off with another witch, Dumbledore's contract allowed those things to be invalidated as if they never happened. But those contracts signed by his parents and re-executed when James Potter took full control of House Potter were exceptions. Not even Albus Dumbledore could declare such contracts invalid just because they were inconvenient. They predated his own and therefore had priority.

There was a weakness in the Vassalage clause. It was not a certain one for there had been no case that said it was. But he knew that many on the Wizengamot might well use this weakness to thwart his plans. The Weasley girl had to be the primary if not only wife, otherwise it could be said that contract could not be enforced and he could not make the Weasley girl the primary wife after the fact. He could not even do it back then. That was the main reason he capped those memories. Whether Harry married any of the others was not nearly as important as who he married first. So long as it was the Weasley girl, the plan was safe.

Keeping Harry in the Muggle World, despite its risks of radical ideas, should have instilled him with their mores. A Muggle Raised wizard like Harry would balk at marrying more than one witch. He would balk at marrying before the age of eighteen. Such things just were not done or were illegal in Muggle England. But that had failed for some reason. Harry was twelve when he married not just Granger and Lovegood but Greengrass and Abbott as well. Dumbledore's pick for the Lady Potter was now fifth in line. He needed some way to change this to advance his own choice and preserve that Vassalage Clause. It was a pity bonding age was an absolute. It would be almost a year at least before any marriage between the Weasley girl and Harry could even be considered.

He looked at the faculty in the office.

"It would seem," he said trying to sound bemused, "that a few of our students had a rather eventful Summer Holiday."

Snape snorted. "While I am sorely disappointed that my two brightest students in that year are mixed up in this nonsense, I don't see it as changing anything. They are under sixteen after all. We are not required to recognize either their so called marriages or any other so called privileges."

"That is not entirely true, Severus. We are required to recognize their marriages. The rules are harsh on students who should attempt to take liberties with a married student or to seduce a student who is another's spouse. In this regard, the attempt is considered as serious as a successful assault. We can also be expected to address the young ladies by their married names. But yes, it is not as if they are sixteen."

"So they shall be required to live in their dormitories as before?" Snape asked. "That would be my recommendation. I doubt these are consummated relations and would consider it irresponsible for us to … encourage such relations. Keep them as they are and this matter shall go away in time."

"They have until twenty-one to consummate," Sprout countered. "I doubt separating them now will matter one way or another."

"My concern is for the House System," Snape said. "The rules for older students is clear. While in school, if a couple marries, the wife is permanently transferred to her husband's House in regards to lodging, class assignments, meals and I would add Quidditch were the affected young women from my House players. As I said, Miss Greengrass and Miss Davis are my two top students academically. To shift them over to Gryffindor…"

"So this has nothing to do with the young gentlemen in question?" McGonagall asked sarcastically.

"My opinion of those two … gentlemen … is well known here. Be that as it may, the fact remains that Miss Greengrass ranks third in her year and Miss Davis seventh. My next highest is Mr. Zabini at twelfth. All the others in my House in that year are in the bottom half and five are in the bottom quarter."

"Including the four lowest standing students," Flitwich said. "It is not as if your House has been setting any academic records for stellar achievement in recent years, Severus. Nor can you blame either the two Gentlemen in question or their two brides for their predicament. These were contracted betrothals made long before the children had even seen this school; even before you were hired. Mr. Potter was less than a year old and Miss Greengrass not a year and a half. Both Miss Davis and Mr. Longbottom were under the age of seven. The potential effect on your academic standing could not have been a consideration in entering into such an agreement."

"And," Severus countered, "I have the further concern that to encourage such promiscuity would be detrimental for all concerned."

"Your House is not known for its sexual restraint, Severus," McGonagall said. "It is well known to have looser morals than the others."

"I concede we are not hampered by the archaic Muggle mores. But to encourage or even support the situation presented? Is this what we wish for all of our students? If it is, I dare say we will need to either admit far more witches or far fewer wizards so that each young man can attain his herd of fillies. Or perhaps we should just marry them off right after the sorting and be done with it."

"It is true they are young," Dumbledore said. "But they all have obtained bonding age which means at least within a range of a couple of years, they may consent between themselves without legal recourse. Moreover, our laws do recognize bonding age as the true lower legal limit for valid marriages provided the proper grounds for a minority age marriage exist. While we have no reason to suspect pregnancy – and please tell me this is the case, Poppy."

"Without an examination, I cannot say. But all the young ladies were neither sexually active with boys nor pregnant at the time of their last examinations prior to these marriages. Mr. Potter's marriages occurred within a week of the commencement of his summer holiday. Mr. Longbottom's were well within less than a month. As the girls are under sixteen, they cannot refuse contraceptive potion so I have no reason to believe any of these marriages are predicated upon the young lady being in the family way."

"I find this discussion as to the activities of the young ladies in question distasteful," Flitwick said. "Two of the young ladies are from my House after all and more importantly their bonds are among the reasons which justify a marriage at such a young age without regard to questions of their sexual activity or virtue. I can read the Gringotts notification as well as you can. Miss Lovegood and Miss Patil have shared compatible magic with their young wizard since the birth of the younger of them and the magic shows they have begun to bond. So long as that is the case and they have attained their bonding age, all other questions are academic. They may marry at that time or anytime thereafter with or without consent of parent or guardian and are to be deemed as adults under our law as of the date of that marriage. In my view, this means they are entitled to married student quarters. The age restriction was to discourage young pregnancies and marriages arising from young promiscuity and to encourage all students to sit their O.W.L.s. A bond can neither be encouraged or discouraged. It either happens or it does not and the rest of the arguments raised do not change this fundamental fact."

"Fine then," Snape said. "Allow these bonding ones a reward for their … behavior however benign. But it does not follow that the same consideration need be extended to those witches who do not share a bond with the young … gentlemen … in question."

"Are we not then deciding that one marriage is more valid than the other?" Sprout said. "Both of my students are regents of Ancient and Noble Houses in their own right and their marriages to these young men are by Line Continuation, reiterating their hereditary positions in our society. Are you saying that because they share no bond they must be treated as any other student as opposed to the Regents that they are – through no fault of their own? Would the Head of Slytherin be willing to concede that mere Muggle Borns may be treated as adults at a younger age than a de facto, emancipate Head of an Ancient and Noble House? Given the expressed attitude of your Students, your position flies in the face of what your own students would seem to accept as proper!"

"We are dealing with bonds, without which none of this could have happened in either family," McGonagall said. "These marriages were arranged between the families; all of the families. I have no reason to doubt that the families knew of each other and knew this was a very real possibility. We are not dealing with a situation where the young people themselves behaved in any way irresponsibly…"

"I would disagree with that," Snape said. "Or I should at least say there is no evidence that would allow us not to question the behavior that led to this situation. Correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is bond such as these are sexual in nature?"

"In that they can only occur between a man and a woman of bonding age, you would be correct," Madam Pomfrey said. "A sexual act, however, does not create such a bond. The bond is magical and emotional, but not sexual in nature. At their ages, sexual activity might well be counterproductive and it is entirely probable their bonding process represses rather than encourages such desires and behavior."

"What I was saying, Severus," McGonagall continued, "is that we're not dealing with young people who married at this age because they behaved irresponsibly and the marriage is deemed both appropriate and necessary to legitimize the results of their irresponsible activities. Likewise, this is not a situation where they could marry without a contract or bond and did so despite their youth. The young men and most of the young women for that matter are not Slytherins trying to avoid a distasteful situation of their parents making…"

"Enough!" Dumbledore said. "We are not here to cast such aspersions one way or another. This is a question of how do we as a school handle this development, not why it happened in the first place. The question of why is one better left to their families and, as these documents show, their families have – most regrettably – decided the issue. Despite how this appears on paper, I do not think the situations between the Longbottom arrangements are in any way similar to the Potter arrangements. That may well have been the intent of their families, but it is not the reality as we sit here today. We cannot, in my opinion, treat them as the same situation."

"I disagree entirely," McGonagall said. "We are not the Wizengamot! Nothing in our Charter grants us that degree of discretion!"

"Without regard to the legal mumbo jumbo," Madam Pomfrey, "from my position as a Healer there is no relevant difference."

"Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Potter are very different young men…" Dumbledore began.

"Yes and no," Snape agreed. "They are both Gryffindors. Their similarities end there. Longbottom is a dunderhead and borderline Squib. Potter is a spoiled, arrogant little prince."

"You are the only one on the staff who is of that opinion, Severus," McGonagall shot back. "What little I know of Mr. Potter's life outside of Hogwarts – and I know far less than I believe I should – he is anything but spoiled, unlike many of your students! He may be more arrogant today than when he arrived here two years ago, but after what he has been through and done since arriving that is perfectly understandable and given what he's been through and has done, he is entirely modest…"

"I said it at the time," Snape said smugly, "he should never have been elevated to your House Team at such an age."

"This has nothing to do with Quidditch! Or do you forget about his struggle with a Mountain Troll at age eleven? I admit I docked him fifty points that year for being out after curfew, but his reasons for being out could be justified and my only real issue was he should've come to me before hand. The same could not be said for Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy's motivations were entirely selfish and spiteful. Mr. Potter and his friends were trying to help a member of this staff with a potentially dangerous situation, namely a young dragon. Then there's the situation with the Philosopher's Stone, a situation might I add that may not have happened had I taken them seriously at the time and would not have happened at all had Albus not seen this Castle as needed for a personal project unrelated to our mission of providing an education. Then there's this past year! The entire school turns against the boy again and again and in the end he is the one who dealt with the situation, again because we failed to do our jobs! As for Mr. Longbottom, I know for a fact he is using his father's wand. Clearly it's no match for him and yet he stands in the middle of his year in spell casting practicals. Most students would be hard pressed to perform as well under such circumstances!"

"Mr. Longbottom ranks at the top of his year in Herbology," Sprout nodded. "I dare say, he would probably rank at the top of almost any year right now. He runs a study group in the Greenhouses and has since First Year. Since First Year he's been tutoring students from all Houses and any year and that has included O.W.L.s!"

"Their performance in my Class…," Snape began.

"Please!" McGonagall interjected. "While you can claim far more success with your N.E.W.T. candidates than we enjoyed with your predecessor, you cannot possible claim the same thing for lower years! It is curious how poorly the other Houses perform in Potions as compared to Slytherin at least until they sit for their O.W.L.s. It is amazing to me how many of your poor students from the other houses do far better on that exam than their prior performance would indicate and how many of your Slytherins fall far, far below expectations based upon their performance leading into that exam!"

"Enough! This is not about teaching methods!" Dumbledore said. "I said there were differences between Mr. Longbottom's situation and Mr. Potter's and there are. I was not at all suggesting those differences or any similarities have or could have manifested themselves in class or even in school! Mr. Longbottom has been raised in our World by his Grandmother, the Widow of a Head of his Ancient and Noble House and Regent and Vote Holder of that House. No doubt, Mr. Longbottom has been raised with his future responsibilities to his House and our society in mind. Mr. Potter, on the other hand, is Muggle Raised and I can assure you had absolutely no knowledge of his heritage prior to setting foot in our world…"

"And whose bloody fault it that?" McGonagall began.

"What's done is done," Dumbledore said. "In addition, while these notifications do not mention it clearly, Mr. Potter is formally betrothed to another young woman. That betrothal was made without the knowledge of these prior arrangements." It was not a complete lie in that the Weasleys were not aware of those arrangements at the time. "My point is that one boy knows what is expected in his situation and the other does not. In my view, Mr. Longbottom should be afforded married student accommodations for himself and such of his ladies who may elect to join him while Mr. Potter's living arrangements should remain as they were at least until he fulfills all his outstanding commitments."

"And when will that occur?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Does that matter?"

"It does if it is your intent to send Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood home for the Christmas holidays in a pine box for their funerals!"

"That sounds rather dramatic, don't you think?"

"It is the nature of their bonding process! They must be together intimately and for a significant portion of each day until their bonds mature which will not be for several months and might not be for a few years. By that I do not mean it is necessary that they have intimate relations. As I said, their maturing bond suppresses such need. But they must share the same bed every night. Their magic is fusing or melding, for lack of a better term. If they are kept apart their magic will bleed away completely. If they are kept apart they will die. Their bonding, once begun, must be seen through to completion or you condemn them to death."

"Impossible!" Dumbledore said. "While it's true Mr. Potter seems to have spent the latter half of the summer holiday with Miss Granger's family, he was with his relations for the first month! I sincerely doubt his Muggle relations allowed such living arrangements. To be honest, even if Miss Granger's parents would be inclined to allow such arrangements for their daughter – which I doubt as they are Muggles – it is folly to suggest they would extend such hospitality to Miss Lovegood as well. Muggles in this Country would not accept such a situation!"

"The paperwork suggests otherwise, Albus," McGonagall said. "Miss Lovegood's book lists were posted to the same location as Mr. Potter's and Miss Granger's. Moreover, the Gringotts paperwork shows that Miss Granger's parents were present for the Marriage of Miss Lovegood and Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood's father and family were present for Mr. Potter and Miss Granger's nuptials. They obviously were aware of this situation and I dare say took the necessary steps – however they managed it – to further their bonds. You are saying it is necessary these bonding couples cohabitate, Poppy?"

"Unless you wish them permanent magical injury or death, yes," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Then our only choice is to allow that. Any other option is murder and given who the young gentlemen are might even be considered attempted line theft or usurpation."

Dumbledore sighed. "Fine."

"That reasoning does not extend to them all," Snape said. "Neither of my students lives are at risk. I do not see why I should lose them to support this folly."

"I agree with Severus," Dumbledore said, "if only because there is the outstanding betrothal. It would be a disservice to the family of that girl to set up a situation that might discourage that marriage. I would see allowing Mr. Potter to cohabitate with all his wives as a situation that would close him off to his obligations under that betrothal…"

"We cannot treat these marriages as separate things," Flitwick said.

"I agree," Professor Sprout said. "Although I might add shouldn't this be their choice?"

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked.

"The bonding couples – although that's somewhat an inaccurate term – they should be together in married student quarters. That we cannot avoid. But we do not know the minds of the other young ladies. They should be allowed to choose either to live with their husbands or to live in their dormitories. They are, after all, adults in the eyes of our law by virtue of their marriages."

"I agree," McGonagall said.

"We will put it to them," Dumbledore sighed. "I will insist, however, that Mr. Potter's remaining betrothed be allowed the same choice so as not to discourage that agreement."

"And what if Mr. Potter objects?" McGonagall said.

"That contract is binding on him," Dumbledore said almost losing his temper. "His objections are irrelevant! Set it up, Minerva. I want to see all students in question immediately following this evening's Feast."

Remus Lupin had been enjoying a conversation with Fred and George Weasley, although he still could not tell them apart, and Harry. He apologized profusely to Harry for not being there either for Harry or for Harry's parents. Harry told him not to worry. He could not have been even if he had tried. The wards that protected him at his relatives would have kept Remus away as well and they had kept Sirius at a distance. As for his parents, the flaw in their plan was forgetting how efficient the Ministry had become at protecting estates upon the death (or in this case believed death) of the owner. His parents' trunk was tucked away in the Potter Vault within hours of the attack and there was no way he or Sirius could have gone there without their own access trunk which, apparently, neither of them had. That was the flaw in his parents' plan.

The conversation with the twins had been those two describing their past achievements to the former Marauder. He made it clear from the beginning he would not regale them on his previous activities until he knew about theirs. He said that a teacher should never assume his students prior knowledge of the subject matter, hinting of more to come.

There was a knock on the door to the compartment.

"Bugger!" one of the twins said looking at the door. "It's our dementor of a brother."

"Excuse me?" Remus asked.

"Older brother Percy."

"Head Boy, now…"

"Big Head then add Boy…"

"Sucks all the fun out of a room just by being there."

"And the girl?" Remus asked as Percy was not alone.

"Penelope Clearwater," one of the Twins replied.

"Ravenclaw Prefect in his year."

"Possibly Head Girl."

"Definitely in his mind," one of them sniggered.

"I suppose this is business," Remus seemed to sigh. "Let them in."

"The Fidelius was cast. The door is no longer sealed." Harry said.

Remus waived the two in.

"This is not authorized," Percy Weasley said imperiously when he saw the rest of the compartment.

"Consider it authorized," Remus replied. "As a Professor, I do believe certain utilizations of magic are within my discretion."

"Sorry sir."

"I do not believe you stopped by to hand out detentions or dock points?"

"Sorry sir. No sir. I was told there would be a Professor aboard I was to report to regarding any unusual incidents, Sir."

"Let me guess, the presence of Dementors aboard this train qualifies?"

"That and inappropriate use of magic, Sir."

"Inappropriate? Something more than the usual nonsense that has been known to occur aboard this train?"

"Something was cast at those … dementors, Sir. I don't think such spells are…"

"I take it then, you are not familiar with the Patronus Charm?"

"Excuse me, Sir?"

"I thought not. I was told Hogwarts Defense instruction has been substandard for some years. You should have been taught that spell."

"It was not required for our O.W.L.s," Percy seemed to protest.

"Has anyone died?" Remus asked.

"Excuse me Sir, but…"

"Answer the question! You're Head Boy! I assume you've inspected this train front to back since that incident! If you haven't…"

"We have, Sir…"

"If you hadn't, that would've been in my report, I can assure you. Now answer the question: did anyone die?"

"The students are a little shaken up…" the girl began.

"Anyone includes more than students. Is anyone dead?"

"No sir." They both said.

"You've accounted for Mrs. Marks?"

"Who?"

"The woman who sells confections from the trolly!"

"She's okay," the girl answered. "She's passing out chocolate up forward."

"For free, I might add," Percy snorted.

"As well she should!" Remus replied. "At least someone other than myself knows what to do to counter the effects of a Dementor."

"Still, the unauthorized casting of spell…," Percy began.

"You should consider yourselves and everyone else aboard this train lucky."

"Sir?" Percy replied.

"It would seem that several students are not content with merely doing what your Professors consider required. Hence there were some more than capable of a proper Patronus Charm. In fact, I must say, they had theirs off dealing with those things before I could even draw my wand. Do you know what a dementor would have done had it found a person alone?"

"I'm sure the Ministry had the situation in hand, which is why…"

"Did you see any Ministry personnel aboard this train? I did not!"

"N-no Sir. But surely…"

"You assume those things are under the full control of the Ministry? They are dangerous and even more so without a handler in the immediate area. People are lost to those things at Azkaban all the time, and I don't mean the prisoners! Had anyone been found alone by one of those things, their family would be need to be notified that their child is either now a permanent resident of St. Mungos or where to pick up their loved one for burial. We should all be thankful that someone knew how to deal with this situation."

"But…"

"I was a Prefect when I was in school, young man. I was told my responsibility was first and foremost the safety of the students. Nothing else matters but that! And if following the rules allows for an unsafe situation to develop or continue, than the rules are to be overlooked and the situation dealt with! I would assume you were told that, but I guess things have really slipped. When I was a student Prefects were chosen for their maturity so that someone other than a member of the staff would be available to maintain safety and order and that means more than just following the rules, but using your judgment to know when the rules must not and cannot be followed."

"But if the Ministry…"

"Assumes that the Ministry had anything to do with the situation," Remus said. "It further assumes that if someone in the Ministry did, that they could expect to be in their job next week when word of this gets out and it already has. It's entirely possible those things were outside of Ministry control. Either way, there's likely to be an inquiry."

"Because someone interfered…"

"Because those things were loose on a train full of children! Were it not for the expeditious use of what you seem to think was inappropriate magic, I can assure you children would've been permanently harmed or killed! You seem to assume someone knew what they were doing. If anyone was responsible for those things being here, I'm fairly certain that when they are identified, they will spend the next several years getting to know those things very well as residents of Azkaban Prison! Now, having reported the only relevant and important information to me – namely that those things are gone and no one suffered permanent harm – is there anything else?"

"No Sir."

Harry was sharing a carriage to the school with Hermione, Luna, Ginny and her brothers Fred and George.

"We have to ask," one of the Twins said.

"Our duty as brothers of the only Weasley girl in generations demands it…"

"Our duty as brothers to a sister demands it, but that makes it more important…"

"What are your intentions towards our sister?"

"She is my betrothed and I am hers," Harry said. "We will marry at Gringotts next June once she's attained her Bonding Age. Until then, she's too young."

"Not what we meant."

"You meant the sex stuff."

"Crude, but…"

"We will behave in an age appropriate manner and as for that stuff, it will not happen before marriage and will not happen until she's old enough and we both agree it is the right thing to do. In other words, you should be asking her that question because whether and when that stuff happens will be her decision."

The two nodded.

"Had to ask."

"Truthfully, you're one of the few blokes we can stomach as … well as even a potential boyfriend for our Ginny."

"Just about anyone else…"

"Our plans were to prank them mercilessly."

"Good to know I don't have to worry about being pranked by you two."

"We didn't say that."

"We just said we wouldn't do so mercilessly."

"Crosby, Amanda?" McGonagall called out. The Sorting was underway for the year. Amanda / Perenelle walked to the stool. The hat seemed to take a while before calling out "Gryffindor!"

The students applauded as she headed off to that table.

"It was put out that I argued with it," she said to the few who knew the truth. "Wanted me in Slytherin, it did. Haven't been there in a while. We figured this would be the better choice all things considered."

"Greengrass, Astoria?" McGonagall called out after others were sorted.

"Gryffindor!" the hat said.

"Not that I'm complaining," she said when she sat down. "Honestly, I thought it might be the Pit for me."

"Parker, Peter?"

"Spiderman!" a few of the First Years sorted and waiting called out as he walked towards the stool. All had been in the compartment during the trip. "Go get 'em Spidey!" another called.

"Why's he called that?" Ron asked who was seated nearby.

"Peter Parker's a name in the Muggle World not unlike Harry Potter is in ours," Hermione explained. "Except Muggles know it's all made up. That boy just has the name and none of the made up rubbish. Peter Parker's the name of a Superhero with spider powers."

"Okay, that's just wrong. And creepy," Ron mumbled as "Spiderman" became a Gryffindor.

"A few announcements before we become distracted by our bountiful fare," Dumbledore said standing from his seat at the Staff table. "First, there have been some staff changes from last term. Professor Kettleburn has retired after many years of service from his positions as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures in order to enjoy time with his remaining limbs. I would like to introduce our new Professor, our very own Rubeus Hagrid…"

"Thought so," Harry said with a smile for he was pleased at this development.

"You did?" Ron asked. "We didn't even know the other guy left."

"Yeah. But he sent me that book for the class for my birthday before the book lists came out. I figured how would he know unless…"

"Makes sense, I guess. Bloody things a nightmare, though."

"Stroke its spine," Harry said. "It may still be one for anyone else, but it will be fine for you."

"Really?"

Harry nodded.

"Next," Dumbledore said after a surprisingly long applause. "As Professor Lockhart was unable to continue with us, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor: Professor Remus Lupin!" Aside from those who had shared a compartment with him there was less applause.

"He was close friends with my parents," Harry said to Ron.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Turns out two of those Marauders you brothers Fred and George are all on about were my Dad and him."

"This should be good," Ron said.

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "believes that the escaped prisoner Sirius Black poses at least some threat to the school and has, for our protection, decided to post dementors to guard against him. Dementors are among the most foul things know to us. While the Ministry may maintain they pose no threat, do not approach them. They cannot be reasoned with nor will they show mercy or restraint. In this, I urge absolute caution and for all of you to restrain your youthful curiosity. They will not see any difference between you and those they guard at Azkaban Prison just because this is a school and you are students. In case you think otherwise, you all experienced their more pleasurable effects on your train ride today. They can and will do much, much worse without provocation.

"Finally, the following students are to meet in Professor McGonagall's office following the Feast: Abbott, Hannah; Bones, Susan; Davis, Tracy; Granger, Hermione; Greengrass, Daphne; Longbottom, Nevile; Lovegood, Luna; Patil, Padma; Patil, Parvati; Perks, Sally-Anne; Potter, Harry and Weasly, Ginevra. Please enjoy your meals."

"What's that about?" Ron asked.

"We shared a compartment on the way up here," Harry said knowing that wasn't the reason at all.

"Bit tight, all those people…," Ron began.

"We used magic to make it bigger."

"Oh. Guess they would want to see you 'bout that. Can't make it smaller, can they."

"Don't know. That might be it."

Astoria followed the others to the meeting. Although little had been said to her, it was obvious to everyone what this was about and since Ginny had been singled out, she felt and other agreed she should be there as well. The group filed into the Transfiguration Classroom where they saw all four Heads of House, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were waiting in chairs behind Professor McGonagall's desk. They all took seats in the classroom at various student desks.

"Miss Greengrass?" Professor Dumbledore began. "You were not among the students summoned so as this does not concern you personally, I would suggest you wait outside."

"Am I mistaken in understanding my name wasn't called?" Daphne asked.

"I meant your younger sister, Miss Greengrass."

"If this is about what we think it's about, this does concern her, Professor," Daphne said.

"I can't see how…," he began.

"If it concerns Miss P … Weasley, then it concerns my sister for similar reasons. She is betrothed to Lord Longbottom."

"Lord?" Snape snorted. "This rubbish must really have gone to his…"

"Severus, please," Dumbledore said. "Very well, Miss Greengrass," he added with a sigh. "It has come to our attention that you have … married. Now, as you should know while Hogwarts has quarters available to accommodate married couples, the rule is that such accommodations are not usually made available to a couple where either one of them has not yet turned sixteen. However, we are aware that some of you are … um … bonding through no fault of your own, I add. Being as that may and mindful of what that entails, to stick to the letter of the rules would not be in your best interests or, I should say, in the best interests of those who are undergoing the bond. Under any other circumstances, given your ages you would be expected to reside in your dormitories as before. But the bonding process cannot allow for strict adherance to such rules. Consequently, those of you who are bonding will share accommodations with your spouse or spouses as the case may be in married student quarters. Furthermore, Miss Patil and Miss Lovegood, as you were not members of your Husband's House before, that means you are now Gryffindors from this day forward at least as far as Head of House, quartering, meals and class scheduling is concerned. You two may, if you so desire, also purchase and wear Gryffindor accessories in place of your Ravenclaw attire or may at your discretion retain your Ravenclaw affiliation in that regard. But it's either option and not both."

"And the rest of us?" Parvati asked. "Aside from Ginny and Astoria, we are married as well."

"Indeed. That caused quite a discussion earlier, let me tell you. We feel it inappropriate to require you to share quarters with your … husbands. Our married student quarters are hardly spacious or luxurious and would be a tight fit for three people, much less more. They were never designed with the possibility of Plural Marriages in mind and I do not recall a situation where there ever was one among students. There have been young ladies and a few young gentlemen who were betrothed into such circumstances, but their nuptials did not occur until after they finished school and the last such situation was before even I was a student here. In other words it has been quite a long time.

"That being said, we cannot as a matter of policy treat you any different than the others. By that I mean we cannot refuse you should you desire to share such cramped and inadequate quarters with your new families. In other words, we will neither tell you that you must live there from here on out nor that you cannot live there at all or until you're sixteen. The choice is yours and must be made before we leave here tonight. Should you choose not to, you will reside in your original Houses for now. Should you choose to live with your spouse, you will be from here on out Gryffindors. While I understand it is said that women reserve the right to change their minds, this is not such a situation. Your decision tonight cannot be changed. If you decide to live with your new family, you will live there until all of you finish school. If you choose not to, you will remain in your Houses until you finish school."

The families had discussed this beforehand. They knew the school rules regarding married students better than anyone. They did not know how the Staff would interpret those rules and were somewhat concerned. Access trunks could get around the difficulties … they hoped. They did not know this as they did not know whether the school wards might prevent this. They thought not as the Trunks were a recent development and they had no reason to believe another student had ever used one at school, but one could not know this for certain. They were certain the main trunks would work, however. Still, they had already decided that if presented with this choice they would take it. It certainly made things easier for all of them.

"I'll live with my husband," Daphne said. She was followed by Tracy, Parvati, Hannah and Susan in expressing the same sentiment.

"It will be tight."

"We'll manage."

"Now, as to the betrothed," Dumbledore continued. "First of all I must ask. Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter you do know you are betrothed, yes?"

"Yes Sir," they said.

"And you know what it means?" The Headmaster added failing to hide a smirk.

"We've seen it," Harry said. "We know what it means." Harry did not smirk in reply. House Potter knew it was no longer worth the parchment it was written upon. Had Harry not taken Ginny as his concubine and signed the new betrothal agreement, he could now get out of it. But he had. There was no way he could have known then that his parents were still alive. The truth was he had no regrets about what had happened. Ginny fit in well with his family. "As my current status allows it, we plan to marry next summer when Ginny's of Bonding Age. Course, that'll have to be at Gringotts which is … not what one would expect."

"Very good then," Dumbledore said. "The betrotheds – fortunately both Gryffindors – will be allowed access to said quarters from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. seven days a week, but only if it's convenient to those who reside there provided, of course, they are not expected elsewhere such as in class."

"Or in detention," Snape added.

"All detentions for any of the students in this room shall be submitted to me for approval before they can be imposed," Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva," Dumbledore began.

"You may have faith in Severus, but his … dislike of Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom is hardly a secret. I will not stand for him taking out his … ire or derision on these young ladies."

"Agreed," Flitwick and Sprout said.

"Very well, so be it," Dumbledore resigned. He was not about to get into this what with all that was happening outside of the school and the attendant fact that for the foreseeable future McGonagall would be effective acting as Headmistress. It was clear to Harry and the others that Snape was not at all pleased as if it had been his plan all along to stick the lot of them in detention after detention.

"Which brings us to the final point in tonight's agenda," Dumbledore said. "As you will be attending classes together – at least most of you – we need to decide how you shall be addressed. It will be necessary to make it known that you are, in fact, married. The betrothals are a separate issue in this regard and it is up to you whether you want those known to others. It would be difficult if not confusing to address you by your married names. Mrs. Potter or Mrs. Longbottom would apply to too many obviously. I would recommend use of your maiden names…"

This was another matter discussed. It was left mainly to Harry to decide this issue when it came up and had everything to do with sticking it to Professor Snape.

"Actually, it would be Lady Potter or Lady Longbottom," Harry said. "And it will be Lady Bones and Lady Abbott as they are now Regents of their Lines. But I think Lady Finchley for Hermione as she is Countess Designate by that title and Lady Hwicca for Luna and Lady Abengale for Daphne for similar reasons. That should avoid any such confusion in House Potter."

"Lady Sarah of Pendle for Sally-Anne," Neville nodded, "Lady Colne for Padma and Lady Marston for Tracey as they are Countess Designates for those titles and Lady Parvait or Halden Moor for Parvati as she is Baroness Designate."

It was clear that Snape hated this idea. "And Lord Potter for Harry and Lord Longbottom for myself as we are Heads of Ancient and Noble Houses, Earls and such." Snape hated that idea even more, but Dumbledore made it so.

A/N: While I get the joke, I never really liked the "We're Not Worthy" bits that pop up in fanfics when Fred and George are introduced to a former Marauder. (That, and this is not an SNL / Wayne's World cross-over.)


	35. Chapter 35: School Begins

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: It hasn't been two weeks so you only get one this time.

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: SCHOOL BEGINS**

**THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2****nd**** 1993**

It might have seemed logical considering that students never got to their dormitories before nine in the evening on their day of arrival that they would have the next day off to get settled in for the coming term. It would make even more sense for the arriving First Years who did not and could not know their own way about the Castle. But for whatever reason, this was not how things were done at Hogwarts. If September 2nd fell on a weekday, then they began classes immediately, although exactly when would be determined by their class schedules which were handed out during breakfast their first morning back. It gave students little or no time to find their classrooms if they did not already know where they were so it was not unusual for First Years to be late for their first class of school. Apparently, this was also true of Third Years if they had one of the new electives First Period and had not bothered to learn where the classroom was previously.

Harry and his Ladies had spent the night in the Trunk. It turned out the Access Trunk worked fine, for Ginny was with them as well and rather than jump right in as had been the case, they spent a day in Time Compression before needing to face the rest of the school. They all knew that their status as married students (aside from Ginny) would come out certainly no later than their first role call in their first new class. This meant that unless a general announcement were made, which was a possibility, only Luna would be Luna the next morning assuming she did not opt for Gryffindor colors. (Daphne was not about to remain a Slytherin in any way, shape or form.) It may well have come out at least to Gryffindor House that night, but apparently the Married Student quarters had a separate entrance such that it was not necessary to parade through the Gryffindor Common Room to get to their quarters although you could also access the married dormitory from there. This, apparently, was an accommodation for the witches who had spent years in another house so that their friends could visit.

"Where were you and Neville last night, Harry?" Ron asked as he sat down at breakfast. "Setting a record for the fastest time to the Hospital Wing?"

"Different accommodations," Harry said as he buttered his toast.

"What's that?"

"That meeting last night was about where I'd be sleeping this year. Had you sat with us on the train, you'd know that."

"Ginny said it was you and a bunch of girls. Didn't sound like loads of fun, if you ask me."

Harry shrugged as he was eating toast.

"Morning Harry," several voices said. Ron looked as two girls sat on either side of Harry and Hermione to the side of one of them. His sister sat down next to him and across from Harry and…

"You're a Hufflepuff!" Ron said as it was Hannah who had sat next to him. "And you're a Slytherin," he said to Daphne who was on one side of Harry. "And you're Looney!" he said to Luna.

"It's not nice to call someone names, Ron," Ginny said. "And before you say it, that's not her name."

"But they're not Gryffindors!"

"They're dressed like Gryffindors," Harry observed because they were.

"But … but they weren't! The Sorting Hat…"

"Maybe the Hat changed its mind," Harry offered.

"It doesn't do that!" Ron protested.

"And how would you know?" Hermione asked. She had sat down next to Daphne.

"It just doesn't! Everyone knows that."

"I see. Everyone knows that. Well, I didn't know that."

"Well, of course you wouldn't know that…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're Muggle Born…"

"And I read, unlike you. And if you read Hogwarts a History you would know that there are situations where people change Houses permanently. You could also know what those circumstances are and would know that these Ladies are now your Housemates and will be for the rest of their time at school. And considering they're up there near the top of our Year and Luna is at the top of hers, their joining us means a better chance at the House Cup which, I might add, no one won last year."

"We won it our First Year without any help," Ron grumbled.

"Did we? Dumbledore piled on the House Points at the Leaving Feast didn't he? What if we never went after the Stone? Where was Gryffindor before then?"

"Um…"

"Dead last! That's where we were and Neville, Harry and I were the reason! Lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, remember?"

"But…"

"Don't say Daphne's a Sytherin and evil," Harry said. "I won't like it."

"But…"

"And don't call Luna names, either."

"But…"

"Is he always like this?" Daphne asked.

"You mean grumpy or not liking Slytherins?" Harry asked. "You have to admit the only Slytherins who talk to us normally are Malfoy and his types and what's there to like? You and Tracy never talked to us so how could we know there were any decent Slyterhins? As for Grumpy and a little thicker than usual? He hasn't eaten yet. Hermione says it has something to do with blood sugar, whatever that means."

"Blood doesn't have sugar," Ron commented.

"Not even gonna try," Hermione said. "Eat something, Ron."

"You're attention please," McGonagall called out.

"Guess we'll see who ran off and got hitched, eh?" Ron said.

Announcements were not a common occurrence at breakfast or lunch mainly because it was rare that all the students were there at the same time. Breakfast normally ran from six thirty until nine every weekday and even later on weekends and most students tended to eat later rather than earlier. Of course if they had an eight o'clock class (the First Period which had all sorts of derisive nicknames), they needed to eat earlier. This first morning back was the exception every year. As this was when everyone received their class schedules for the year, they all had to be in their seats by seven. Likewise, the first breakfast of the new school year was when any over the summer marriages were announced. The newlyweds were introduced and stood to "face the music." This was something Harry was hoping to avoid but was pretty sure he could not be that lucky. The first names called were two Slytherin Seventh Years.

"That's got to be an arranged one," Ron sniggered. "They're both trolls."

"It is and they are," Daphne said.

The next couple was a Hufflepuff boy and a Gryffindor girl, also Seventh Years. The girl was at Huffelpuff table and in Hufflepuff robes although apparently Ron did not catch that. Nor did he catch it when there was a similar Ravenclaw / Hufflepuff couple.

"Next," McGonagall intoned, "Lord Neville Longbottom…"

"You must be joking," Ron said as Neville stood.

"Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom; Earls of Pendle, Colne and Marston; Barons of Halden Moor and Tulhume and his wives…"

"Did she say wives?" Ron asked.

"Lady Sarah Countess Pendle, formerly Miss Perks of Hufflepuff; Lady Padma Countess Colne, formerly Miss Patil of Ravenclaw; Lady Tracy Countess Marston, formerly Miss Davis of Slytherin…;"

"That's how you change Houses, Ronald," Hermione whispered.

"Lady Parvati, Baroness of Halden Moor, formerly Miss Patil of Gryffindor and Lady Susan Baroness of Airwryn, Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Bones, formerly Miss Bones of Hufflepuff.

"And finally Lord Harry Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Earls of Finchely, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca; Baron of Loch Sheen…"

"Bloody hell," Ron gasped as Harry stood trying not to look embarrassed. "… and his wives Lady Hermione, Countess Finchley, formerly Miss Granger of Gryffindor; Lady Luna Countess Hwicca, formerly Miss Lovegood of Ravenclaw; Lady Daphne Countess Abengale, formerly Miss Greengrass of Slytherin and Lady Hannah, Baroness of Tinworth, Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott."

"This is a joke, right?" Ron asked.

"Professor McGonagall joking?" Ginny said.

"Um…"

"For the record," McGonagall continued, "and before any wild and baseless rumors start as I'm sure they would were I not to explain, none of the young ladies are expecting. For further explanations as to why they are married before age sixteen and why the two gentleman can have more than one spouse, I refer you to the Library were you will find copies of our marriage laws regarding conditions for marrying under age sixteen, aside from pregnancy and rules regarding sole, surviving heirs of Ancient and Noble Houses. Thank you."

"This isn't a joke?" Ron asked when Harry sat down.

"Nope," Harry replied.

"Bloody hell! Why wasn't I invited?"

"Wasn't a wedding," Harry said. "That'll come later and probably not for a few years. Went to Gringotts, went over a bunch of contracts and stuff, then in comes the girl and her family and the Goblins says a bunch of legal stuff and it's done. Not exactly memorable, 'cept to those of us who did it that way."

"It's not what a girl dreams of," Ginny said.

"And how would you know?" Ron asked.

"Um…," Ginny replied.

"You're not married too, are you? That's not why you were… That's not why you missed out on Egypt."

"I'm not married, Ron."

"Good."

"That's next summer," she said just as he took a sip of pumpkin juice and spat it all over his breakfast when she did.

"Don't joke like that!"

"I'm not."

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Who?"

"Why?"

"No reason."

"You probably want to know 'cause either you'll try and get the Twins to prank him or something equally annoying and prat-like. Well, it's not gonna work since the Twins know and know better than to try and prank him."

"Some old guy, then? Bloody one of those Pureblood arranged deals, right?"

"So were mine, Ron," Harry said. "My parent's set them up."

"So you've known about this?"

"Not 'til this summer."

"None of us did," Hermione said. "Well, Hannah did, but she knew it was…"

"Bit of a long shot, really," Hannah said. "It was a Line Continuation, you know. Means our kids will be Abbotts not Potters and Harry had to be married for his line first. There were some conditions before any of this could happen that … well, were so uncertain it almost wasn't worth worrying about."

"Problem was it was about me," Harry smirked. "If it can't happen to anyone else, it probably will happen to me for some reason."

Ron chuckled. "Harry luck. Can't call it good luck. Can't call it bad luck. But it's Harry luck."

"Required all kinds of things to happen," Harry said. "When I was born my parents were told I had compatible magic with Hermione which meant we might bond one day, not that we would. When Luna was born, same thing. Again, nothing says it would happen. My parents were friends with Daphne's and they were afraid that she might be pursued by the typical Slytherin types so we were betrothed to stop that and that was almost it. If I bonded with Hermione and Luna then we would marry."

"Was it both or one?" Daphne asked.

Harry shrugged. "Doesn't matter seeing as I'm bonding with both. And Hannah's needed me to marry two of the others as well and that assumed that she had no younger brothers or sisters and that I didn't either. That younger sibling thing applied to Daphne's contract as well. Well, only to me. She has four younger sisters. Seems my parents wanted to make sure House Potter wasn't…"

"I get what they wanted," Ron said. "Not totally clueless you know. I knew there was a House Potter, just didn't know you were it. Figured you to be from a distaff line."

"There's a big word," Hermione chuckled.

"It's not big and I know what it means. It means in Harry's past there'd be a Head of House Potter ancestor but he's too many generations removed to be the next heir. It's how lines die off. Since Harry wasn't struttin' 'bout like Malfoy and a few other gits like that, I figured he wasn't all that."

"And what about Neville?"

"He said he has and Uncle or Grand-uncle or such. Figured he's in the Line of Succession, just not next in line."

"That guy's not a Longbottom," Harry said. "It's Neville's Gran's brother."

Ron shrugged. "None of my business really, is it?"

"I'd expect you to be upset by this." Hermione said.

"Why? Harry's says he knew nothing 'bout any of this 'til he got home after last year, right? I have no reason to think he's lying. You gotta admit he was even more clueless about stuff than I was and I know that's saying something. He was Muggle Raised which explains a lot of it. And he didn't write this summer, not that it would've matter much seeing as I was away for most of it. Had he known this all along and never said anything about it, I might be upset. But he didn't know. And before you say it, I'd've been upset if he had known 'cause he didn't tell me. But if you think I'd be upset 'cause he's married four times over, why would I be? Better him than me. Sorry Mate."

"No worries."

"Feel sorry for him really. Don't think there's enough money…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked.

"It means I'm thirteen, right? You got this bonding thing happening. No idea what it is, but you have to be married 'cause of it. Answer this, if you were told without that that you had to get married this summer, what would you've said."

"Depends on the boy," Luna said. "Then again, I am biased."

Daphne snorted. "I wasn't given any warning. No regrets here, but that's because I got really lucky. Before this summer… I was looking at probably having to date a Slytherin. I hope you can see past what that Hat did two years ago, Weas … Ronald. But I can't really blame you. That place is a pit. Think of this school when you're older and interested in girls, and then think of it where the only girls who would date you are like Parkinson or Bulstrode."

"Please," Ron moaned. "I'm trying to eat! Yeah. I get it I guess. What I mean is, I can't see myself married now. Add to it Hermione…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione said.

"Please! We're better off as friends and you know it. As friends, if I skive off an assignment you're upset with me, but you don't take it personal like. And I know I can say stupid things and sometimes you do take it personal like even when I didn't really mean it like that. But now, we can go off and get over it and all that. But if we were… We'd be mental in a week. Oh, I get it."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You lot're asking if I'm jealous, right? Of what? Harry's got money. It bothers me sometimes that I don't not that Harry does. And I mean that I don't, not that my family doesn't."

"Really?" Harry asked. "It sometimes sounds like…"

"Yeah? Well, I'm not good with words 'bout some things. I'd like to have money. I'd like to be able to use my money to buy something 'cause I want to. But it'd have to be my money. I don't think money'd change Mum at all."

"You don't?" Ginny asked.

"You know what she's like. As long as I can remember, we'd go shopping and I'd see something I wanted and even when I knew it didn't cost much I'd get the lecture about how I didn't need it and it was wasteful and what I already have was more than enough or just as good or something and how did this lecture always end?"

"Besides, we can't afford it," Ginny said.

"Exactly. Now give Mum more money than Gringotts and you know what the difference would be?" No one answered. "The lecture would not end with 'besides we can't afford it.' But she'd still not buy it. We had plenty of money for the trip to Egypt and even after. It never changed. Saw a two knut picture postcard I thought of getting and sending to you or Hermione. Never got 'round to figuring out which of you. I even had the two knuts and Mum saw I was thinking 'bout getting it and I got the talk … again. And I didn't get the postcard.

"And as for the girls thing? Too young. Told you that already. Not sure I could ask one out to Hogsmeade…"

"What if one asked you?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Does that make a difference?" Hermione asked.

"Course it does! I mean please! Given a choice between a pretty girl and Bulstrode? Then again, any girl and … well, maybe not Parkinson… or Runcorn come to think of it. Draco's the one who should be jealous 'cause that's what he's stuck with. Nah. Bit put out you got all the pretty ones, Harry, even Green … Daphne here even though the Hat did think she was a Snake. And Neville didn't do too bad that way either. Oh well."

"You're not jealous then?" Harry asked.

"Not about that."

"So you are then?" Hermione asked "Is it 'cause he's famous?"

"Yeah, like I'd want the world's worst nutter after me, and his boss come to think of it. The only things I've been jealous about have to do with flying. Been flying since I was five, haven't I? Harry's never seen a broom in his life … not the flying kind anyway and he hops on one, does stuff I didn't even know was possible his first time and makes them look easy and even I know they're not. Makes up for it by being a brilliant Seeker. But he still gets a Nimbus 2000 for it from an anonymous fan."

"McGonagall got it for me."

"Figured as much and I can't say it's a waste, unlike those 2001's Malfoy got. You heard they've stopped making them?"

"Harry told us this summer," Ginny said. "Even told us why when he got us some for touring. He got six brand new ones for five galleons…"

"Each?"

"For the lot."

"And how do you know? I thought you were off with some Mind Healer…"

"Um…fine! Harry and I are betrothed. I spent the summer with them, okay."

Ron though about that for a while then nodded. "Didn't meet his relatives, did you?"

"No. He figured a way around that. Saw his room, though. It'd be smaller than any room in the Burrow."

Ron nodded. "Good."

"What is, that I'm betrothed?"

"Haven't decided 'bout that, although it is to Harry and I'm okay with that. No, it means you had a good summer. You needed one after last year."

"Thanks Ron."

"Uh oh," Ron said.

"What?"

"Harry? Incoming Pit Slime."

"Great."

"Oi! Weasley!" Malfoy said. "Seeing as Potty and the Squib've taken all the easy losers, Blood Traitors and Mudbloods off the markey, looks like you're left looking for a dirty Muggle," he added with a laugh.

Ron sat there in silence.

"Guess he knows it's true," Malfoy laughed.

"No," Ron said. "I just was wondering how to be more insulting. You managed to insult a dozen people at once, not to mention four Ancient and Noble Houses. Must think you're pretty smart."

"Gotta hand it to you, Malfoy," Harry said, "you really know how to keep your family bottom feeding. That's what? Eighty votes on the Wizengamot in one go. Over a quarter of them all at once. Then again, you are French. Can't expect you to figure that stuff out in only two generations."

"My family's been here since…"

"Round 1789. Yeah. Mine's been here certainly since the 600's and probably much, much longer. And more important, 'til you're Granddad managed to find some desperate British tart willing to sink so low as to get marry frog spawn, you're family's been importing French brides. You didn't think you could keep that little family secret, secret, did you?"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Potter!"

"He seems to have learned a few things they don't teach here, doesn't he," Ron said. "Like that you can get a brand new Nimbus 2001 for less than a Galleon."

"Not any more as I think I bought the last of them. Make pretty good touring brooms those 2001's."

Ron shrugged. "Wish I knew that before you bought them up. Even I could afford to buy my way onto a team with those, although it'd be a stretch and it assumed a team dumb enough to think they got a good deal. How much did it set your family back to put a legger on the Quidditch Team? But as to my dating opportunities, Malformed, I happen to prefer humans."

"What's that supposed to mean, Weasel?"

"Asks the girly ponce with a cow, sheep and pig hanging all over him. I said I prefer human girls, not farm animals! And before you say something else stupid, yes I may know a thing or two about farm animals considering I live on one and that means I know a cow, sheep and pig when I see one."

"You calling my betrothed a cow?"

"Which one is it?"

"Parkinson!"

"No, that's not a cow. You really are an idiot, you know. Everyone knows that's a pig! Although it needs fattening up. Bit too scrawny for bacon. Too scrawny for breeding stock as well. You do know they need weight to breed, don't you?"

"You should consider yourself lucky you're on the other side of the table, Weasel or I'd…"

"You'd what?" a new voice said. Neville was walking towards the Slytherin gang.

"What do you care, Squib!"

"I tell you what, Malfoy. You apologize to me, my Ladies, Harry, his Ladies and Ron and I might forget you were here. You don't and I will be upset."

"And you'll do what?"

It happened so fast almost no one saw it. They saw the result as Malfoy's head snapped back and he fell to the floor. Malfoy's usual bookends might have been big and not terribly bright, but they also were not foolishly brave, either. They turned and left.

"Okay," Neville said. "That smarts a little," he added shaking his hand.

"That'll be fifty points and a month's detention, Longbottom, for fighting like a common Muggle," Professor Snape said having just walked up.

"Whatever that was, Professor Snape, it certainly was not common," McGonagall said. She was nearby handing out class schedules. "And did you forget last night? The detention and loss of points is rescinded, Lord Longbottom. Fifty points from Slytherin and Mr. Malfoy for … provocative speech, insulting the Heads of Ancient and Noble Houses without cause, insulting Noble ladies and overall lack of judgment seeing as he did all of that while I was not far away handing out schedules and a month's detention with Filch for the same. Severus? You may inform Mr. Malfoy of his punishment when he comes around in the Hospital Wing. And they say Slytherin is the House of the cunning. Salazar himself surely is spinning in his grave."

"You'll do nothing for this?"

"Ah yes. Ten points to Lord Longbottom for not declaring a Line War. You can't say Mr. Malfoy's not been heading in that direction Severus, although that line has not been crossed. Ten more points for defending the honor of his Ladies. Ten further points for defending the honor of House Potter. And … oh yes, ten points for whatever that punch was seeing as he did not have to use magic to get his point across. Now Severus, be so kind as to have your Prefects clean up this mess," she added indicating Malfoy who was still out cold. Snape seemed ready to argue or worse, but then turned and left. "Your schedules," McGonagall said as if nothing had happened.

"That was bloody brilliant, Neville," Ron exclaimed.

"Mr. Weasley, do not think that what happened this morning in any way is meant to encourage such behavior."

"I wasn't, Ma'am. I'm just saying that was brilliant. That and I'll say the ponce deserved it."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Weasley, I would hope it does not come to such again."

"Yes Ma'am. Oh look! Divination's first up."

"Not for me," Harry said. "Got Runes."

"Thought you were taking Divination."

"Never said I was. Didn't make my mind up 'til just before I left. I have a thing against that course, Ron. We'll leave it at that. Figured Runes would be better for stuff. That and 'cause I don't see myself as some sort of Fortune Teller. And this summer… I figured Runes was more useful."

"It's also really hard," Ron said. "At least I've heard that. My brother Bill works a lot with Runes but I don't see you needing to be a Curse Breaker so what good is it then?"

"Can't Harry take it because it's interesting?" Hermione asked.

"But he said it was better for stuff," Ron replied. "Just want to know what stuff is all."

"Wards," Harry said. "It's got other uses too, but I've learned a bit about wards this summer and want to learn more and to do that I need to learn about Runes."

"Makes sense, I guess. Better than Arithmancy…"

"Hey!" Hermione began.

"Do you really see me as a spell crafter or such?" Ron asked. "I don't. Well, not one of those ones who work it all out on parchment first. I know you'll say just trying something and seeing if it'll work's dangerous. You are talking to me, Hermione. When have I done the safe thing?"

"He has a point, Hermione. He flew that car to school last year for one."

Hermione shrugged and let it go for once.

"You're taking Creatures, right?" Ron asked Harry.

"Yeah I am. "'Bout the only course they have here that teaches 'bout the magical world. Herbology's another and that's okay. I suppose History could be called a third if you could stay awake in it."

**FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3****rd**** 1993**

"Tah dah!" Hagrid beamed. Harry and the rest of the Third Year Care of Magical Creatures Class stared into the paddock, a large area of mostly open ground surrounded by trees. Ron had been complaining about Divination as their Professor had predicted no less than four deaths of family members, pets and one of the students. There they saw what Harry thought were the strangest creatures he had ever seen. He really had not seen all that many if he thought about it. But he certainly had seen nothing remotely like these. Their front half was like a bird, specifically like a bird of prey given the shape of the beak. It stood almost as high as Harry at the shoulder, if that was what that part was called. Just behind that bit were two massive wings. The front legs resembled those of a hawk or eagle down to the massive talons except that the legs were far too long as compared to those of any bird except maybe something like an ostrich. The rear of the beast including the tail looked like that of a horse, complete with horse like hooves, tail and short fur. "Aren't they beautiful? Right then, open your books…"

"And just how are we supposed to do that?" Malfoy asked. He and his group stood behind all the others.

"You 'ave'n figgered out how ter open yer books?" Hagrid asked.

"You just stroke the spine, idiot," Ron said. "Seems everyone but you lot figured that out."

Malfoy shot him a glare before stroking the spine. "Wait 'til my father hears that oaf is teaching classes."

"Forget something, Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Your father was sacked from the Board of Governors end of last term, wasn't he? I was there when he was informed, or did I miss something?"

Harry hadn't and Malfoy turned red but said nothing.

"What are those, Professor?" Parvati asked.

"These are hippogriffs! Figured they'd be a right intro ter this course, right then…," and Hagrin launched into his lesson. "Hippogriffs are a naturally 'curring spieces. Tha' means they existed in the wild without witches, wizards er Muggles messing with em ter make em what they are. Fer exams, tha's one thing yers need ter know: whether the beastie is natural er whether it exists only 'cause we bred other beasties ter makes 'em exist. Hippogriffs 'ave been 'round as long as we 'ave records so they's considered natural. They've been known ter Muggles for thousands of years, although I don' think a Muggles seen one in ages. You'll find pictures of 'em in Muggle Heraldry and such. Now, their natural range, where they likes ter live in the wild, includes the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Low Contries, Northern Germany, 'round the Baltic and Russia. Another thing yers expected ter learn for natural beasties is where they like ter live in the wild. Countries is one part o' it. But things like forest or fields or mountains an' such are another an' these beasties prefer forests. Don' seem ter care if there be mountain er it be flat, long as there being lots o' trees. It's safer fer their young 'uns which er called "chicks." Nother bit yer should know. Terms fer young an' groups of beasties. A group o' these beasties is a flock as opposed to herd er sommat else. They're carnivorous, meaning they eat meat an' hunts it catchin' their food with those large talons in front. Tha's another thing you needs ter learn in this course: what a beastie eats. After all, yer can't care fer a beastie if yer can't feed it. This lot's partial ter ferrets, although they don' mind bats on the wing fer a snack. Hippogriffs don' eat humans, not even human carrion. Carrion being already dead beasties and Hippogriffs take after bird of prey like tha'. Most o' them are carrion eaters even if they hunt live stuff. Tha' goes back ter the feedin' I don' feed 'em live ferrets an' they don' mind. They'll even eat raw steaks if I lets 'em…"

The lesson went on and most of the student thought it was one of the best lessons they ever had at Hogwarts. Some wondered how much their groundkeeper really knew, but he knew about Hippogriffs and was very prepared. He went on to talk about how intelligent they were. Older one's could learn to understand human language if they were around it enough which may or may not be a good thing depending upon what was said. They had, as Hagrid put it, no sense of humor at all. It was not wise to joke with a Hippogriff. They were very proud creatures and did not like to be insulted and a joke could be misunderstood as an insult. He told them that insulting a Hippogriff could be the last thing a person ever did. He then went on to explain that perhaps because they were so intelligent, many people thought they were at least semi tame, which he said was "cadswollop." They would never see humans as their betters or masters although a respectful human might be seen as a friend or something like an honorary member of their herd.

Hagrid then asked if anyone wanted to approach one of them. Harry was surprised to learn that he had volunteered which was not the case at all. He thought he might, but he did not want to be the first. But when Hagrid asked, the rest of the class stepped back and Harry did not so it looked like he stepped forward to volunteer. Much as he did not want to, he also did not want to let his friend Hagrid down so he went through with it. He was told to bow. In addition to a sign of respect, it showed humility because it showed a willingness to open oneself to an attack. If the Hippogriff felt comfortable, it would bow back, which the one Hagrid called Buckbeak did. The "beastie" seemed to like Harry, if it's nuzzling was any indication and before Harry could utter a protest, Hagrid had hoisted him up and sat him on Buckbeak's back just behind the wings saying something about going for a ride. Before Harry could protest – he had yet to go horseback riding on his own farm – Buckbeak took off. Literally. Harry found himself riding a flying horse/bird thing around the school and surrounding grounds. Whatever reluctance he had vanished in seconds. It was even better than a broom, he thought and wondered how fast it was.

"That was brilliant!" Harry exclaimed sliding off the Hippogriff's back. The rest of the class seemed in awe of it all with one exception.

"Not so hard was it," Malfoy proclaimed as he strode towards Buckbeak. "Not so dangerous at all, are you, you great, ugly chicken…"

There was a screech and Buckbeak reared up lasing out towards the boy with its talons. Hagrid moved quickly, grabbing the beast and trying to force it back as one of the talons caught Malfoy's arm causing him to fall over. He lay on the ground clutching it and moaning that he was dying as Hagrid gained control over Buckbeak, leading it away to the back of the paddock. Hagrid then went over to Malfoy and took a look at the arm with a look of genuine concern for all of a second. His face then changed to disgust.

"What're ya on about, Mr. Malfoy?" he said standing up. "'Tis barely a scratch."

"Bloody bird nearly took my arm off, you oaf!"

"Aye. 'E could'a done tha'. Yer own bloody fault, in'n it? Told yer lot not ter be insultin' 'em an' ya go straight at it, din' ya? But e' didn' take off yer arm. It's barely bleedin' an'll probably be done afore ya could get ter the Hospital Wing."

"You're just going to leave me here? What about my arm?"

"Yer not needin' it ter get up an' walk. Yer wanna be a … Nah. Ya know where the Hospital Wing is, don' ya?"

Malfoy was able to stand on his own. Cradling his arm, he stormed off muttering something about his father. Hagrid called after him almost as an afterthought: "Five points, Mr. Malfoy fer disrespectin' a teacher. Five more fer not payin' attention in class. An' five more fer malingerin'. An' where you two think yer goin'?" he added. The class saw Crabbe and Goyle were trying to follow Malfoy. "Tol' Malfoy 'e could go ter the Hospital Wing. Di' na' 'xcuse yer lot an' e' don' need an escort! Get back here, less yer be wantin' a detention!" The two boys reluctantly did as they were told.

"Right then," Hagrid continued. "Thank's ter the deaf student, yer lot saw what can 'appen if'n yer insult a Hippogriff 'though I've seen students more torn up by their kitten's than what he's suffered. But, tha's another lesson. Never assume any Beastie, even a kitten, canna be dangerous! Right then. We gotta half hour left an' I think ya all should write out what yer saw in this class. Desks are over there," he pointed.

And the end of the class he collected the papers from the student. Most of them complimented him on a great lesson before they headed back to the castle.

"That was brilliant!" Ron said. "So glad I signed up for this one. Loads better than Divination!"

"Malfoy's not having a good week," Harry observed.

"Who cares?"

"What was with that paper he asked for?" Lavender Brown asked. "I was hoping for more on the Hippogriffs."

"Maybe we'll get more in the next lesson. It'd be so cool to get to ride one," Ron replied.

"Despite what Malfoy said," Hermione commented, "Hagrid's not stupid. He knows as well as we do Malfoy's going to make a big deal about what happened. Those papers are evidence of what we all saw. I think most all of us wrote about a very different class than what Malfoy's going to say."

"Hermione's right," Daphne added. "And the best bit is, those few who might support Malfoy either wouldn't've thought to lie, or didn't 'cause Malfoy didn't tell them what to say, or did and it will be very different than Malfoy's version. Three things will come out of this, that's for certain."

"What?" several voices asked.

"First, you don't mess around in Hagrid's class. He doesn't tolerate it. Second, he knows his stuff."

"And third?"

"It's a really good class."

"What's 'malingering' mean?" Ron asked, although it was clear he was not the only one who did not know.

"Faking being sick or injured to get out of doing something you're supposed to do," Hermione said. "It's in the rule book."

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4****th**** 1993**

Ron stood in a small living room. There was a small fireplace with small and narrow windows on either side. There was a couch and a couple of chairs and some end tables. There were no portraits or anything on the walls. It looked shabby.

"This is where you're living?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Welcome to married student quarters," he said. "We think they're all like this. The rules say we can decorate it as we like, but it's on our vaults to do so. Otherwise, this is it. Okay, there's a bedroom through that door and a small, private bath which I guess is a bit of a luxury here at school, but nothing fancy. The girls think it's like this so that guests, such as you, take one look and will think twice of wanting to get married just to live here."

"Makes sense. How do the five of you… You can't fit in here really, you know."

"I'll show you in a bit."

"Where are the others?"

"Where I'm taking you, but we're waiting on two more guests. Fred and George were the first aside from your parents to learn about Ginny and me, but you'll be the first aside from your parents to see how we manage at least in your family. I was worried how you'd react to all this and what's happened…"

"I suppose. I mean I guess I can see why you might've been. You know I can be a bit… But thanks."

There was a knock at the door. Harry opened it allowing Professor McGonagall and Professor Lupin to enter.

"You haven't done much," McGonagall began.

"No need," Harry said. "I figured you had to wonder how we can manage here. It's a bit … tiny."

"And Spartan," Lupin said.

"We could redecorate, but figured why bother," Harry said. "This way." He led them to the bedroom. Aside from three trunks on the floor, there was no indication of any occupant. Harry opened the middle trunk. "You're keyed in for today," Harry said. "Just climb down. Ladies first?"

Harry was the last down and closed the trunk behind him.

"An apartment trunk?" McGonagall asked.

"A little fancier," Harry said. "I … well I tricked Malfoy's dad into freeing one of his elves the morning after what happened in the Chamber of Secrets…"

"I don't remember that. I remember him being there with his elf, but…," Ron began.

"It was after you left to send a letter to Azkaban about letting Hagrid go."

"Oh, right."

"Anyway, he became my Elf and I told him I wanted a way to stay at my relatives where I didn't have to deal with them at all and he went out and bought this place … with my money of course but I can't complain although it's a bit much. You remember the Valley, right Professor Mooney?"

"This is like that?"

"Similar, but not the same. No mountains for one. I call it Potter Farm. Right then…," and Harry opened the door into his home.

"Bloody Hell!" Ron said as he looked around the Entry Hall.

Harry then told them where they were. "I guess it could also serve as a Ballroom, but some of those doors lead to trunks that lead to the Outside. Don't ask me where Inside is. I don't think it's in the trunk we came through. I don't think it's really anywhere. This place is part of what's billed as a Deluxe Travelling Manor Trunk. I'm told there're only twenty of them in existence anywhere. That's what the bloke at the Trunk Emporium in Diagon Alley told me when I went in for some … accessories. My parents had two and they're now part of the combined Estate. Granddad had two as well. Well, four actually as he had two others that were not finished yet. They are now. Dobby bought this one and there was another that my family bought not long after I was born that they apparently intended to give me as a wedding present. In addition to this house, there are also grounds. Each of the eight trunks has forty thousand acres…"

"Forty thousand? Bloody hell Harry, my family only has a couple hundred and we rent out a fair bit of it!"

Harry nodded. "And your family's farm probably would cost more to buy than one of these forty thousand acre trunks. That's not saying this wasn't expensive and they don't take credit nor can you get a loan to buy one. But it is dirt cheap in comparison. Thirty-five thousand or so for the basic construct which includes basic furnishings, and another five thousand or so for planting and other stuff. The other trunks are all connected to this part of the estate. Total area's five hundred square miles…"

"How can you maintain all that?" McGonagall asked.

"House Elves," Harry replied.

"It would take a lot…"

"Working staff is around fourteen hundred. Little less than that but more than thirteen-fifty. Including the young ones, the total Elf population of the Estate is about twenty-two hundred. That's probably one of the reasons why there aren't many of these. You can get the trunk and everything you need … mostly … in Diagon Alley. The Elves, however… Most of the ones here were born here."

"So, you and the others are living here?" McGonagall asked.

Harry nodded. "Have been since the day we married or, in Ginny's case…"

"The day we were told she had a break down and was taken off to a Mind Healer?" Ron said.

Harry nodded.

"Morning Harry!" a voice called out. Harry knew who the two people were. To McGonagall, they looked familiar but she couldn't place them. The other two had no clue who they were.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," he said, "this is Ron Weasley…"

"Ah yes! Hermione's other first friend," Mr. Granger said. "Saw a bit of you at Diagon Alley last summer, but mostly spoke with your Dad. Interesting chap."

"Um … pleased to meet you."

"This is Professor Lupin," Harry continued. "He's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, although we haven't had him yet."

"Any relation to Remus Lupin?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"I am him."

"Good to meet you. James, Lily and Sirius speak highly of you. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know you're here."

McGonagall did not understand that statement for what it was. After all, portraits in the Wizarding World had the essence of the person depicted imbued into them and were both animated and could talk. No one knew whether they truly remembered, but they seemed to. Remus did not know if that statement meant James and Lily were here. He did wonder about Sirius. Sirius was a fugitive after all and Harry had not told him much about Sirius's whereabouts.

"And you've met Professor McGonagall," Harry said.

"She brought us Hermione's Hogwarts letter," Mrs. Granger said. "You can imagine we were a little skeptical about this magic stuff when she began."

"Turning into a cat like that erases any doubt," Mr. Granger said. "Have you seen Hermione? I promised I'd go riding with her and Rose today."

"Er… I'm pretty sure she came here right after breakfast. I hope so," Harry said. "Petal?"

There was a pop and an Elf maiden in a dress appeared. "Yes Milord?"

"Is Lady Hermione here?"

"She's in her apartment reading ahead in one of her courses, Sir."

"Right then," Robert Granger said. "See you at lunch?"

Harry nodded.

"Good morning Harry," a woman's voice said.

"Mum? Dad?" Ron asked. "How'd you…?"

"Professor McGonagall," Mrs. Weasley continued. "I'm pleasantly surprised. You managed to get through the first week without posting us about Fred and George."

"It was only two days," McGonagall said. "And the fact I've had no need to yet does have me worried a little."

"And we haven't met," she added looking at Remus.

"Remus Lupin, Ma'am. I've just started as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"Really?" Mr. Weasley asked. "Arthur Weasley, by the way. I dare say from what we've heard you're an improvement over the last few years. Unfortunately, that alone is not much of a compliment. Our post owl would be an improvement and he's not much good at his chosen profession."

"After what the others told us," Molly said, "I suppose I was expecting… Well, I'm sure you can guess. Fred and George aren't here are they, Ron?"

"No."

"Last thing we need is them meeting up with the Marauders, wouldn't you say Professor McGonagall?"

"The thought scares me," she replied. "Remus was the more … restrained one. That and his marks were the reason I had him named Prefect for his year. I had hoped he might reign the others in. He did. A bit."

"Ginny's upstairs then?" Molly asked.

"What? Didn't come here to see me?" Ron snarked.

"Oh we did. But we did have you all summer. We'll be 'round and see you at lunch for certain."

"Mr. Potter, do you mind explaining how they got here?" McGonagall asked after the Weasleys left.

"Good question Mate," Ron added.

"This way," Harry said. "Think we should get out of the Entry in case any others show up."

"Others? Anyone can just come and go?" McGonagall asked.

"No Ma'am. You need to be keyed into the wards and then I have to unlock them, so to speak," Harry said as he led them into the Great Room. "I don't have to unlock them for my Ladies as they have unlimited access. But their parents can also come and go if I've unlocked the wards to allow them to visit. And you three are on a one time access for now. It was easier to do it that way and doesn't require a drop of your blood. Some of the wards on the Trunks are Goblin wards, you see."

"How do they …?" McGonagall asked.

"Access Trunks. Basically, little different than where we came in from Hogwarts, except they don't have all this, just access to this. The controls are in the Trunk I entered. It's what ties into this place and ties all access trunks in as well. All of them are as warded as this place but the controls for those wards as well are in the main trunk. Aside from Luna's Dad, all my Ladies parents have one and I have three others in use. The other two in our married quarters are access trunks. We learned trying to move the lot of us in and out of a single trunk can be … interesting if we all need to move in or out at about the same time. Wasn't a big deal during the summer, but with classes and all, this way's easier. The other one is Ginny's. So she lives in her dorm as far as anyone else knows, but really she lives here with us."

Harry led them to one of the Salons. There were three adults in the room. Ron did not recognize any of them, but could tell right away that Professor Lupin did. He rushed over and started hugging them apologizing and saying he believed something and couldn't believe it when he was told it wasn't true and a few other things that made no sense at all. He looked and saw that Professor McGonagall also seemed to have no idea who those people were or what this was about. Then he saw Ginny had entered with his parents. She began saying strange stuff about everything people believed was a lie and the truth was very, very different. Then he understood. The man with the glasses and the woman were Harry's parents. They had not died that night. Through some kind of magic they wound up alive but in stasis and had been that way for nearly twelve years. Everyone in the Wizarding World thought the other man was about as evil as You-Know-Who and was the reason that night happened and yet everybody was wrong. The man was (mostly) innocent. He had escaped Azkaban, which was impressive if Ron thought about it, not to find Harry to kill him, but to protect Harry from the real killer…

"Peter Pettigrew," Ginny finished.

"You or I should say we knew him as Scabbers, Ron," his mother said. He looked at her in shock. "Your father and I learned that the morning after we thought he ran off. He didn't. Ginny had an Elf take him during the night. We couldn't tell you because that information, just like what you heard about Harry's parents and Sirius Black, is under a Fidelius Charm and Ginny is the Secret Keeper. It means we can't tell anyone. I don't mean we shouldn't. We can't. The magic prevents it."

"For now," Harry added. "This will be made public. Sirius will be first unless Dumbledore tries something. Either way, Sirius will be before the end of this month."

"Why so soon?" McGonagall asked.

"So long as our world believes Sirius is what they say he is and is or may be coming to Hogwarts, those Dementors will be here. Do you think even allowing those things anywhere near this place is wise?"

It was clear that she did not.

Ron and Harry were alone in the Game Room after lunch playing Wizards Chess. Harry almost wondered why. As far has he knew no one had ever beaten Ron at this game. He thought that Ron must have lost at some time; certainly when he was just beginning. But in the two years he had known Ron, those closest Ron had come to losing was arguably when they were after the Philosopher's Stone and that was one with what was in Harry's mind a very modified rule. That rule was losing the King's side Knight or Queen side Bishop or Rook was worse than losing the game seeing as Ron, Harry and Hermione were those pieces and, while setting up an easy checkmate of the other side, Ron had to sacrifice himself.

"All this is pretty intense," Ron said.

Harry knew what he was talking about. Over the last few hours Ron and two other had received an overview of things that he had learned relatively at his leisure over the summer. He had thought it was all intense when he learned it. It must be worse all at once in some ways. The only major things that were not revealed were the Flamels or the future memories.

"This place bother you?"

Ron shrugged. "Not really. There's a lot a kid could envy about you. But then you see all the other stuff that goes with it and … well nothing is worth that. You're life's pretty messed up, you know?"

"I'd like to think it's getting better."

Ron nodded. "You deserve something other than mad nutters after you and all that. Still, it would be nice. Not all the wives. Wouldn't want that. I'd say better you than me, but that's not wrong 'cause I don't dislike you."

"It's not so bad…"

Ron shrugged. "Don't know Gree… Daphne or Hannah. They seem okay for girls. Luna's been… She doesn't seem that way 'round you though. Couldn't imagine being with Hermione like that. I'd go spare in a week. But you two always got on better than she and I did. And my sister is right out. Not just 'cause she's my sister. She doesn't take crap from anyone, you know? She was off last year. That wasn't her and we knew it but … well, it's hard to help someone who doesn't want it, you know? I should've thought of it…"

"What?"

"That somehow she was involved in what was going on. It never crossed my mind that her being so different might be related, though. I thought it was just being at school, you know? Some kids do have a problem with it at first. Deep down, I knew she couldn't be the type; the type to want to open the Chamber I mean. Then again, I didn't know You-Know-Who could possess people like that or even what that was. I mean it wasn't at all like Quirrell, you know?"

"None of us figured that out, Mate."

"Guess that's why we're in school, eh? Good as we've been, we're not ready for what's out there."

Harry nodded. "'Course, I could solve your money issues."

"Don't want your money, Harry. It'd always be your money to me, you know?"

"Not what I meant. You ever hear of the Rules of Conquest."

"You mean aside from the Rule that you can't beat me in Chess?" Ron quipped. "Check, by the way."

"Nah. That's more a law than a rule. Rules can be ignored or broken. Laws are harder. I meant something else. What's underneath the Castle?"

"Chamber of Secrets," Ron said without hestitating.

"And what's in it?"

"Don't know. Never got that far. The roof collapsed."

"A big, dead basilisk. I'm thinking of taking some people down to see it. You too if you want to. But those Rules of Conquest say it's mine 'cause I killed it. It further says I am obligated to reward those who helped."

"Okay. I guess that makes sense. But so?"

"It might be the largest one of those things ever known. Basilisks are all kinds of valuable even dead. Worth more pound for pound than any dragon. I got an estimate that says it's worth more than a million galleons at least and probably a lot more. I'm required to keep half of that. Don't think I need that at all, but…"

"Yeah, sucks being you, don't it. Check again."

"Got some people who can teach my elves how to … well cut it up so any valuable bits can be sold, you know? I've agreed to pay them a small fee for teaching the elves and aside from some bits I may keep – don't ask me what – I've already arranged to sell the rest to the Goblins. In the long run, I'd probably make more if I sold it myself, but the Goblins offered a million minimum and more if there's more there than they think. Still, I don't need a million. I have a half million to give away or something. You're entitled to a share 'cause you helped with the Quest. Hermione did as well, but she made it clear that 'cause she's my wife in many ways I'd just be giving that money to me anyway. I was also going to give Ginny a portion for all she went through, but the same thing, sort of. She's going to be my wife as well. So, what I decided is to divide what's left into shares. Figured I'd use a small part of it to start a scholarship fund for Muggle Borns and families like yours so future Dumbledores can't do what he tried to do. Colin, Justin and the Clearwater girl will get one share and you'd get the remaining five."

"Don't want to sound greedy but how much are you talking about?"

Harry shrugged. "Assuming it's only the million the Goblins have guaranteed, and figuring a fee to the people teaching the elves your cut'll be at least 200,000. Maybe more. Haven't done the maths really."

"Bloody hell! You're talking Galleons, right?"

Harry nodded. "And that assumes I don't get more."

"Um, not to sound greedy or anything but … when?"

"By the summer, for certain," Harry said. "Maybe sooner. You know you could get a place like this with that and still have a lot left over?"

"I suppose. I'd probably have to think about a lot of things."

Harry nodded.

"Checkmate," Ron said.


	36. Chapter 36: Plans Become Reality

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: It's been longer than planned, so that means two for one. Thought about not doing it, but these chapters are a little shorter and there'd be a bit of a cliffie otherwise...

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: PLANS BECOME REALITY**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4****th**** 1993**

Luna straddled her broom and kicked off the grass into the air. She was not the flyer Harry was, but she had been flying since she was little and as long as it was not a Quidditch Match, she was comfortable on a broom. She had debated which broom to use, but decided to use one of her older brooms for now. Tied beneath the broom was a large box. Inside the box under a stasis charm were the Ardites. Harry had offered to help her on this, but she said it should not be a problem. It was not as if she intended to walk into the forest and it was a sunny day which meant that the dementors must not be near – or if they were they were in the shadows of the forest and the broom she had used was fast enough to evade such things. She just needed to get over the forest to release the Ardites, although it would be best if it were over the spider colony. She was not sure where this was nor was Harry except to say it was deep in the forest.

Luna Lovegood was a Ravenclaw and the daughter of a respected if eccentric naturalist. She had done her research after learning about those things thriving near their school which was how she learned about Ardites. Furthermore, she had read accounts of Acromantulas and knew it was possible to detect their colonies from the air. It had to be a large colony with mature spiders, which was rare given that most of the spiders never lived to full maturity thanks to Ardites and, in their native lands, Acromantula colonies never lasted long because the Ardites would find them in time. She was looking for a stand of unnaturally dark leaved trees. That was suggestive of a thriving colony of those spiders. Naturally, if she saw webs in the tree tops (to catch birds and bats) even better.

Ardites, Luna knew, were a magical insect that on cursory inspection looked like honey bees. They were slightly smaller than their non-magical cousins and behaved differently. They did tend to live in colonies like bees, but their colonies rarely had more than a hundred insects. They gathered nectar like bees which they consumed or turned into a kind of honey for long term storage. Unlike bees, however, they never produced that substance in near as much quantity and it was unpalatable. It seemed that aside from the Ardites themselves, nothing would touch the stuff as a food source, although to local magicals it was useful in potions. As nothing threatened their food source, Ardites never developed the sting that bees had.

Ardites, however, were lazy as compared to bees. Their small colonies were not a permanent state, rather a state that existed when they needed to store food for times of want or when they had to raise young themselves, which could occur if suitable acromantulas were scarce. With a large colony of the spiders around to incubate and provide an ample food source to their young, the colonies would be smaller and solely for the purpose of a communal food bank. And, as Luna knew, Ardites could live in the same environment as those spiders.

She knew this plan of theirs would not get rid of all the spiders or even get rid of them completely. Ardites did not bother with small Acromantulas. The spiders had to be larger than the largest tarantula to be a suitable nesting site for an Ardite's eggs and larva, so smaller ones were safe from the bees. It was perhaps not a coincidence that the bees were not safe from the smaller ones, as the large ones had outgrown insects as a food source while the smaller ones preyed exclusively on insects. The larger ones were the problem as they required ever larger prey. They might not be as voracious as their smaller relations, but they did need to eat and that meant eating increasingly large game, including the natural predators. Left unchecked, they could destroy an ecosystem and Ardites had been nature's check. It might take a few years to restore the balance to the forest this way, but it would readjust to a sustainable state even if smaller acromantulas continued to thrive.

Luna now knew what dememtors felt like and if she felt that she planned to turn back. The dementors at Hogwarts were the only risk in this plan, but the weather suggested they either were not nearby or they were dormant, preferring to stalk the night. She flew over the trees mindful of that risk and noticed some other students doing the same. This was something she would have to tell the others. She knew the dangers. They seemed oblivious to them which meant the staff needed to know Dumbledore's warning was already not working. The staff would have to restrict what students could and could not do outside the castle or be certain where the dementors were or both and enforce restrictions vigorously.

There it is, she thought. There was a large stand of very dark, almost black leaved trees ahead. As she flew over, she could see a few webs in the tree tops. She stayed well clear of the tree tops just in case, although if anyone asked her what the just in case was about, she wouldn't know. She pulled a line which should open the box and release the Ardites from their Stasis. The fact that she soon had several of them flying about her told her it worked. She turned her broom and headed back to the school.

XXXXXXXXX

Xenophilius Lovegood considered himself a naturalist first and foremost. He had inherited _The Quibbler _when his father had passed away during the war and had worked as a reporter and assistant editor before becoming its Publisher. First and foremost, however, he was a naturalist and _The Quibbler _meant he could publish his discoveries without having to first impress the old codgers who ran the formal journals on the topic and never published anything they did not agree with. Under Xeno's tenure, while the old guard of naturalists public derided _The Quibbler, _it was where the up and coming field researches sent their articles for publication. Xeno only rejected articles that he knew lacked adequate research. This too infuriated the old guard who seemed content to research from the quite of an old library or comfortable study rather than endure the hardships and deprivations of actually going into the field. For the newer Naturalists, _The Quibbler _was the reputable journal in the field and garnered international respect for its naturalist articles.

But it was not a single topic periodical and never had been. Its section entitled "Zoological Developments" was now considered a respected, professional journal advancing the field and had won numerous awards for its works both for the contributing authors and the publication. But "Zoological Developments" was only one section. For as long as anyone could remember, _The Quibbler_ had also engaged in a continual criticism of magical politics and society, although it had done so through farce, satire and fanciful speculation. A discerning reader could see the truths through the fantasy. Fortunately, most who might take offence were not so discerning and generally dismissed the critiques as the ravings of an otherwise harmless lunatic fringe. Xeno was the primary writer of these and set the standard for any contributing authors. Articles had to include verifiable facts. What an author concluded from such facts was their business as long as it was somewhat plausible.

For example, there was Xeno's own "Rot Fang Conspiracy." He knew the conclusions were off the mark. He thought Fudge had no business being Minister and he was hardly alone in that assessment. The man had made it a career of bumbling incompetence in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was known to make decisions only when told what those decisions were and paid under the table to make them, and certainly suffered from both an intense inferiority complex and delusions of grandeur. Whenever Fudge opened his mouth, Xeno could only think: "And there are those who say I'm crazy." Fudge was quite capable of contradicting himself several times in a minute. He tried to appear to be progressive and open minded and was just successful enough at doing so to become a compromise Minister after months of deliberation. He also had really bad teeth. Xeno knew enough of the man to think he was dangerous. At the very least Fudge sympathized with the Pureblood Supremacists (who Xeno believed were dangerous) and was in their pockets. At worst, he was one himself which is exactly what the compromise that had put him in office was hoping to avoid. Hence the conspiracy. Fudge had bad teeth and sounded like an idiot whenever he spoke extemporaneously and clearly thought everyone should be like him as in have bad teeth and sound like an idiot.

Xeno really wanted verifiable facts for his Goblin Pie theory. All he had was enough to show that Fudge did not like Goblins. Many did not. Xeno did not know if the man even liked pies. He knew the man never bought any from the vendor in the Atrium of the Ministry who had a thriving business. Most of those who worked there bought his pies. Many who were just visiting made it a point to buy his pies. Fudge never had. Perhaps because they were not Goblin Pies? But that was a leap even he was not willing to publish yet.

He had spent the summer in the field in Tibet with a small group of naturalists studying the magical fauna. The team was led by a world class field researcher from the Chinese Ministry and Xeno planned to publish many papers from the expedition. His own research was again the Crumple Horned Snorkack, known to live in the region. He was certain that they were becoming an invasive species in Scandinavia, most likely brought there by either unscrupulous or careless wizards. He found that while evidence that they were around could be found, finding one was much, much harder. He had yet to do that. Naturalists understood the risks of introducing a foreign species to a new environment, but they also were not the ones doing such things and few of them ever decided to work for the paper pushing political mire that was supposed to regulate such things. The Ministry would never act without absolutely incontrovertible proof of anything and a politically expedient reason for acting.

Xeno was not in Tibet. He was in Paris based upon several tips from sources and other reporters he knew. The British Ministry was being called to respond to a complaint lodged against it by the Goblin Nation for overt violations of the Truce of 1715 by senior Ministry officials including the British Minister of Magic no less. This might well provide the facts needed to suggest Fudge's odd taste in pies. But he would leave the Fudge Flaying to the reporters from Le Monde Magique and other foreign publications that did not kowtow to the Ministry, although he might ask a few questions if his colleagues did not. Xeno was more interested in hearing Fudge justify something he heard from his daughter in her very recent letter, namely the presence of Dementors both at Hogwarts and, more disturbingly, aboard the Hogwarts Express.

He listened to the official statement from Barty Crouch, Head of International Cooperation and the "Q and A" that followed. One had to hand it to Barty. He excelled at saying nothing one way or another when needed. It seemed clear that the British contingent were content to let Barty state their view on things. It also seemed clear that while he was present, it was hoped by the same delegation that Fudge would keep his mouth shut. One thing you could count on from Fudge: he could never resist strutting and sounding off in front of reporters.

Xeno was impressed. He could see that Fudge ached to talk, but every question put to him was either ignored or elicited "I have nothing further to add." It was clear that the man did, but probably had been threatened somehow into saying nothing.

"Minister," he asked, "on an unrelated matter, do you have any comment on the attack on the Hogwarts Express this past September 1st?"

"What are you on about?" Fudge replied.

"_The Quibbler _has heard from a variety of sources, Minister, that dementors were present on a train filled with children."

This piqued the interest of the foreign press.

"I am unaware of that incident," Fudge said tersely.

"Are you denying it happened?"

"The Ministry has full control over the dementors."

"Be that as it may, is it also not true that unknown numbers of dementors are currently loose from Azkaban and in the vicinity of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I take offense at the term loose! They are there to apprehend a known fugitive who is known to have designs on that school!"

"So, you admit that dementors are not at Azkaban?"

"Some have been posted to assist in the apprehension of Sirius Black."

"The same man most recently seen at Gringotts London?"

"The very same."

"And the same man who escaped from Azkaban?"

"Of course."

"A prison guarded by dementors?"

"That is hardly a secret."

"So, these dementors who could not keep a prisoner in his cage are now being used to help catch the same prisoner? What makes the Ministry think they can be successful? They obviously could not hold him when his location was known. How could they possibly help find him once he is lost?"

"I am assured that the escape was an aberration…"

"Are there dementors guarding or searching through Diagon Alley?"

"Don't be silly. Of course not!"

"Or the Ministry."

"No. That's just foolish!"

"How about your home, Minister?"

"Why would I want those things anywhere near my home? That's just silly!"

"Yet you admit they are being used at Hogwarts."

"It was deemed necessary…"

"A school full of children. Children who cannot be expected to defend themselves against such things."

"I've been assured the things are under control."

"And yet there were no Aurors aboard the Hogwarts Express. Wouldn't it have been prudent to have sent some aboard?"

"It was deemed a waste of assets. The Aurors are busy searching for Black!"

"Who you're told has designs on Hogwarts. Again, why not place Aurors on the Express?"

"Um…"

"Why allow dementors aboard?"

"They were not allowed aboard! They got aboard!"

"Ah, so the Ministry knew that they had."

"Of course."

"And you still insist they're under your control?"

"Of course they are!"

"What will it take for you to change your mind, Minister? The deaths of students? An Atrium filled with grieving parents?"

"I have pressing business! Excuse me!"

Xeno smiled. It might not lead to a story on Goblin Pies, but he could now crucify Fudge in the next issue. Moreover, he was certain Fudge could expect similar treatment from the world press.

**MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6****th****, 1993**

Breakfast at Hogwarts was the time when letters arrived from the outside, at least for the students. As such, while students arrived at various times for their first meal of the day, most were present at 7:30 when the windows opened to allow in the post owls. Harry, of course, had most of his mail diverted to the farm. His ladies received letters from their immediate family via the family's access trunk. But their mail order stuff and subscriptions still arrived in the Great Hall. Moreover, they all knew that Luna's Dad was still abroad and did not have his own trunk yet so his post had to come this way. It would look odd if it did not.

A non-descript post owl delivered a letter to Luna as she was eating her eggs. It was clearly one of those you rented from a postal center rather than a family bird. Luna removed the letter and gave the owl a strip of bacon for its trouble.

"It's from Daddy," she exclaimed. "He forgot my birthday you know so he's probably remembering now."

Luna's birthday had been the previous Friday. She had a party at the Farm that evening with the Flamels and House Longbottom in attendance and another one on Saturday when the adults were there. She had not heard from her father about that, but did not seem too upset. He always remembered in the end. As far as Luna was concerned it was the best party she had ever had and the best birthday since her Mum had died. She had been surprisingly bubbly ever since, even for her.

"Yep! He remembered. Said he sent my prezzies separately through Gringotts! Oh my!"

"What is it," the others asked.

"He's gonna publish an article about the dementors. Apparently Fudge stepped in it in a way where it's clear they're being reckless about those things. Fudge claims that they weren't supposed to be on the train and were under control, but then that they were not and acts like that's not that big a deal. But he did so before the foreign press in Paris after the stuff about what happened at Gringotts so it won't be just _The Quibbler."_

"We should move forward sooner rather than later then," Daphne said. "If it were to come out that those things never were needed here in the first place…"

"Are we ready, though?" Harry asked.

"Almost, I think. Mr. Tonks has been most helpful and said he'd be there although it's our show as it were."

"How soon?"

"We need time to send the required notices," Hannah said. "Not much time, but a week I should think."

Harry nodded.

"And time to make ready for the guests," Ginny added. "I mean, we can handle them on the estate, but we need to get them there and all that and need some kind of plan."

"And get them there without wands," Daphne added.

They had talked about all of this, but had not yet worked out the details.

"Probably should ask McGonagall for ideas," Hermione suggested.

Harry thought about it. This plan could work. It had one flaw, though. To work, to be official, they had to invite Dumbledore and he was loath to do that. It was one of the reasons why he had put it off so far. It was certainly the reason he had for doing so. The longer he put off having to deal with that man, the better. But the girls were right. The story about what really happened at Gringotts was sure to break soon and now there was also the one about the dementors. The plan was more than just about getting Sirius free. Done correctly, it could well get the people thinking about their government rather than accepting it as it was.

"Okay," he decided. "We do it. Set it up for a Saturday. Oh. And be sure to invite Oliver and the Quidditch team. He's already talking 'bout starting practices and would have kittens if I had to skive off even for a good reason. That way, we could hold a few at the Pitch in the Valley."

"Let House Longbottom know?" Hermione added.

"Of course."

That would be done by post to their farm since it had to be official, although they would also be told verbally since that could be done now or as soon as they set the date.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Professor, I can't seem to...," Malfoy began. His arm was in a sling. No one who had been in the class that day except maybe the Slytherins thought he was injured, but he was clearly acting as if he was. It was their first Potions Class of the year and already Malfoy had been making a big deal about his incapacitating and life threatening scratch.

"Potter!" Snape called out. "Help Mr. Malfoy prepare his ingredients!"

Harry ignored the order and kept to his own work.

"Potter? Did you hear me?"

"Think you need to call him Lord Potter, Sir," Seamus said. Several students sniggered. Harry continued with his own work.

"Lord Potter, you are to help Mr. Malfoy with his ingredients," Snape said, clearly hating it.

"I don't think so," Harry said.

"What?" Snape and Malfoy exclaimed.

"He is of an inferior House and not one to which I am allied nor is he my Vassal. I cannot be compelled to render any assistance, Sir," Harry replied.

"Fine! Granger you do it!"

"That rule extends to Countess Finchley as well, Sir," Harry said. "As it does to Countess Abengale. Were Baroness Tinworth in this class, it would apply to her too, as you should be aware."

"Fine, Lord Longbottom…"

"House Longbottom finds itself in the same situation as House Potter and is not inclined to assist Mr. Malfoy," Neville said although he was clearly nervous as he said it. "This extends to Countess Marston and Baroness Halden Moor as well, Sir."

"Parkinson! Help Malfoy!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That's a boggart, that is," Dean Thomas said.

"Indeed," Professor Lupin replied. "Third Year, we focus on dark creatures. Now, before you ask, for those of you taking Care, you may be learning about some of the creatures again when you sit for NEWTs. There, you will be learning about them from a zoological perspective. Here, we're not so interested in that as we are with how to deal with them. Many are dangerous, but there are ways both to avoid them and to deal with them that you should know. Right then, can anyone tell me what a Boggart is?"

"It's a shape shifter," Hermione said.

"And what's its base form?"

"No one knows, Sir. It takes the form of a person's worst fear…"

"Correct," Lupin said. "And five points to Gryffindor. That is what the course book says. But what if your worst fear was heights, or crowds or darkness?"

No one could answer.

"It would either take a form that you also feared, or a form that you associate with that fear. The effect is the same. You become terrified and it feeds off of that terror. Now, like dementors it cannot make decisions. The best defense against the worst a dementor can do, aside from not being anywhere near them, is to never, ever be alone with one. They cannot then choose between one person and another. Same's true with a Boggart. It can't transform into many fears at once and will therefore remain dormant if there's more than one person close by. But there's also a spell we can use in case we're ever alone with one, just as there's a spell that can be used if you're alone with a dementor. Although, I'd like to think the spell I'm going to teach you is a lot more fun…and a lot easier to learn."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Bloody brilliant that class," Ron said after it was over. "Wish I could do that to real spiders! Although, you might be in for it, Neville."

Neville nodded. "It's okay. It was funny at the time."

"Whole school's gonna hear how Neville turned Snape into a drag queen," Dean Thomas laughed.

"What's that?" several voices asked.

"It's a bloke who prefers dressing up as a girl," Dean said. "Don't ask me why. Personally think that's creepy although there were a couple of them in my neighborhood."

"Sorry it ended before he could get to you, Harry," Ron said. "Then again, I guess we didn't need to see You-Know-Who…"

"Don't think it would've been him," Harry said. "To be honest, I don't think he's all that scary really."

"Oh. Well, you're three for naught against him at least so… What do you think it would've been?"

"Don't know. And my guess is it would've been worse than spiders."

"What was yours, Hermione? All we saw was a door," Lavender Brown asked.

"Beyond the door was Professor McGonagall," Hermione replied. "She told me I failed all my classes and was gonna be a maid for the rest of my life…"

"What you do?"

"Turned it into Malfoy," Hermione shrugged. "Once I remembered what was going on. I'd never believe a word he says."

**SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12****th****, 1993**

Professor Dumbledore had not enjoyed his return to Hogwarts as much as he would have liked. He had to sit through a meeting with his Heads of House where Severus was complaining at length about the temerity of Harry and Mr. Longbottom and yet finding absolutely no support from any other members of the Staff. It was clear that matter could not be resolved to anyone's liking. Severus wanted to "put the arrogant brats" in their place and yet nothing he complained of exceeded what they were allowed as emancipated Lords. None of the others were willing to allow Severus any concessions in this regard. Dumbledore decided it was best to do nothing. He could no more change Severus's mind than he could command the weather and it was clear he could not garner any support for Severus from the others.

He had looked to the school as a sanctuary from the headaches building outside the walls. It was clear the Minister was at best being disingenuous about what had happened that day at Gringotts and, were he not Chief Warlock, he might openly support the Goblins whom he had come to believe were probably providing the accurate story. But to openly support the Goblins would be detrimental to Britain. It was clear that the ICW was likely to support the Goblins and probably impose at least some forms of sanctions on Britain, any of which would be unpleasant. He had to at least attempt to minimize the unpleasantness and this was running afoul of his role as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, where he was expected to support the decisions of that body as if they were his own and until now they usually had been. There was already some talk of removing him, not because of anything he had done, but because there were those who felt his position was clearly compromised by his duties as a member of the Wizengamot of Greater Britain and its Chief Warlock. For now, Dumbledore was forced to work to keep both positions and because of this was in no real position to either support the Minister or act in an impartial manner and it was frustrating to say the least.

At least there was Hogwarts. Or so he had thought.

He was in his office and noticed he had a letter waiting for him which struck him as odd. He had only just returned that morning and even then it was after the morning post. His personal mail was in his private apartment. Mail on his desk was always official in some nature and all such mail should have been delivered to Professor McGonagall. He was even more confused to see Gringotts seal on the envelope. He opened it and read:

_**NOTICE OF PROCEEDING**_

_To: Hon. Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of Greater Britannia._

_Dear Sir:_

_In accordance with the relevant Provisions of the Truce of 1715 and as service to a valued customer, this Notice is hereby provided to you through Gringotts London._

_Sir:_

_You are hereby notified in your capacity as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of Greater Britannia that, pursuant to the provisions of Article 21 of the Wizengamot Charter, a Manor Court is being convened to hear the Petition placed before it for adjudication and recommendation by a person under the jurisdiction of the Head of such Ancient and Noble House vested with authority to convene such a court. As Chief Warlock and as a disinterested member of aforesaid Wizengamot and in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, this notice is provided to facilitate you attendance as a spectator and on behalf of aforesaid Wizengamot. It is not anticipated that you may be called as witness or as a responding party. Under the Provisions of Article 21, your attendance is not required._

_The matter that shall be considered is set forth below:_

_Before the Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter;_

_The Ancient and Noble Houses of Abbott, Bones and Longbottom attending; the Line of Davis attending and the Proxy of the Ancient and Noble House of Black attending:_

_In the Matter of Petitioner vs. The Ministry of Magic for Greater Britannia. Be it known that Petitioner, seeks redress form Respondent, the Ministry for: Attempted Line Theft, Attempted Line Assassination, Imprisonment without Cause, Criminal Assault, Willful Defamation of Character and any other cause that may find support in the evidence presented._

_By pre-proceeding Motion and after hearing on the merits, the Court deems it unnecessary to reveal the identity of the Petitioner at this time._

_The Manor Court shall convene at a House Potter Estate on Saturday, 18 September 1993 and shall remain in session until all matters have been heard and decision of the Court rendered. Should you desire to attend, please assemble in the Transfiguration Classroom, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry not later than 9:30 A.M. on the above mentioned date and with the expectation to remain at the House Potter Estate until such matter is completed. Transportation and communication beyond the Estate will not be possible while the Court remains in session._

_You must present this notification to the persons at the transport site or you may be denied admission._

_Harry James Potter_

_Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

_Earls of Finchley, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca, Baron of Loch Sheen._

_For the Court._

_Hermione Jane Potter nee Granger_

_Countess Designate of Finchley._

_Clerk of House Potter Manor Court._

_Minerva Giselle McGonagall_

_Acting Headmistress Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_On Behalf of Hogwarts._

This was unexpected to say the least. Dumbledore knew what a Manor Court was. It had fallen out of use, but was still technically legal. As far as he knew, one had not been convened in his lifetime and certainly not during his tenure as Chief Warlock. The Manor Court was a court that held legal jurisdiction over the lands of the Head of the Manor and Estate and all who lived there and, under certain circumstances, those were merely present there. It predated the Wizengamot and went back to the times when independent Clan Chiefs were the authorities in the land. It continued after the forming of the Wizengamot to deal with disputes that occurred upon the property of recognized nobility but said nobles could no longer sit in absolute judgment over their extended family who lived elsewhere. Since the notion of estates had faded over the centuries, as far as Dumbledore knew, there were no Manors that held true sway over more than their immediate family and as such there was little need for this archaic body. But it was still an option under the law if its jurisdiction could be established and was a vehicle to lodge complaints against the Ministry or the Wizengamot or some persons whose actions were otherwise protected by those bodies or the law.

Dumbledore's initial reaction was this was an attempt to wrest back control of House Potter. That clearly was something a Manor Court could decide, but its decisions were merely advisory and the Wizengamot was not obligated to either to ratify or enforce that decision. Still, the boy could try. He had nothing to lose by trying. Yet the summary of the Petition made no sense. It named the Ministry as Respondent; the accused party. While Dumbledore did not expect the boy to know enough to make that distinction, this did come from Gringotts who would have asked what this was about and known that the real party was Dumbledore and named him and maybe the Wizengamot as Respondents, not the Ministry. Moreover, the notice he received was clearly advisory. It said clearly he did not have to attend, would not be called upon to answer and would not even be called upon as a witness. If this was about the Weasley contract and its provisions, surely it would have required that. But what else could it be about?

Moreover, it was to be held here at Hogwarts. He could understand that to an extent as the boy was here. But Manor Courts could not physically be convened anywhere but at that Estate and as far as Dumbledore knew, Potter knew little about his family properties and could not gain access to them now, despite his limited emancipation.

He stuck his head in the Floo. "Minerva, could you come to my office?" he called out.

It took her some time to arrive and Dumbledore had been unsuccessful at determining anything. Nothing made sense.

"Are you aware of this, Minerva?" he asked after pleasantries had been exchanged handing her the notice.

"I am," she said. "Lord Potter brought it to my attention recently."

"Surely he knows he cannot convene such a court…"

"He can. He showed me to my satisfaction that this falls within the jurisdiction of House Potter sitting as a Manor Court…"

"He cannot call it here!"

"No. He cannot. He knows that as well."

"Then why is it set to be held in your classroom?"

"My classroom is not where it will be held. It is where those who will attend shall be transported to the Potter Estates for the proceeding."

"Surely any floo will do?"

"Transportation will not be by floo. The estate is not connected to the network. Likewise apparition is not possible and Lord Potter is not about to authorize portkeys…"

"Then how…?"

"I am satisfied that the method of travel will facilitate access for most invitees if not all of them and will not either compromise the wards of the school, the safety of the students or the safety of Lord Potter. Regrettably at this time, most of the information I have been privy to is protected by a Fidelius Charm so, as you are aware, I cannot reveal it."

"Who's the Secret Keeper?"

"That too is so protected. I can say it's not Mr. Potter."

The last revelation stunned the Headmaster. No one hid the identity of a Secret Keeper that way. Everyone knew that the charm was used to hide property and not information. But his thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"Enter," Albus called. Severus Snape stormed in.

"That little brat has gone too far!" he said without even acknowledging the others. "I've told you he's arrogant! And he does this!" he added waiving a piece of parchment.

"Might I see what it is he has done?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

Snape handed over the parchment still seething. Dumbledore read it.

"I received a similar notification, Severus. Similar but not the same as it seems I shall not be called to testify…"

"He can't do this!"

"As Head of House and assuming he can invoke the jurisdiction of his Manor Court, he most certainly can, Severus. I'm not certain he can invoke such jurisdiction. But I'm seriously lacking in information to state such one way or another. And before you suggest we call him in here, there are problems with it. First of all, he has called his Court and to attempt to influence it is a criminal matter and asking him why he thinks he has the nerve can be seen as just that. Secondly, I've been advised that the details of this matter are currently protected under a Fidelius Charm and Harry is not the Secret Keeper. Neither of us nor all of us combined can get through that. And finally, so long as the matter falls within the recognized jurisdiction of his Manor Court, he can call you as a witness and the Ministry will have to enforce that summons. Besides, it says here you're being called as an expert in your field, not as a material witness."

"I've been called as well – as an expert in my field," McGonagall said, "as has Hagrid. Poppy's been requested…"

"So we just sit here and let that … that … _student_ dictate his terms?"

"Hagrid?" Dumbledore asked ignoring his Potions Professor. "Most curious. I dare say, I'm surprised Filius and Pomona are not as it seems…"

"A fair few on faculty have been invited to attend, Albus," Minerva said. "Like you to observe. Should prove quite the entertainment."

"This is ridiculous! He's doing it to spite us!" Snape protested.

"If it were just you, Severus, I might be inclined to agree," McGonagall said. "Really. You sound like that malingering knitwit Mr. Malfoy."

"He's seriously injured!"

"If he's injure at all, I'm a hamster. The boy's a layabout who lacks any of the Slytherin traits. Guess you're stuck with him and most your lot 'cause they lack the traits for any other House."

"That's enough!" Dumbledore said. "I did not ask you here to discuss whatever it is Mr. Malfoy's up to now. This is about Mr. Potter. If he can convene the court, we have no choice but to allow it, Severus. I cannot say that he can, but this was sent via the Goblins who would have to be told more than it says on the parchment and would know if this was a red herring. They seem to feel there're sufficient grounds for House Potter to convene as a Manor Court for whatever it is in the summary of the Petition. At the very least, this has piqued my curiosity. Enough so, I might add, that I hope other matters will not preclude my attending."

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993.**

"Ah Dumbledore!" a voice called.

Albus Dumbledore was standing in a queue in his own school. On the one hand, that he had to stand in line was an annoyance he had not been subjected to outside of a busy day at the tellers at Gringotts in a long, long time. On the other hand, there was a sense of novelty he found mildly interesting. The man who had called to him was Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic of Greater Britannia. With him was his Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. Were it up to Dumbledore, she would've been sacked and quite possibly she would've lost her pension for the events at Gringotts. But it was not. Why Cornelius had kept her on at all was perplexing. His only guess was she knew where too many bodies were buried as it were to be let go.

"Quite an event!" the Minister said. "I don't recall such an event in my lifetime. Just been talking to Archibald, you know. Daily Prophet had a personal invite, can you imagine? And look at this crowd. Even students queued up to see history being made. It's like pulling teeth, you know, to get the youngsters interested in the Ministry or to attend your sessions."

"I take it then you were not a recipient of an official notification?" Dumbledore asked.

"I was not. Odd that, though. Seems the Ministry itself is in the dock as it were and yet I'm not called. Amelia's our designated representative. I sent a letter 'bout that. I was assured that the events at issue were long before I became Minister and that my official participation might … well, might raise unnecessary questions. If it's not about my administration, I suppose that may be a correct assessment. But even if it's not… Well, I am the Minister, am I not? Seems only polite that I should be asked to attend."

"Minister Fudge?" a voice asked. They looked and saw a young woman. Dumbledore immediately recognized her as Miss Greengrass, now Countess Abengale. "We were not expecting your presence."

"Yes," he said, "there seems to have been an oversight."

"There was not," she said. "This is a Manor Court. It predates the Ministry by almost a thousand years and by law is still considered separate and apart from it and the Wizengamot, although its authority has been circumscribed by Charter to limit it to areas purely within its purview. Space is at a premium, so we had to be circumspect in our invitations and, as you as an individual and as Minister are not an interested party… You would be surprised at the number of gate crashers we've already had to turn away. We also felt it would only be polite not to add to your busy schedule unnecessarily."

"Well, you can see the Minister has decided that his schedule can accommodate this … whatever it is," the Undersecretary said icily. "Hence, we demand entry. And it's not for you to decide what is and what is not of interest to the Minister, girlie."

"It's Lady, actually," Daphne said. "You should address me as Your Grace. I am Countess Abengale and Court Advocate after all. I don't know who or what you are…"

"I am Senior Undersecretary to the Minister…"

"Ah. We may be able to accommodate the Minister, but you will remain behind…"

"Do you not know who I am?"

"A gate crasher, that's certain. Also nothing more than a glorified clerk and clearly a problem seeing as you've been identified as a disruptive influence after you nearly single handedly started another Goblin war. You also clearly don't know your place. This is, after all, the Manor Court of an Ancient and Noble House and not some Ministry office. If you insist on proceeding any further, we may decide not to accommodate the Minister at all – or find reason to charge you."

"Dolores, please shut it and go home," the Minister said. She gave him an indignant look and stormed off. "I do apologize, Your Grace," he said laying it on thick. "She is a trusted assistant and insisted on accompanying me. But had I known she would present difficulties, I would not have allowed her along."

Daphne nodded. "I will see to it his Lordship is advised of your request. Things are tight, but we should be able to make accommodation…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Fudge showed up," Daphne said. Harry was sitting in the Great Room for now. "He would like to attend. He brought along that toad you mentioned. It seems he hasn't seen fit to sack her. She was … rude to say the least."

"I hope you told her to piss off," Harry smiled.

"Not in such words, but yes."

"It's tempting to ask her back. But since she didn't attack Sirius on my estate and I'm not about to give her a chance… Still, would've been nice to hang her. We have room for the Minister? Was she the only toadie in tow?"

"Aside from her, he's alone and we have a room at the Old Farm."

"Extend my compliments and such."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your invitation or notification?" the Elf asked Dumbledore and Dumbledore just inside the door to the Transfiguration Classroom.

Dumbledore was just handing it over when Daphne walked up.

"Minister? His Lordship offers his compliments. An exception has been made allowing your attendance, but you will be in the gallery with the other disinterested parties."

"That's fine, um… Your Grace."

"Higgins? He's clear to Station Five."

"Yes Ma'am," the Elf said. "Professor Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, you shall depart from Station Five. You can't miss it seeing as it is the only station with a '5' over it."

They walked in. There were ten much shorter queues, each with a numeral over it. "5" was all the way at the far side of the classroom as was "10."

"You want my bloody leg too?" a voice bellowed. Dumbledore recognized the voice immediately. It was Master Auror Alistor Moody, recently retired from the Auror Corps and currently working in an advisory capacity with the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. "I can't bloody well walk without it!"

"I shall make an inquiry with the Chief of Security, Sir," the House Elf said. "But the general rule is – no magical items or potions beyond this point and your leg is clearly magical. Please wait here."

"Is everything alright, Alistor?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know whether to be insulted or impressed," Moody said. "This lot certainly knows about security. Can't sneak in a nip of Pepper-Up without getting the business. They flat out refuse any wands – well, as long as there're no exception, that is understandable. Told me my eye is right out, they did. Now it's the bloody leg! Tightest security I've ever seen. Ministry could learn a thing or three from this lot…"

"Master Auror Moody?" the elf said.

"Aye."

"House Chief of Security sends his compliments. He'll make an exception for the leg."

"Bloody generous of him," Moody growled.

"He further passed on a message."

"Oh?"

"Constant Vigilance, Sir."

Moody laughed. "Aye. 'Tis true. Must be one of my old lot."

"Descend the ladder, Sir. Through the door an elf will escort you to your room so you can settle in and freshen up. Lunch will be in the main dining room. You can't miss it. Enjoy your visit to Potter Farms."

Albus and the Minister headed towards their queue as Moody struggled down into what looked like a trunk.

"Surely they won't take our wands," the Ministry said.

Dumbledore did not like the thought of that one bit. "I'd like to think they'll make an exception in our case."

"Somehow, they don't seem inclined to make many exceptions," the Minister observed.

"Good morning," a House Elf said. They had reached the front of the queue. "Please place all wands, potions, magical items, portkeys, enchanted objects, animals, and anything else living or magical into the box provided."

"Surely you would not deprive an old man of his wand?" Dumbledore said.

"Your choice, Sir. But you may not enter if you're armed. The wards will detect that and they will not respond in a manner which you will find…"

"AARG?" a voice screamed and they saw and saw a man hurled across the room. "Bloody hell!" he said getting up. "It's only a Quick Quotes Quill!"

"No exceptions, Sir," the elf at that station stated. "You may ask for an enchanted Quill upon arrival."

"I was going to say pleasant," the elf at Station Five finished. "Wands, potions and so forth in the box. They will be safeguarded and returned to you upon your departure. If you need any potions for health reasons, advise the staff as there is a Healer on call."

"Guess that means no exceptions," the Minister said as he began to place things in a box. Dumbledore did the same.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dumbledore entered what looked to be a Manor House, although not one he had ever seen before. It lacked the appointments of most Manors, seeming as if it was no longer used as a primary residence. Still, it was furnished and had a touch of elegance. And Elf escorted his to a guest room on one of the upper floors and it was clear he was hardly the only guest in residence, although he saw no sign of Harry or any of his ladies. The Elf told him this place was known as the Old Farm and had been the personal estate of Lord Charlus Potter and his wife Dorea.

The room was small, but comfortable. It had its own private bath, which even in this day was a luxury in inns and homes in the magical world. A private bath was one of the real perks being on faculty at Hogwarts and was a reason many Professors chose to live there. Its window looked out on an expanse of lawn that went off into the distance. Far in the distance he saw tall mountains, much taller than any he had seen in the British Isles. He wondered where this place was and could only guess somewhere on the Continent.

He opened a suitcase he had brought with him, one in which there had been some magical items which he noticed had been confiscated. Whoever was in charge of House Potter security was annoyingly thorough. The elf appeared again and advised him that he had fifteen minutes to change his mind and depart. After that time, something called Time Compression would activate and it would be impossible for anyone to leave until it lifted and apparently that included the Elves.

Lunch was on the Ground Floor in a large Dining Room with many tables. Dumbledore sat with the Minister and a couple of colleagues from the Wizengamot including Amos Diggory. Amos told him that his son was here as well, but apparently not at this place. Lunch was ordered from a menu and was far better than expected. He could not remember a better lunch. At least they would eat well.

After lunch all of the guests of this house were led out front where in the drive there was a large motor coach. Upon boarding, Dumbledore guessed that it had been magically enlarged to accommodate everyone, although not without someone seated next to them. The coach began to move as soon as everyone was seated and many were pleased it was not the violent ride one had come to expect on the Knight's Bus. It was not as fast a trip either. By Dumbledore's watch, it was twenty minutes or so by some route before the bus arrived in what looked like a village, except most of the buildings seemed very small, almost child sized. He then saw why. It was a village of House Elves. This puzzled him as it was obvious this place might be visible to Muggles. It also looked like the place was still under some sort of construction as there were at least a few partially built structures and elf workers busy putting them up. There was a village square and at one end was a very large wooden building that looked brand new. The motor coach stopped in front of it.

They were shown into the large building. It was a vast hall with benches and a balcony on three sides with seats. Each person was escorted somewhere. Dumbledore was led to a section of seats separated from the rest by a railing. The Elf escort said this section was reserved for members of the Wizengamot. He took a seat and saw other members take seats as well while other witches and wizards were seated in the gallery on the main floor and in the balcony above. If he had to guess, at least a quarter of the students from Hogwarts were soon in various seats and a large number of adults, many of whom he did not remember.

"Would you believe it Albus," Amos Diggory said taking a vacant seat next to him, "there're Muggles here! Quite a few I should suspect. Parents, I believe of students although the one I talked to is older. His children already finished."

"Interesting," Albus said. He really could not think of anything else and certainly not why they were here. Taking a look at his section, he saw a fair few members of the Wizengamot were in attendance but there were, from his perspective, notable exceptions. He was about to include Madam Longbottom in that list, but she then was escorted in and shown to their section.

He saw "Miss Granger" enter from a corner and take a seat in a booth or something that was in front of a high bench with several chairs behind it. Moments after she was seated, he saw the Minister escorted to a seat in the front row of the public gallery just behind one of two tables that faced the bench, between which was some sort of lectern. The table in front of the Minister was soon occupied as well by Madam Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Alistor Moody and a younger Auror of Albus's acquaintance Kingsley Shacklebolt. The table on the other side now held "Miss Greengrass" and a man he knew to be Ted Tonks of Blakley, Catherson and Tonks, Solicitors. In the Gallery he also saw those members of the school staff who had been invited.

There was a banging that drew everyone's attention to the bench area and particularly to "Miss Granger."

"All rise," she called out. "The Honorable Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, duly called and convened pursuant to Custom and Article 21 of the Wizengamot Charter. Assisting Ajudicators: The Honorable Malcolm Davis, Head of the Ancient Line of Dagworth; the Honorable Cuthbert Carstons, Head of the Ancient Line of Eorsyn and holder of the proxy of the Ancient and Noble House of Black; Lady Hannah, Baroness Tinworth Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott; Lady Susan, Baroness Airwryn Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Bones and Lord Neville Longbottom, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, Earls of Colne, Pendle and Marston, Barons of Halden Moor and Tulhume, Peer of the Realm. Presiding Justice of the Queen's Peace: Lord Harry Potter, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Earls of Finchley, Hereford, Abengale and Hwicca; Baron of Loch Sheen; Peer of the Realm and before whom this Court is duly convened!"

"Be seated," Harry said taking his seat and those throughout the room did so. "The Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter stands in session, convened this 18th day of September in the year Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Three and in the forty-first year of the reign of Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Head of the Commonwealth of Nations and Defender of the Faith. All with business before this Court draw forward and ye shall be heard!"


	37. Chapter 37: Manor Court

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And now, part two...

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: MANOR COURT**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993.**

"If I may," Dumbledore said rising, "as Chief Warlock, I feel I must speak with you before we begin."

"The Court is in session," Harry returned. "It will not be spoken to while in session lest it be said it may stand compromised."

"In that case, I question the basis for calling this Court into session."

"While that matter has been duly presented and argued before this Court prior to this assembly, and ruled upon, this Court will grant you this leeway. But, do not try this Court's patience. Disruptive behavior and such falls clearly within the scope of Article 21 and it can be dealt with. Do you understand?"

"I am aware of the jurisdiction of Article 21, hence my question. After all, as I understand it, the Ministry is named as party and the scope of your jurisdiction does not extend to matter beyond the boundaries of your Estate."

"That is the general rule, Sir. An exception exists where a resident of the Estate or a person in residence and under the protection of the Estate should have a grievance with another Estate, the Wizengamot or any other governmental body duly recognized as officers of the Realm and the Queens' Peace and further presents evidence or argument that an adequate redress is not possible or practical without this Estate's backing, is that not correct."

"It is. It's seldom ever been used."

"Which is not the same as saying that this Court lacks jurisdiction, Sir. You will note that between this Bench and the Wizengamot Section, there are enough votes to constitute a Quorum either in person or by proxy and more than enough to properly convene a Court of the Wizengamot under the Charter. This was not a fortuitous accident, Sir. Naturally, the Petitioner will need to state his beliefs as why he should think redress in the normal manner is unavailing."

"I stand corrected." Dumbledore sat down. It was clear he was not happy with any of this.

"Madam Advocate, are you ready to proceed?"

"We are, Milord."

"Madam Bones, you have been advised that the matter before this Court, while directed at the Ministry, is not directed at the current Minister, Administration or Department of Magical Law Enforcement?"

"I am so advised," Madam Bones said.

"You may proceed, Madam Advocate."

Dumbledore saw Miss Greengrass rise with a folder and step up to the lectern. She had been chosen by the others to serve as Advocate because she was the only one who seemed to understand the "legal stuff." Hermione had a grasp on the confusing topic as well, but it infuriated her to no end whereas Daphne accepted it. She had spent a fair amount of time with Mr. Tonks getting ready for this day.

"This is the Petition, duly filed before this Court by the Petitioner, Lord Sirius Orion Black Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black…"

"What!" the Minister yelled over the shocked voices of the crowd. "What madness is this? He's a mass murderer! He's an escaped convict! He himself tried to destroy Gringotts a little over a month ago! The orders are to detain him if possible but not to spare the use of lethal force to catch him!"

"You are out of order Sir!" Harry shot back. "For the record, are you saying that were we not here it is the position of the Ministry that the Petitioner be immediately and summarily put to death?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying! I signed the order myself!"

"Be seated!" Harry looked at the others and whispered and for a moment the court seemed to confer. "Very well, Madam Advocate, the Manor Court hereby rules unanimously that there are grounds for the convening of this Court and presentation of Lord Black's Petition. By the word of the current Minister of Magic, it is clear that Petitioner cannot seek redress through the Ministry or before the Wizengamot as to attempt to do so would endanger his life and expose him to summary execution, something this Court finds … distasteful. This Court further states that the Petitioner has resided upon the lands of the Estate of House Potter since on or about August 6th, 1993 and has been under House Protection since that Date. Jurisdiction of this Court pursuant to Article 21 is therefore clearly established and decided. The Petitioner may approach and take his seat at the Manor Advocate's table. Does the Chief Warlock seek to contest this ruling or may we proceed?"

"I cannot contest the ruling. I am satisfied that Article 21 confers jurisdiction under these circumstances," Dumbledore said. For all his other flaws, he had stood in opposition to the Ministers "shoot to kill" order. "However, I would be remiss were I not to point out that you and three other members of your panel are underage and not yet old enough to be seated in the Wizengamot…"

"And two of our members are seated members of the Wizengamot and Proxy holders for other members, Sir. Moreover, under Article 21 all that is required is that the Convening Manor be headed by a recognized Head of House by magic. Lord Longbottom and Ladies Abbott and Bones and I all wear our House Signet Rings, and therefore meet the requirements under Article 21."

"Under unusual circumstances," Dumbledore began.

"The rings recognize us as Heads of our Ancient and Noble Houses or valid Regents. Gringotts does as well. Are you saying that you as Chief Warlock do not despite the fact that those are the requirements of the Charter and have been unchallenged for a thousand years? Are you rewriting the Charter as it were? If so, who gave you such authority?"

There were hostile grumbles from within the Wizengamot box. "I stand corrected," Dumbledore said reluctantly before sitting down.

Sirius Black then entered. Many did not recognize him as he looked nothing like the pictures in the Daily Prophet. The Minister along with many others looked on in shock as he passed the railing and took his seat beside Mr. Tonks.

"Proceed with your opening, Madam advocate."

"Thank you, Milord. Milord, members of the Court, esteemed members of the Wizengamot and Ministry, ladies and gentlemen: we shall attempt to prove the facts in support of the following:

"First, that on or after November 2nd, 1981, the then Ministry of Magic acting through its then Head of Magical Law Enforcement Bartimius Crouch and with the knowledge of the then Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold did engage in a course of illegal conduct whereby they deprived the Petitioner of his liberty without just cause and without recourse and in so doing whether through reckless misconduct or criminal intent sought to engage or had the effect of engaging in Attempted Line Theft and Line Assassination through the illegal incarceration without parole of the last in direct line of descent Heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Furthermore, by design in 1981 and through design or neglect since such time, the Ministry through various agents has conducted a campaign of slander against Lord Black bringing unjustified dishonor to his name and done in such a manner as to evince a willful disregard for the truth.

"We will show that the following statements generally believed about Lord Black are false, having no basis in fact:

"First, that he was Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter on or about October 31st 1981. He was not.

"Second, that he was either a Death Eater or in league with Death Eaters and the one who called himself Lord Voldemort on or about October 31st 1981. He was not and never had been.

"Third, that he betrayed James and Lily Potter's location to aforesaid Lord Voldemort leading to their death. He did not.

"Fourth, that on or about November 2nd 1981 he killed a Wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew. He did not.

"Fifth, that on or about November 2nd 1981, he killed a dozen Muggles and injured two score or more through the casting of a blasting curse. He did not.

"Sixth, that he committed a gross violation of the International Statue of Secrecy on or about November 2nd 1981 by casting magic in front of Muggles. He did not.

"These are the allegations the Ministry had made against him at the time and might well have justified his incarceration at that time had there been any basis for them. We shall show there was no such basis. Petitioner's interrogation will be placed in the record and could not justify detention at the Ministry, much less incarceration. It was a travesty of justice, to say the least. Moreover, even if it could be justified under the Emergency Acts then in effect, the Ministry by intent or gross negligence failed to comply with those acts. He was guaranteed a trial before the Wizengamot within one year of incarceration. No such trial was ever held.

"Most recently, that he has escaped from Azkaban Prison. Petitioner freely admits to this and if called to testify will so admit under oath. But we wish to state that escape from Azkaban is not a crime…"

"It is so!" the Minister said. "We made it a crime back in August!"

"I stand corrected. However, it was not a crime on July 21st 1993, that being the latest date the Petitioner made good his escape. It is the long custom of our people not to hold a person to account for a crime when such actions were not a crime when they were committed."

"The Ministry concedes that point," Madam Bones said.

"What?" the Minister protested.

"It was not a crime when he escaped, Minister. It's as simple as that and I'm not about to waste this court's time pursuing a losing issue."

"Minister," Harry asked, "need I remind you that you are neither a party nor advocate in these proceedings and that such outbursts are out of order, or should I have you confined to your quarters for the duration of this Proceeding for contempt of this Court?"

The Minister sat down. No one was giving him a friendly or supportive look.

"Are you done, Madam Advocate."

"A little more, Milord. Petitioner further asserts that the most recent allegations against him regarding and incident at Gringotts on or about August 10th 1993 are also false and that any criminal acts that may have occurred on that date and in that place, in addition to being under the jurisdiction of the Goblin Nation, were furthermore the acts of others and specifically acts of individuals in the Ministry itself.

"Finally, in view of the fact that statements as mentioned earlier have been made publically by Ministry officials since November of 1981 and as recently as a few moments ago and that as such statement were reported in the Press, that the Ministry as willfully or recklessly engaged in a campaign of slander against the Petitioner causing him great damage and suffering.

"Petitioner prays this honorable Court demand of the Wizengamot and Ministry that he be allowed the trial denied him so as to clear his good name and that he be compensated for the nearly twelve years of unlawful incarceration and the besmirching of his name." Daphne then sat down.

"Madam Bones?" Harry asked.

Madam Bones stood and took her place behind the Lectern. "Milord, members of the Court, esteemed members of the Wizengamot and Ministry, ladies and gentlemen: I would like to begin by stating the obvious. The Petition deals almost entirely with activities that occurred back in 1981 and any facts adduced should not be deemed as indicative of actions by any persons in those positions today."

"So noted," Harry said. "Assuming there's no new evidence."

"Furthermore, I am willing to concede two points presented: First that Petitioner never received a trial for his actions that led to his incarceration. I had no knowledge of the facts as a result of my own career prior to Petitioner's … um … escape?"

"He prefers to see it as release on his own recognizance," Daphne stated earning a laugh from most in attendance.

Madam Bones actually smiled. "After such time I did check the records and found that there had been no trial at any time since his apprehension. Naturally, as he was no longer in custody, a trial since his self parole has not been possible. As such, his imprisonment beyond that point in time as allowed under the Emergency Acts can be questioned and could be deemed unlawful since such time. That being said, I will not concede that his arrest, detention and incarceration back in November 1981 was itself unjustified and unlawful and call upon Petitioner to prove those points, for it is his point to prove and not the Ministry's point to disprove. I am also willing to concede that the Ministry has no jurisdiction over anything that occurs within Gringotts Bank. That point is well settled law and if any crime did in fact occur in that bank, then the issue lies solely between the Goblins and Petitioner or whomever such other parties might be who violated Goblin Law assuming any such violations occurred. It should be noted that this matter remains pending elsewhere. As to the issue of slander; it is an essential element that the alleged slanderous statement must themselves be false and made under circumstances where the alleged slander either knew such statements to be false or uttered them in reckless disregard of the truth. It is the Petitioner who must prove those points, and not the Ministry who must disprove them." Madam Bones then sat down.

"Very well. We shall take a half hour recess," Harry said. "Refreshments are available in the town square just across from the court."

Dumbledore was back in his seat. He had tried to find Harry during the recess, but apparently if Harry was enjoying refreshments it was not in the town square with the rest of those in attendance. He saw none of the principals. But they were in the courtroom when he returned, aside from the judges or adjudicators. They filed in when most everyone had returned.

"Court is again in session," Harry announced. "Madam advocate, are you prepared to call your first witness?"

"I am, Milord. The Manor Advocate calls Professor Severus Snape."

"I object," Madam Bones stated. "For what reason?"

"The Court takes it that you're objecting to the relevance of such witness and testimony?" Harry asked.

"I am."

"Very well. Madam Advocate?"

"He's called as a precaution and in a preliminary matter in his expert capacity as a potions master," Daphne said. "There are two potions, neither of which were confiscated earlier, that will be presented for his analysis. They were prepared here at the Estate in anticipation of this Proceeding and, if needed or if requested by the Ministry, they can be administered. But the Petitioner believes it necessary that they be verified as being what they are by a Potions Master."

"I reserve my objection, Milord."

"So noted. Professor Snape? Please come forward to be sworn."

Professor Snape did not look happy, but did as requested. He faced the clerk.

"Do you swear that the testimony you shall give shall be the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief?"

"I swear," he said.

"Milord?" Madam Bones asked. "How can we ascertain the veracity of his testimony or anyone's with a mere oath such as that? Wouldn't it be wiser to require a Wizard's oath?"

"This Court has no reason to expect him to lie about his craft," Harry said. "For reasons of security, wands have been placed in safe keeping and while their use may be allowed under specific circumstances, it would not due for any to hold one on the stand. Moreover, the witness chair contains a Goblin truth orb. Should he lie, we will know."

"May I ask how you came into possession of such a thing?"

"I asked a Goblin if I could borrow one," Harry shrugged.

"And we're to take your word…?"

"That could be consider contemptuous, Madam. But no. The Court sees you point. Professor, take your seat and you are requested to lie in response to the first question. Don't worry. This isn't one of their pain inducing items."

Snape did as asked.

"Please state your name for the record." Daphne said.

"Harry Potter," Snape sneered in reply. Immediately the seat and the Professor glowed red for a moment.

"No ill effects, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Not really. I felt nothing, but the light was … disconcerting."

"Can we proceed, Madam Bones?"

She nodded and sat down.

"Again, you name for the record?" Daphne asked.

"Severus Tobias Snape, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Head of Slytherin House."

"You are a Potions Master?"

"I am."

"How does one attain a Mastery in Potions?"

"The first step, naturally, is to qualify for NEWT level potions while in school. One must then attain and Outstanding on their Potions NEWT and receive a recommendation from their Potions Professor or another Potions Master that they be considered for an apprenticeship under a certified Master and they must be accepted for such apprenticeship. In other words, having the requisite Outstanding does not mean one will be accepted. Apprenticeships are not a Knut a dozen. Then one must complete their apprenticeship to the satisfaction of their mentor and receive recommendation to sit for the Mastery Examinations, which to be honest make the NEWTs look pedestrian. There's a full day of written exams followed by a full day of oral examination by a panel of three Masters followed by three days of practical examinations. If successful, you are then granted your Mastery."

"How long does this take?"

"It varies on a variety of factors the most important being earning the recommendation of the Mentor. It can take a while."

"How long did it take you."

"I attained my Mastery in 1980, a little more than two years after finishing Hogwarts. It was faster than most."

"And what did you do after attaining your Mastery?"

"I obtained employment overseeing the preparation of potions for a supplier who supplies St. Mungos and Apothecary shops. Mind you, they do make their own, but not in bulk. The job afforded me the chance to conduct research into new potions."

"When did you become Potions Professor?"

"I began in the fall of 1982."

"Is that all you do?"

"No. It does require time, naturally as do my other duties with the school. But I continue in research. Most recently I developed a potion I call Wolvesbane Potion, although that is not one of the ingredients. It's currently in testing but is already proving useful."

"What does it do?"

"If taken properly, it allows a person suffering from Lycanthropy to retain their minds as it were when they transform during a full moon. Now don't misunderstand. A Werewolf under this potion is not rendered safe. He merely retains his human consciousness and therefore is in control of the beast. Should he the human decide to attack, he will. But it does allow the human to decide, rather than the beast to do so, and the beast will always do so otherwise."

"Have you taken on an apprentice?"

"I did before I came to teach. Teaching Potions does not require taking on apprentices. To be honest, you cannot truly do justice as a mentor while also teaching classes to students."

"Changing topics. As a Potions Master you can detect potions?"

"That is a simplistic question and the simple answer would be 'yes' but it's also inaccurate."

"Could you explain?"

"Certainly. For those who go on in Potions past their OWLs, one of the first series of lessons deals with the use of the Detection Charm. We start off using it to detect poisons or poisonous concoctions as these are the easier to detect. It's coupled with lessons on devising and brewing antidotes as this is a basic skill expected of potioners, even if it is impractical."

"Impractical?"

"The spell will tell the caster what the ingredients are and in what concentrations within the concoction. Naturally, the caster must be familiar with the ingredients otherwise all she knows is that 17% of this potion contains an unknown ingredient. Still, knowing the ingredient a Potioner may know of an ingredient or ingredients that would counteract its harmful effects and should know how they must be combined to create a true antidote and not another poison. Most beneficial potions are potentially toxic if they are not properly prepared. Likewise, an ill prepared antidote could easily do more harm than good. Assuming that the Potioner knows the ingredients, knows the proper counter ingredients and knows how to brew them together to produce an antidote and has them readily available, all of this takes time and in reality the victim would have either recovered or passed on before the antidote is ready. That's not to say this skill is useless. If you know the poison and already have its antidote, that's always the best route to take. But you cannot hope to be so lucky. In most cases, it is best just to shove a beazor down the victims throat as this will work far more often than not."

"And this detection spell works on all potions?"

"Naturally. Again, its utility is based upon the casters pre-existing knowledge of ingredients and potions. If they don't know all the ingredients, they're stuck. Even if the caster knows all the ingredients, if they don't know the potion in question they're stuck until they can consult a learned reference."

"And as a Potions Master…?"

"The Master is expected to be very knowledgeable in both ingredients and the Potions they make. Basically, we're expected to be familiar with just about all there is in most standard references."

"So if I handed you some potions, rare though they may be, if they were covered in a standard reference you could tell us what they are?"

"I should think so."

"I am going to present you with six vials containing two potions. They are in standard references and are at least discussed in NEWT levels. I assume you could verify they are what they are?"

"Not without a wand."

"You will be allowed your wand for the purpose of your testimony, Professor," Harry said. "Be advised that should you attempt to use it for any other purpose, my elves are authorized to stop you and they can be … enthusiastic. You will return your wand to them when you are finished. Is that understood?"

He nodded. He really wanted to curse Black, but he also knew enough about elves not to try.

An elf first brought a tray forward with six vial on it. He was surprised at the vials and said "Where'd you get these?"

"The vials or what's in them?" Daphne asked.

"Assuming they contain what I think, I should ask both."

"The vials were made here at the estate following Ministry specifications," Daphne said. "The potions were also made here at the estate with locally grown ingredients. Do the vials mean anything?"

"They do," Snape nodded. "They are single dose vials. That means they are designed to contain a single dose of a given potion. Their shape is dictated by Ministry regulations and based on the shapes I'd say the three on my left are Veritiserum and the three on the right are its antidote."

"And what is Veritiserum?"

"Simply stated it's a truth potion. Naturally, it's not that simple. A person under its influence will speak what they believe is the truth in response to questions. They won't volunteer the truth and they will say what they believe the answer to the question is. The flaw being, they do not speak the objective truth and if they think the question asked for something different from what the questioner thought, they will answer it the way they think it was meant to be answered. It takes training to frame a question that gets the desired response."

"Objective truth?"

"The true truth. We know the world is round. But if a person honestly believed something different when asked what is the shape of the world, they will tell you what they believe even if everyone knows they're wrong."

"I see. So looking at the bottles, you're saying it's Veritiserum and its antidote?"

"No. That's what vials like that are expected to contain. They could contain anything. Only using them or a detection charm can confirm that they are or are not what they appear to be."

An elf handed Snape his wand.

"Can you perform the charm and tell us your conclusions?"

"It'll take a couple of minutes."

"Take your time."

After a few minutes Snape looked up. "They are what the vials indicate. These three are Veritiserum and the other three are the Antidote."

"May I ask the Advocate why the Manor has these?" Madam Bones asked.

"Petitioner will agree to questioning under Veritiserum if his testimony is not persuasive. There may be other witnesses as well in need of such questioning. It is not the intent of the Manor to compel such questioning. But, we felt it was necessary that there would be no question as to the potions being used. They will be kept secure until asked for."

"I would like one of my Aurors to verify this," Madam Bones said.

"That is acceptable," Daphne replied.

"So be it," Harry said. "One of your Aurors can accompany the elf to the storage facility and verify it is secure."

Snape had handed his wand back to the elves and the vials had been taken away. Shacklebolt followed the elf carrying the vials out of the courtroom.

"Do you have any further questions for this witness, Madam Advocate?" Harry asked.

"A few on a separate topic as presented in our Motion this morning."

"I remind Madam Bones both of the limited nature of this questioning and the limited degree of cross examination that this Court will allow," Harry said. Madam Bones nodded. "Proceed, Madam Advocate."

"Professor Snape, are you or were you a Death Eater?"

"I must protest!" Dumbledore said. "Severus Snape was one, but this matter has been before the Wizengamot and dealt with. He has my full confidence!"

"Your protest is noted. The scope of this examination has been argued and decided and is limited. You will answer the question, Professor."

"I was one."

"Did you know others who were Death Eaters?"

"I did."

"Was Sirius Black one?"

"I cannot answer that."

"Why not?"

"I cannot say with any certainty. I knew many who were Death Eaters, but it does not follow that I knew all who were. Some of those revealed later were not known to me to have been Death Eaters at the time."

"To your knowledge, was Sirius Black a Death Eater?"

"No. To my knowledge he was not. But it does not mean categorically that he was not one. He may have been. I just would've been unaware of it."

"No further questions."

"Madam Bones?"

"Your ruling limited my cross to Death Eater information explicitly elicited on direct, Milord. Much as I'd like to pick his brain on that, he only discussed his knowledge or lack thereof regarding Sirius Black. I have no questions."

"You may step down, Professor Snape." As Snape made his way back to his seat in the Gallery, Harry said: "Call your next witness, Madam advocate."

"The Petitioner calls Ronald Weasley."

As Ron made his way forward they could hear someone in the gallery say "What have you done, Ronald?" The chuckles had more than died down by the time Ron was sworn in and seated.

"Please state your name for the record," Daphne said.

"Ron Weasley."

"As in Ronald Bilius Weasley?"

"Yeah. 'Though I don't like that middle name much."

"You attend Hogwarts?"

"Yeah. Third Year Gryffindor."

"I am going to have you shown what we will mark as Petitioner's Exhibit 'A' for identification," Daphne began. An elf brought forth a small cage that was first shown to Madam Bones.

"I'm going to object on the grounds of relevance," she said.

"The exhibit ultimately goes to the issue of whether Sirius Black did the things people think he did back in '81," Daphne replied.

"I can't see how that thing could be related to that," Madam Bones replied.

"The court will note your objection," Harry said. "It reserves ruling. Some leeway must be allowed as there was not prior notification to respondent as to evidence. The same leeway will be allowed for the Ministry's case. Naturally, if this leads nowhere, the objection will be sustained."

"I would like a standing objection…"

"Again so noted and ruling reserved."

Madam Bones nodded. The cage was brought over to Ron.

"It's Scabbers," Ron said.

"Excuse me?" Daphne asked.

"Well, it looks 'lot like him. Scabbers. My pet rat. Or he was my pet rat. Thought he scampered not long after getting back from our trip to Egypt. Is he alright? He's not moving. Then again, he looks like he's sleeping and Scabbers sleeps a lot."

"It looks like your pet? Can you be more certain? Some would say all rats look alike."

"Well, that's not so, is it? Besides, Scabbers was missing a toe on his left front paw and so is this one. This one's got the same coloring as Scabbers, where he has fur. Scabbers was losing his fur like this one and in the same places. I'd say it's Scabbers. He's not dead, is he? No. He's breathing."

"He was stunned. Thank you." The elf brought the cage over to the Manor Advocate's table and placed it as far away from Sirius as possible. Sirius was glaring daggers at it. "You say he was your pet? How long?"

"Well, he was my brother Percy's first. Percy gave him to me just before I started Hogwarts. He made Prefect, you know, and Mum and Dad gave him a post owl he named Hermes so he gave me Scabbers 'cause the owl might've eaten him."

"Do you know when your brother got the rat?"

"Not really. He had him a while before he gave him to me. Long as I can remember at any rate."

"No further questions."

"That's it? That was easy!"

"Madam Bones may have some," Harry said.

"Actually I can't think of any at this time. I'd like to reserve the right to recall him, if necessary."

"So noted. You may step down."

Ron had done exactly as it was hoped he would do. Harry had debated about letting him in on the secrets, and he still was in the dark about the future knowledge. But Ron was Harry's best mate and Harry thought Ron would really be upset if he found out about this now rather than sooner. Daphne had prepared her questions so as not to reveal that Ron knew what was going on and Ron had done well in not doing so. It might have been more dramatic had Ron been kept in the dark, but Harry did not want that potential rift.

"I call Percy Weasley to the stand," Daphne said.

After Percy was sworn, seated and identified himself for the record, and was a little too eager to mention he was Head Boy, Daphne continued. "Ron said you gave him Scabbers."

"I did. Just as Ron said it was before his First Year and after I got my post owl."

"When did you get him?"

Percy seemed surprised. "Gosh! Don't really know. I was little. I remember Mum having a fit 'cause there was a baby in the house. It was Ginny. She was the baby. She was born August of '81 so… Well, it must've been that winter after."

"Did you buy him?"

"Hardly. I though Santa had left him." People laughed. "I was little!" Percy protested. "Still believed in him and I wanted a pet and there Scabbers was in the snow outside the house. Mum wanted me to get rid of it but Dad knocked out a cage for him and I was allowed to keep him."

"So we're talking the Winter of '81 to'82?"

"Could've been the next year, but I think it was that one. Mum didn't want it near the baby and she never saw a kid that walked as a baby. Once they started walking she called them little monsters." This got a laugh.

"No more questions."

"I reserve the right to recall," Madam Bones said.

"You may step down," Harry said.

"I'd like to call Rubeus Hagrid to the stand."

The chair expanded as Hagrid sat down after being sworn.

"Please state your name for the record," Daphne began.

"Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of Game, Grounds and Keys at Hogwarts. Jus' started as Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. Always wanted ter do that."

"How did you get that job?"

"Professor Kettleburn retired and Professor Dumbledore asked me."

"Do you have any qualifications?"

"Course I do. Got a Mastery in it, don' I? Well, kinda honorary one. Did all the work an' was 'prenticed an' all that. But 'though I know the spells, I canna be usin' a wand so…"

"Why not?"

"Snapped mine when I was in school. But Dumbledore kept me on an' let me study beasties which was all I was really interested in anyways. Got my NEWTs and got 'prenticed. Took a while 'cause of the wand thing. But 'ventually nuff Masters said I should have it so I got it 'bout twenty years ago. I was helpin' out already an' 'ave been ever since. Weren't actually teaching the courses, but I tutored those what asks fer it."

"What about non-magical creatures?"

"T'ain't bird nor beastie what lives near Hogwarts I don't know. Wouldn't be much o' a Gameskeeper if I didn't. Students ask, you know?"

"You mean you know what they are?"

"More 'an tha'. Can tell ya anythin' 'bout them. Can even fix 'em up if they're hurt an' stuff."

"You're going to be shown what's marked as Petitioner's Exhibit "A" for identification." The cage was brought back to the witness box. "Can you tell us what that is?"

"A rat in a cage," Hagrid said. "Pretty sorry lookin' one at that. Probably a Brown Rat, also called a Norwegian one, 'though don' ask me why 'cause it ain't from there at all. Most common rat about."

"You heard the testimony that this rat's been a pet for eleven years at least?"

"Aye. Odd that. Rats don' nearly live that long. Might be why this one looks th' way it does."

"Are rats magical?"

"Nope. Not a one. An' there's not a magical beastie what looks like one. I suppose it could be made magical some. Maybe charms and such. But they ain't magical otherwise."

"How long would a rat like this live normally?"

"In the wild, 'bout a year er maybe two before sammat eats it."

"Can they live longer?"

"Aye, if there're no beasties 'bout what wants a rat fer dinner. An' if it's fed and if it don't get sick and such."

"How long can a rat live as say a pet?"

"On 'bout three or four years. Maybe a little longer but not much. Think the record's 'round six er so. Not anywhere's long as this one's been about. An' that still assumes nothin' eats it. Plenty 'round Hogwarts what would eat a rat, an' not jus' all the cats 'round the castle. Probably wouldn' last a month in the forest. But these rats prefer to stick close ter humans. They like the leavin's an' such."

"So an eleven year old rat would be a bit odd?"

"Probably a record, assumin' it ain't been magicked."

"No further questions."

"I reserve the right to recall the witness," Madam Bones said.

"You may step down," Harry said to Hagrid.

"Petitioner now calls Professor McGonagall," Daphne said.

Professor McGonagall was soon seated on the stand. After the introductory questions and questions about her Mastery in transfiguration were out of the way, Daphne continued: "We heard earlier from Professor Snape that there's a detection spell used in advanced potions work. Is there something similar in Transfiguration?"

"Not a single spell," McGonagall said. "There are several. There're a couple that can tell you whether or not something has been transfigured, but you need to use a different set of spells to figure out what it was originally, assuming you don't want to just turn it back. We begin teaching that in Sixth Year."

"Is there a reason why there's not one spell that'll do the trick?"

"There're many different forms of transfiguration. Inanimate object to inanimate object is the earliest form we teach and of course even there it can be different classes as it were. Changing a matchstick into a needle is one and one of the easiest for the base object and target object are similar in size and shape to begin with. Greater differences require different spells and may well cross into a different class altogether. This requires different detections charms to determine the base object – the original one. There are four spells that can be used to make the initial assessment that an object either is or is not transfigured. Two are strictly used on inanimate targets – that being an object that is believed to have been transfigured. One spell will tell you that what you are dealing with was once another inanimate object and another that it was originally an animate object like a beetle that has been transfigured into a button. Then there are two spells for suspected animate objects. Again, this will only tell you basically what it began as. Once that base determination is made, there are other spells that let you discover what the original, base object was."

"So if I were to ask you to make such a determination, it might take some time?"

"It could if I had no suspicions about its original status. It could still take some time if the suspicion was wrong."

"What I'm going to do is ask you to determine if the rat that is exhibit A is really a rat, can you do that?"

"That would be fairly straightforward. It would take less than a minute. If it's not a rat, detecting what it once was is the time consuming part or at least it can be."

"I am going to present you with Exhibit "A" and ask you to tell us first if this is really a rat."

"Professor," Harry said, "as with Professor Snape, you will be allowed your wand under the same conditions. It is to be used as Manor Advocate asks and for no other purpose."

"I understand." She soon was muttering some spells.

"Can you tell us if Exhibit "A" is really a rat?" Daphne asked.

"It's not. Not originally. I can say it is a complex form of animate to animate transfiguration. The base object was very different in size, mass and structure. I can only guess what that might have been which would mean… It can't be!"

"Professor?"

She was again casting some spells. "This is an animagus," she announced. There were gasps from the audience although most of the younger students seemed to have no idea what that meant.

"How did you figure that?"

"My initial detection told me it was formerly an animate object – an animal of some kind. That original animal was much, much larger than this rat. Changing the mass of an animal is very difficult and well beyond the abilities of most wizards. But remember I said discovering the base form is easier if you have a suspicion as to what it may have been. This rat is much, much older than it should be. While it was possible that it was another animal, I was left with something that could live eleven or more years. That rules out a fair few that I'm aware of. Many of the ones that I couldn't rule out based upon lifespan are far too large. Cats can live that long and that would be a fairly simple transfiguration for a Master, if somewhat ironic. But then I thought why would a cat or any animal matter? How could that help understand what went on? And I then thought animagus. It's a simple enough spell and it either tells you the animal is or is not an animagus."

"And what is an animagus?"

"The base form is a witch or wizard. It is complex magic and takes a long time to master. It's also dangerous to try. But if successful, that witch or wizard can change at will into a specific animal and what that animal is, is specific to that witch or wizard. I am one, as I assume everyone who's had me as their professor is aware. My form is a cat. I was skeptical of my suspicion in that … well, I'm not aware of anyone who's a rat. Could be a foreigner, I suppose."

"And how would you be aware of such a thing?"

"In addition to the dangers associated with attempting to become an animagus, it is a magic that can be abused. It can be used to spy on others or escape the scene of a crime or such. Naturally, the form dictated just what kind of mischief the witch or wizard could get themselves into. But because some forms lend themselves towards mischief, all animagus in Britain are required to register their forms with the Ministry."

"Is it possible that there may be some who have not registered?"

"I suppose it is. Scofflaws are not unheard of."

"But this is an animagus?"

"Of that I have no doubt."

"Can you tell us who it was or is?"

"Not without forcing it back into its base form. I can do that, if you like."

"You may be asked to later. I have no further questions."

"Madam Bones?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall, you are certain that the rat is an animagus?"

"That much I am certain of."

"And you're not aware of a person with a rat form."

"I am not. I can't say I have the registry memorized but I'm not aware of any rats on it."

"So this could be anyone?"

"Well, aside from anyone you see in this room, I'd say that's possible."

"But rats only live four years."

"As I said, its longevity was of interest. An animagus takes on the form of the animal, but in many other ways it remains its base. The mind is that of the original form to a large extent. Moreover, your lifespan is not altered to conform with that of the animal. While eleven years may be impossible for a rat, it's perfectly possible for a human. Human seemed to be the best possibility and it is."

"But you can't say who it was or is I suppose?"

"No."

"No more questions."

"I would next like to call Professor Lupin. He's our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, but he's being called as a material witness and not as an expert."

"I can think of no objection," Madam Bones said.

Lupin was sworn and introduced.

"Now, if you could Professor, I'd like you to identify the rat labeled as Exhibit 'A'."

"I don't believe it," Remus exclaimed. "It's Peter Pettigrew!"

There was a commotion from the gallery as several people seemed shocked at this revelation.

"How can you say that?"

"I could say it's logical," Remus said. "I know that Peter Pettigrew was an animagus and that his form was that of a rat. I know that the last I had heard he had not gotten around to registering his form. We have here a rat animagus that seems to be unregistered. Conclusion: it's Pettigrew. But, as I knew him back then and knew he was an unregistered animagus and had seen his form on many occasions, I know this is him. There are a few unique markings on his tail that've been there from the off. My friend James thought it might be some form of scaring caused by an off job of transforming which I guess makes some sense, but I don't know that for certain. But the markings were distinct and this rat has them. It's Pettigrew." He deliberately left out that the thing smelled like Pettigrew.

"How did you know Pettigrew was a rat animagus?"

"He was my friend at school and still was afterwards, or so I thought. Now I'm not so sure. He succeeded in becoming an animagus Fifth Year and both told me and showed me just as my other friends did."

"Other friends? And who were these other friends?"

"James Potter and Sirius Black. James was a Stag and Sirius a big, black dog of some kind. Never could figure out what kind. James said it must be a mutt."

"And they didn't register their forms?"

"They weren't about to while they were in school. McGonagall would've had kittens, pardon the pun. She was quite serious in saying we shouldn't try such magic until we're older and that even then we should do so under competent instruction. If things went bad, they could go really bad and you'd find yourself in the Permanent Spell Damage Ward at St. Mungos. They were planning to register after they finished school. I think James did. A stag wasn't a particularly useful form. Muggles hunt stags for one thing. Sirius was told not to…"

"By whom?"

"Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He put it on his application to become and Auror and was told to keep that to himself. A dog can be useful for stealth."

"And Peter? Was he also told not to?"

"Not that I know of. He didn't sign up for the Aurors or hit wizards. Didn't go to work for the Ministry at all as far as I recall."

"How do you know that James Potter and Sirius Black did reveal these abilities?"

"I was there when they applied to be Aurors. I was applying as well. Well, the Ministry was in even more desperate need of Hit Wizards so while we all qualified for Auror training, we were assigned to the Hit Wizards. We were all asked about any special abilities. When James said he was a Stag Animagus, the Hit Wizard who was processing us in laughed. Told him it was a bloody useless ability in their line of work and to go register if he hadn't already done so. Sirius, on the other hand, was told not to."

"And you?"

"I'm not an animagus. Not everyone can do that, you know."

"And Peter? What did they tell him?"

"They didn't. Peter didn't have the marks in school to apply."

"You are aware that everyone seems to think Peter Pettigrew is dead…"

"Yeah, and that included me. But that is Pettigrew, I'm sure of it. Don't ask me why he's been a rat all this time and living as a boy's pet. To be honest that's just creepy. But it's him. Of that I'm as certain as I can be."

"No further questions."

"Who was Sirius Black assigned to as a Hit Wizard?" Madam Bones asked.

"He worked under Mad-Eye Moody most of the time once we were sent to the field. That's the one eyed chap next to you, Madam Bones."

"You lot were always cheeky buggers," Moody growled.

"Did you work for Master Auror Moody?"

"Early on," Remus nodded. "Really wish it had been longer. He might be a cantankerous son of a bitch and have the social skills of a wet cat, but he was the best there was."

"Why only early on?"

"I was reassigned to the Continent. We had a team operating out of Paris and Milan to get after Death Eaters who were either trying to recruit or were thinking the Continent was a safe place to Holiday or were going after our own citizens."

"No further questions."

"You may step down."

"Begging the court's indulgence and noting the time, I would like to resolve the issue of the odd rat once and for all," Daphne said. "I would like to bring in a holding cage, place the rat in it, seal it and allow Professor McGonagall to cast the reversing spell on it to force the rat into its base form."

"Oddly enough, I have no objection," Madam Bones said.

It took a few minutes for the cage to be brought in. It was large, large enough to hold a man. It had bars to keep the man in but also screens that could keep a rat in as well. An elf removed the stunned rat from the small cage and placed it in the larger one, sealing the cage with magic.

"Professor McGonagall, if you please?" Harry said.

McGonagall was handed her wand for a second time. She looked a little nervous and unsure when she approached the cage almost as if she was doubting she could do this or unwilling to find out that this was true. While she had been told about Sirius's innocence, she had not been told all the details. Thus, she did not know that Pettigrew was a rat animagus and now she was uncertain if she could believe it.

"I never would've believed it," she said still hesitating to cast the spell.

"Could you explain that statement?" Harry asked.

"Pettigrew was affable enough, but a bit shy. In fact, he was more shy than Lord Longbottom given that Lord Longbottom while not trying to stand out has been running a Herbology study group practically since he arrived here. Pettigrew would never have… And magically? He's among students I would never believe capable of achieving an animagus status and certainly not as a Fifth Year. He didn't seem that … talented."

She then cast the spell. There was a flash of light within the cage and the rat seemed to explode as it grew several times over and transformed. In moments, the rat had been replaced by a shabbily dressed, short balding man.

"That's him," McGonagall said with more than a hint of disappointment. "Didn't age too well, did he? But that's Peter Pettigrew." McGonagall then gasped. Harry could not see what she was looking at from his perspective. "And he has the Dark Mark!" There were gasps from throughout the room. Harry and the others behind the bench leaned over to get a look. Pettigrew's left sleeve was bunched up and on the underside of his bared arm there was what looked like a faded tattoo of a skull and a snake. Harry had not seen this mark before. It was clear the two older gentlemen had. "That's it, alright," Malcolm Davis said. "Calls into question a lot of things, I should think. Can't say I recognize the bloke, but that's a Dark Mark. Whoever else he is, he's a Death Eater."

"Milord?" Daphne asked.

"Make your recommendations, Your Grace," Mr. Davis said. "My recommendation would be to take it under advisement for now, unless you are resting your case."

"I'm not. But given the hour and the fact I can't get through my next witness today, unless we all want a very late dinner, I was going to recommend adjourning once I submit my motion."

"Let's hear it then," Harry said.

"First, I ask the Respondent if they dispute the identification of this man and will offer any evidence that this is not Peter Pettigrew?"

"I'd like to ask him that himself, preferably under Veritiserum," Madam Bones said. "But unless he can refute it… I will accept that it is Peter Pettigrew. He certainly resembles the man we've all thought was dead…"

"I was simply going to point out that there cannot have been a murder if the victim never died."

"So noted," Harry said. "We reserve ruling on that until after the close of evidence. But I dare say you may have a point. Of course the not quite so dead Pettigrew in this Courtroom does not answer all of the questions raised in your Petition."

"It doesn't. But I believe it places those questions in a more favorable light."

"We reserve comment on that statement, Madam Advocate. Is there anything else? Madam Bones, do you disagree with Madam Advocate?"

"Not at this time," she replied. "But I reserve the right to counter that assertion if the evidence warrants."

"So noted. As to the respondents previous objection regarding the relevance of Exhibit 'A', that which was formerly a rat and the implied standing objection to all testimony regarding said rat, the objection is overruled and Exhibit 'A' is admitted into evidence. This court stands in recess until nine o'clock tomorrow morning. House Potter hopes you all enjoy your evening."


	38. Chapter 38: Appetizer

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: The nature of the trial procedure, while based upon a reality, it not accurate. They made it up to fit their needs. I hope I explained adequately last chapter why Daphne's the advocate…

**CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: APPETIZER**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993 (Day 2).**

"All rise!" Hermione called out. "The Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter resumes session!"

Harry and the others behind the bench took their seats. "Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed your evening. But I regret it's back to business. Madam Advocate, any preliminary matters or are you ready to call your next witness."

"Petitioner is ready to continue, Milord."

"Madam Bones, any preliminary matters or can the Petitioner proceed?"

"Manor Advocate and I discussed a preliminary matter and reached an Agreement, Milord, in regards to the next witness."

"We have, Milord."

"Very well."

"The Petitioner calls Master Auror Alistor Moody."

"Master Auror Moody was not on your preliminary witness list," Harry said.

"No Milord, he was not."

"I asked if we could call him now, Milord, while the testimony of Mr. Lupin regarding information known to that office is fresh in the Court's memory," Madam Bones said.

"Very well."

The one legged Auror was sworn and took his seat.

"Please state your name for the record," Daphne began.

"Alistor Harcourt Moody, Master Auror retired," Moody said.

"Right then," Daphne said. Harry could tell she was nervous and the look on Mr. Tonks indicated this testimony had not been discussed and outlined in advance. "When did you become an Auror?"

"Entered the Academy right outta Hogwarts in '32. Technically, you're an Auror then with the position of Auror Trainee. I finished in '35 and was designated Auror Apprentice and assigned to a team in the Department."

"Could you explain what a Master Auror is?"

"Well, the Department has a few different levels for Auror. Already mentioned Trainee and Apprentice. Above Apprentice there's Basic Auror, Investigating Auror, Lead Auror, Senior Auror and Supervising Auror. Basic Auror is based on seniority. Investigating Auror is based on seniority, recommendations to the Head of DMLE and an examination. Lead Auror can be assigned to any Investigating Auror and means what it says, you lead a team in an investigation. At some point, you can be made a permanent Lead Auror, which means you have a premanent team assigned to work for you. Senior Auror is based upon years of seniority as a Lead Auror and generally means you lead a Section – two or more teams. Supervising Auror is the Senior Position in the Department below Chief of Auror's, also known as the Head of the Auror Office. The Supervising Auror's the one what sees over the day to day work and the Head works with the Head of DMLE and is in charge of it all, including the Academy. Both are Senior Auror's appointed to those positions by the Head of DMLE. Never was either. They're desk types and I preferred investigating. A Master Auror is a Senior Auror recognized for ability and service by the ICW Council of Law Enforcement. Basically, it's an honor as it says you're seen as one of the best of the best."

"And you were named as a Master Auror…?"

"1970. Held that 'til I retired a couple years ago and was the only one in the Department that whole time."

"So correct me if I'm wrong, as a Master Auror and Senior Auror your job was that of a Lead Auror?"

"That's correct. Once I made Lead, I always led an investigative team of some more junior Aurors plus any auxiliaries that might be assigned for a given mission or investigation."

"Auxiliaries?"

"Curse Breakers, Warders, Hit Wizards, Healers, that sort. Auror's are trained in all of that, but there are times when you need the focused expertise or wands."

"So Hit Wizards are not a normal part of the team?"

"In normal times they are assigned on an as needed basis. Not guaranteed you'll get the same Hit Wizard from one assignment to the next."

"Normal times?"

"The war wasn't normal times. The Ministry and Wizengamot might've dilly dallied 'bout Voldemort and his boot lickers but we did what we could while they blathered. Beginning 'round '77, the Auror teams had Hit Wizards assigned permanent. The number of Hit Wizards per team increased over time, especially as we needed the wands. Takes three years to train and Auror. You can turn out a halfway decent Hit Wizard in about four months. They learn straight up combat magic: how to take the bad guys down hard. Taught nothing 'bout investigations, surveillance, stealth and evasion, curse breaking, ward breaking and the like; just how to fight. Besides, wasn't much investigating to be had. Didn't take any investigating to learn those mutts were really bad news. 'Bout the only thing a full on Auror could do was infiltration, although that almost never went well. In most cases the Auror either turned Death Eater on us or snuffed it."

"Maybe I was a little confused yesterday," Daphne said after a pause, "but it seemed to me that Professor Lupin said they applied to be Auror's but wound up as Hit Wizards."

"Aye, and it was both. When that lot came up, they applied for and were accepted to the Auror program and Lupin was right, we were in greater need of wands. A lot easier getting into the Hit Wizards if they have openings than the Aurors. But we needed combat trained wizards more immediately than investigators in training. There was a bit of a war on, you know. So that lot were accepted as Aurors but sent through as Hit Wizards. Deal was after two years as a Hit Wizard assigned to an Auror team and young 'uns like them were permanently assigned to the Auror Corps, they'd go to the Academy and learn the rest of it. Lead Aurors were expected to give them as much on the job training as possible."

"Professor Lupin said that James Potter was told to register his form yet Sirius Black was not. Why was that?"

"Animagus form's a special skill. How useful a form is, is another matter. Lupin was right in saying a stag is bloody near useless so no harm in registering it. 'Bout the only place a stag won't stick out like a hippogriff in a henhouse would be a forest an' it's not like many wizards make their homes or bases in the woods. Or at least not the nasties we were dealing with. That lot likes their comforts and hidin' out in the woods is hardly comfortable. That an' Lupin was right. Muggles like shootin' stag. A dog, on the other hand, is dead useful. The whole bloody country seems overrun with them at times and no one'll suspect the bloke or bird walking a dog is really two Aurors. So he was told not to register. You register, it's public and if it's public the bad boys know about it. Pretty sure Black's ability was classified by the DMLE."

"Classified? You mean it was a secret?"

"Aye. Certain abilities are kept secret. That was even more so back then what with the war. We were looking for any edge to take those Death Bastards down and it wouldn't do us much good if those bastards knew things like that."

"Who would've known that Black was an animagus?"

"Well, I did and I know James and his wife did. There were a few others on my team who did."

"Chief Auror?"

"Nope. Black might be in the Auror pipeline, but he was still a Hit Wizard. The Chief took little interest in them in general."

"Head of DMLE?"

"Barty Crouch. Didn't care how the bastards were brought in, just so long as they were and in a condition to rat out a few of their friends. Can't see him interested is a minor detail such as that unless it made the press or something."

"Could someone today find out that he was one?"

"If his service file were declassified, I assume they could. Otherwise that information would only be available to the Auror Corps and even then only if he was in active service or under investigation by a DMLE Board of Review."

"What's that?"

"If DMLE thinks one of its own's up to no good, there's a board that investigates the person. There were a fair few of those boards during the war, 'though it was generally easier just to keep a close eye on those you worked with."

"Was there one of those Boards for Black?"

"Nope. Caught him wand in hand at the scene of the crime, didn't they? Least that's what they said. I was surprised with that, to be honest. But I saw the reports. Hard to refute, 'though I must've missed something. Worked with Black for over two years and never, ever thought he was working for the other side. I could usually spot those types in my section."

"Oh? How?"

"Weren't as aggressive. Death Eaters were the worst lot I ever dealt with. No redeeming features to them. And they were vicious. It wasn't hard for a proper Auror or Hit Wizard to do what was necessary to take them down. But one of their own in our ranks would not be so inclined, would they? Might avoid using spells that could cause serious injury. Black, on the other hand, was very aggressive. Had to hold him back a few times. Not that I liked the Death Eater scum, but it was always a good idea to take a live prisoner now and then. Prisoners talk, name names and stuff. Dead ones don't. Black fought for keeps against Death Eaters. It was said when a Death Eater met Black he ate Death."

"So he was almost as bad as they were?"

"Guess that would've sounded like that. No. He was professional and would not balk at using whatever force was needed to get the job done, but he took far more of them prisoner and never seemed to let any get away unless it truly couldn't be helped. Didn't hesitate to take some mutt down just 'cause that mutt had a fancified Lordy for a Daddy – or was one himself, come to think of it. And certainly never let a Death Eater get off easy if he could help it. What I meant was he never gave me any reason to think he was on their side. Those in our force who were sympathetic held back when the time came. Black did not. Did he kill a few of them? You bet. So did I. So did a fair few others. But those were in proper fights against scum that would kill you if you didn't kill them. Easiest way to find a mole in the Aurors was stick him in the middle of a fight with Death Eaters and watch what they threw at each other and what they seemed to throw as if to miss. You see one of ours using practically harmless spells and getting the same in return, fair bet he was one of them. Never saw Black do that and believe me, the Death Eaters wanted him dead."

"So you were surprised when it came out he was one?"

"Well, that's just it, isn't it? He got tossed away under the Emergency Acts for snuffing Pettigrew and a bunch of Muggles. The reality at the time – what we were told – was that Pettigrew was one of the good guys and Black had betrayed the Potters to the bad guys, not that Black was a Death Eater. Thought he must've been Imperiused or some such since none of us could see him selling out his best friends. He was one of the best members of my team before then and had a lot of potential. But they never said he was a Death Eater back then. That rot came out later. It was just assumed he had to be one. Now had Pettigrew been found dead with a Dark Mark on his arm? You think they would've chucked Black to the dementors then? They'd've probably given him a medal – and a nasty note in his file 'bout the Muggles that bought it. He might be a Lead Auror by now."

"Did you believe Black was a Death Eater at any time?"

"No."

"Did you believe he betrayed James and Lily Potter?"

"Not of his own free will. I could see how that could happen. But he would never do so of his own free will. Whole thing seemed fishy to me."

"Oh?"

"Black trying to take Pettigrew down like that in a Muggle place? Wasn't his style. And there was the fact that there were two Aurors there. Black would've known that and known that they were Aurors. Thinkin' 'bout it now, it looks more like he was trying to take Pettigrew in and made his move when he saw there was some back up nearby. None of it made any sense back then. Makes sense now seeing as Pettigrew's not dead and all."

"Thank you. No further questions."

"Master Auror Moody," Madam Bones began after replacing Daphne at the lectern, "you mentioned the Emergency Acts. What were they?"

"Laws passed in early '80. Things were going bad. Millie Bagnold had just been named Minister, seventh in six years, you know. Thought she was mental taking it. You had to be seeing as the last six were all dead and none of them died peacefully. It wasn't well known, but we were losing that war. Couldn't win with the peacetime rules. The Emergency Acts made it officially a war and we could act as if we were at war. No longer had to respect the old ways."

"Specifically, what sort of things changed?"

"Well, rules about lethal force moved to a war footing. Now many think we're not allowed that at all in peacetime. That's a load of bunk. But we can't just take them down hard, either. They must be an immediate threat and it must be a clear and immediate threat. It must be obvious both at the time and later that they were using lethal force themselves and any use of lethal force against a Mutt is subject to later investigation by a Permanent Board of Review. Under the Emergency Acts, the Boards of Review could only be called by the Head of DMLE, complaints from the 'public' be damned, and we could hex first and ask questions later. We could be proactive and hunt down Death Eaters. Before we needed a warrant or needed to catch them breaking the laws. After, if we suspected someone was one or in league with one we could go in wands blazing even if all they were doing at that moment was having a cup of tea. In other words, we could now take the war to the enemy rather than wait around with our wands in our holsters 'til they brought the war to us."

"What about what happened to Black after he was caught?"

"Whole thing's fishy…"

"Arguably, but what was off?"

"That's just it. Under the Acts, there was no way to pin that down. Aurors could be proactive. Moreover, if you were brought in for suspect activities – blowin' up a bunch of Muggle would count – they'd classify you as a war prisoner and chuck you into Prison. Before, you could be released ROR or on bail and most of them, even the worst of them were routinely brought in, questioned and then some other Mutt bailed them out and they went right back to killing and such."

"ROR?"

"Released on their own recognizance. They were expected to play nice and show up for whatever hearing or trial the Ministry asked them to attend. A person like Black, heir to an Ancient and Noble House, would get ROR. Otherwise, they just had to post bail or have someone post bail for them. That went out the window under the Emergency Acts. They'd get questioned and if the Department felt a hearing or trial was in order, it was off to Azkaban until the Department got round to it rather than back onto the streets where they could commit more crimes and probably would never show up again unless we caught them again – and get another ROR or bail. At least stuck in that place we knew that they wouldn't be a threat and they would show up for their trial."

"But they were supposed to have a hearing or trial?"

"They were."

"And Black?"

"Papers said he did. Thought he might've been fast tracked: straight from the interrogation room to the dock before the Wizengamot. It happened that way on occasion."

"Do you know if that happened in this case?"

"No."

"No more questions."

"Any follow up?" Harry asked.

"No Milord." Daphne said after a moment where she seemed to be whispering with Mr. Tonks.

"The witness may step down."

"Petitioner calls Lady Emily Abbott."

Emily Abbott took her seat after being sworn.

"Please state your name for the record."

"Lady Emily Abbott. I guess now it would be Dowager as my daughter has become Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott."

"Are you employed?"

"I am. Always wanted to be useful. I'm a Senior Archivist at the Ministry Archives."

"An what do you do there?"

"Supervise the other clerks really. We're charged with the collection, organization, filing, maintenance and, if asked, retrieval and copying of all Ministry records whatever the source. This includes just about everything: birth records, certain contracts like betrothal ones, OWL, NEWT and Mastery results, marriage records, property records, Wills, transcripts of Wizengamot proceedings, trials, personnel files, all of that."

"Who can access these records?"

"Certain records are deemed public, which means anyone can access them. There are others deemed personal, which means only persons who have a direct interest in the content can see them. Some are for official use only, in which case there's a list either by name or position of those who can see them."

"If I wanted to see a restricted file, one that was not about me, could I?"

"No. Not without a subpoena."

"And that is?"

"An order from the Wizengamot or another recognized adjudicatory body allowing you to access those records."

"Is a Manor Court such a body?"

"Had to look that up at the time. No one in the Archives had ever seen a Manor Court Subpoena before. But yes. A Manor Court has the authority if the subpoena is clear as to what is wanted and why it is wanted."

"I have two documents I'd like to show you marked as Petitioner's Exhibits 'B' and 'C' for identification," Daphne said. She handed the two documents to Madam Bones who nodded and handed them back.

"I would like a standing objection as to relevance, Milord," she said.

"As in I rule on it later?"

"That's correct."

"So noted. Proceed, Madam Advocate."

An elf presented the two documents to Mrs. Abbott.

"What are those documents?"

"They are certified copies of two subpoenas issued by the Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter in the matter of Sirius Orion Black versus the Ministry of Magic, et al. The one marked Exhibit C requests a complete, certified copy of the Service Jacket of Auror Trainee / Hit Wizard Sirius Orion Black and the other asks for – quote – certified copies of any and all records and transcripts regarding any arrest, detention, interrogation, hearing, trial or any other proceeding in which Sirius Orion Black was involved on or after 31 October 1981 – end quote."

"What's a certified copy?"

"Means the Senior Archivist affixes their seal attesting it's a true and accurate copy of the original Ministry record of that document or those documents."

"Did the Ministry comply with the Subpoena?"

"It did. They are endorsed by Senior Archivist Leftwitch under her seal. It means receipt was acknowledged, the jurisdiction of the requesting court deemed valid, and the documents requested were copied, certified and sent on to the requesting court in compliance with the subpoenas."

"And you recognize her seal?"

"I do."

"Can such a seal be faked?"

"Yes and no. I suppose someone could fake what looks like the seal, but not the magic on the seal. I would need to use my wand to verify its authenticity."

An elf presented Mrs. Abbott her wand. She cast a spell. "These are Madam Leftwitch's seals."

"And what does that mean?"

"These are authentic."

"Madam Bones?" Harry asked, "while it's not yet time for you to question, it seems to this Court that now's the best time to challenge that statement seeing as you have a standing objection."

"Thank you, Milord. However, the Ministry knows that Madam Abbott is in fact a Senior Archivist and can verify such seals magically. Moreover, she didn't glow red in that interesting witness chair. We accept her statement as true to the best of her knowledge and belief and do not challenge the authenticity of the documents, only their relevance."

Harry nodded. "You may then continue, Madam Advocate."

"Thank you, Milord," Daphne said. "I'm now going to show you, Madam Abbott, a file marked as Petitioner's Exhibit 'D' for identification."

After looking at the file, Madam Bones said: "I'd like to include this in my standing objection."

"So noted," Harry said. And elf then brought the file to Mrs. Abbott.

"Can you tell us what that is?" Daphne asked.

"It's a certified copy of the Service Jacket of Sirius Orion Black, Auror Office, Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Mrs. Abbott said. "The certification letter is the top page and states that it's the complete file."

"And the certification is authentic?"

"It is. And it would extend to every page in the file."

"And what would be in a Service Jacket, if you know."

"Same thing as in any personnel file of any Ministry Employee. Basically, anything the Ministry, the employee's Department and their supervisors think needs to be on file. What specifically is included depends upon the Department and the person's position."

"Could you please turn to page 42 of the file?" Mr. Abbott did. "What is on that page?"

"It lists 'Special Abilities of Interest'," she said. "It further states it's Classified as Most Secret, to be declassified only upon the subject's termination of service by reassignment, resignation, termination, discharge or death."

"What abilities are listed?"

"I would object, as it does say it's classified," Madam Bones said.

"Very well, we'll get back to that. Madam Abbott, go to the last page." She did. "And what does it say?"

"Terminated: 2 November 1981. Reason for termination: incarceration for serious crimes."

"That would be a reason for declassification?"

"Under the classification stated on page 42, yes it would."

"And what were the formerly classified abilities?"

"Any objection, Madam Bones?" Harry asked.

"No Milord."

"Continue. You may answer the question, Madam Abbott."

"It says here," she said returning to the previous page, "that he is fluent in French and is an animagus. His form is a large, black dog of unspecific breed."

"Could the Department of Magical Law Enforcement access the information on that page?"

"If they needed to and if it was their job to do so, I would say yes. In most cases, however, no they could not."

"Would this count as being registered as an animagus?"

"Objection!"

"I can't answer that question, 'cause I don't know," Mrs. Abbott said.

"Objection withdrawn," Madam Bones added.

"What department registers Animagus ability?"

"Magical Law Enforcement."

"And what Department made and maintained that file?"

"Again, Magical Law Enforcement."

"So it could be said that Magical Law Enforcement knew that Petitioner was an animagus and knew of or could have know of his form?"

"Objection! Speculation!"

"Withdrawn. I am now going to show you Exhibit 'E' for identification."

Another very large file was handed to the witness and she was asked to look it over. "What is Exhibit 'E'?" Daphne asked.

"These are the records in response to the Subpoena of the House Potter Manor Court for all documents regarding any investigation of, arrest, interrogation, incarceration or trial of Sirius Orion Black. Like the other file, it is certified as in compliance with the Subpoena and complete by Madam Leftwitch."

"I'm not going to challenge their authenticity," Madam Bones state, "but add this to my standing objection as to relevance."

"So noted," Harry replied. "You may continue Madam Advocate."

"Right then," Daphne said, "Below the page with Madam Leftwitch's Certification, what's the next document?"

"A statement by her that the Ministry has no record of any investigation of Sirius Black for any reason aside from what was supplied pursuant to the Subpoena."

"Okay, and next?"

"Two 'Incident and Arrest' reports from Aurors John Dawlish and Megan Stiltson dated 3 November 1981. The events described happened the day before."

"Could you read one of them to the Court?"

_Incident and Arrest Report  
Auror Form 2121_

_3 November 1981_

_John Dawlish, Basic Auror ID 0197_

_Suspect: Sirius Orion Black; APT 42D Marston Close, Savoy, London. Age 21, male. Auror Trainee/Hit Wizard._

_Victims: Peter Alan Pettigrew; address unknown, Age 21, male. Occupation unknown. Wizard. Finished Hogwarts 1978. Dead at scene, 2 November 1981. Victim of blasting curse._

_12 unknown muggles, various ages, males and females, dead at scene, victims of blasting curse._

_53 unknown injured muggles, various ages, males and females. Possibly more. Victims of blasting curse._

_Incident:_

_Routine Patrol in Camden Towne London, Muggle area. On lookout for DE activity. At approximately 1215, 2 November, 1981, observed Suspect and Victim in argument outside a Muggle shop. Area was crowded with Muggles. They were the only two wizards in area that I could see. Victim yelled: "You betrayed James and Lily to the Dark Lord! You killed them!" or words to that effect. There was then an explosion. Suspect stood there laughing. Nothing left of Victim save a finger. Suspect had wand in hand. Made no effort to escape nor any resistance when we approached and took him into custody. Said nothing. Did not respond to any of my questions. Laughed and cried. Taken to DMLE after Ministry Emergency Response Team was on scene._

_Violations: Murder of Wizard – Peter Alan Pettigrew.  
12 Unlawful Lethal Assault of unknown Muggles._

_53 Aggrevated Assaults and Attempted Unlawful Lethal Assualts upon 53 unknown Muggles._

_Class 1 Violation of International Statute of Secrecy._

_Possible Death Eater, although suspect has no Dark Mark. Possible link to Death Eaters unknown at this time._

"… and then Auror Dawlish's signature," Mrs. Abbott finshed.

"And the other one by Auror Stiltson?"

She read that one as well. It was almost identical although worded differently.

"After that?"

"There's a report from Lead Auror Robards about the scene and follow-up. It describes the damage. It theorized that a blasting curse must have hit a gas main under the street causing the explosion. Lists what little evidence was recovered at the scene. Basically, just a finger and Black's wand. The last spell cast had been a blasting curse. It goes on to describe the clean up: repairs made, number of Muggles obliviated, and so forth."

"Thank you. I would like these reports and Madam Leftwitch's certifications as to this file and her letter to be admitted into evidence as Petitioner's 'E1' through 'E5'."

"Madam Bones?"

"No objection."

"So admitted."

"What's next in the file?" Daphne asked.

"A DMLE Interrogation Report dated 2 November 1981," Madam Abbott said. "Interrogation of Suspect Sirius Orion Black…"

"Thank you, does it say who was at that interrogation?"

"It does."

"Aside from the Petitioner, who else was there?"

"It lists Bartimius Crouch as the Interrogating Official, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Also present were Basic Aurors John Dawlish and Megan Stiltson and Investigating Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Jennifer Hammer, Ministry Stenographer."

"Thank you. How many pages is it?"

"Three."

"Not much of an interrogation."

"Is that a question?" Madam Bones asked.

"My apologies."

"I wouldn't know if it was or wasn't," Mrs. Abbott said.

"What's after the Interrogation transcript?"

"Report of Receipt of Prisoner from Azkaban Prison dated 2 November 1981. It gives his description, lists the personal property taken from him and that they're stored in such and such a locker and so on."

"No trial? No other investigative stuff?"

"I'll look," Mrs. Abbott said, "but this file appears to be in chronological order, as it should be, and this is the next document in order. It does say that the Prisoner is being incarcerated on Order of DMLE pursuant to the detention provisions of the Emergency Acts."

"And what's after the Receipt of Prisoner?"

"Says Daily Prisoner Report. It gives a date of 2 November 1981 and has two entries one at 1925 says prisoner in cell 217, fed dinner, prisoner crying. The other is 2331 says prisoner in cell, crying."

"After that?"

"Page after page of similar reports," Mrs. Abbott said. She appeared upset. "Hundreds of them. Each one has a different date but they all seem to be similar. They're all numbered in order," she kept flipping through and was almost at the last page of the thick file when she finished. "Last one's page 4275 dated 18 July 1993. It has two entries. 0207, prisoner sleeping and 0535 prisoner missing, cell locked."

"So most of that file is Daily Prisoner Reports?"

"Yes," Mrs. Abbott said.

"And the end bit?"

"Seems to be a report about a search of the Prison for him. It's dated 21 July 1993. They couldn't find him and couldn't explain how he got out or could've gotten away. It says that if he managed to get outside, he either tried to swim off and would likely have drowned or they would've found him. Final entry says they list him as drowned whilst escaping. Well, the final from Azkaban says that. The last page is an Order signed by Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic."

"And what's it say?"

"The Department of Revenue is to be prepared to pay 50,000 Galleons should some 'concerned citizen' bring in Sirius Black dead or alive. The Public Relations official is to post that amount as a reward for the capture of Black, but make it plain his body has to be delivered to get the reward. It orders DMLE to devote every resource to catching Black, tells them they may use any force necessary to catch him and finally directs that Black be administered the Dementor's Kiss as soon as feasible should he be brought in alive."

"Does it say anything about a trial?"

"No. The Minister's Order says nothing about a trial."

"Is there any trial transcript in that file at all?"

"No."

"Would one be there?"

"Based on Madam Leftwitch's Certification, if there was one it either would be in here or her letter would tell us why it was not. I must conclude there is no such transcript in the Ministry Archives."

"At this time, I would like to admit the remainder of the file less the Interrogation report into evidence as Exhibit E6."

"No objection," Madam Bones seemed to sigh.

"Exhibit E6 is admitted into evidence," Harry said.

"No further questions." Daphne concluded.

"Just a few," Madam Bones said. "Going back to Exhibit D…"

"Madam Bones, you have a standing objection to that Exhibit. Are you waiving it?" Harry asked.

She seemed to sigh. "I guess I am."

"You guess?"

"I am."

"Madam Advocate, do you wish Exhibit D admitted into evidence?"

"I do."

"It's admitted. Continue Madam Bones."

"Going back to Exhibit D, Madam Abbott, that last page does say that Sirius Orion Black was terminated from his position as an Auror trainee and Hit Wizard."

Mrs. Abbott looked through the smaller file before her. "It does. Last page."

"It further states he was terminated 'cause he was incarcerated for the commission of serious crimes?"

"It does."

"No further questions."

"Madam Abbott?" Daphne began. "Prior to this proceeding, you were asked to review these two big files, weren't you?"

"I was. I was asked to do so by yourself and Solicitor Tonks."

"What were you asked to look for?"

"I was asked to be familiar and conversant with just about all the materials. But I was specifically asked to look for anything regarding why he was sent off to prison – Sirius Black that is – and anything about any investigations, hearings, trials and such either before or after he was sent there."

"There were none in Exhibit E, correct?"

"There was the arrest and incident reports we talked about earlier and the interrogation report I mentioned. Aside from that, no there wasn't."

"And Exhibit 'D'?"

"Aside from what's on that last page, nothing about what those serious crimes were or anything else about any investigation. There was a Board of Review back in '79 that dealt with what looked like a really bloody fight between a group of Death Eaters and his Auror team where the Head of an Ancient House and his Heir were killed, both of them bearing the Dark Mark. Black and the others were found to have done their duty under the circumstances. About the only thing you might consider related to that last page were notations that he was Absent Without Leave that day and the day before."

"It doesn't say why, does it?"

"No."

"It doesn't say he killed Peter Pettigrew or a dozen muggles or injured nearly three score more or violated the Statute of Secrecy?"

"None of that is even mentioned anywhere in his personnel file."

"Would it be?"

"I can't say. What is or is not in this file is the DMLE's business."

"No further questions."

"The witness may step down," Harry said. "I think now's a good time for lunch. Lunch is available under the tents in the town square. Court stands in recess until one o'clock."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Not looking good, eh Cornelius?" Archibald Cartwright, Senior Reporter for the Daily Prophet asked.

"What?" Minister Fudge replied. "Don't be silly. The food's excellent."

"I meant the trial, Minister."

"Oh that. Well, much ado about nothing really. Before my time."

"They did bring out your 'shoot to kill' order."

"Ah. Well, it seemed prudent at the time. Everything suggested he was dangerous."

"And there is the issue about the dementors at Hogwarts."

"Again, seemed prudent."

"And now? Does it seem prudent now?"

"Right then. Those decisions were made based upon the advice I received from senior staff."

"That include DMLE? Court Services?"

"It wasn't necessary. Everyone knew Black was bad news. Never heard a peep out of Court Services about any of it."

"And DMLE?"

"Seemed more concerned 'bout manpower allocation. Never complained about whether we should catch Black, just how to do it."

"And the dementor's kiss?"

"A few ruffled feathers over that one, I'll admit. But you gotta take a hard line with such lot or we're back to where we were back then, right? I don't regret the order."

"Seems like your hard line came out of the blue, Minister."

"Of course not! This is just the first such instance in my tenure is all. I can assure you I would not have tolerated a return to those troubles!"

"And yet many known and admitted Death Eaters walk the streets as we speak. You even are known to socialize with some."

"They did what they did under the Imperius Curse. They said as much and I have no reason to doubt them. They've lived law abiding lives since then."

"So if they went back to their old ways, there'd be a shoot to kill order for them as well?"

Fudge chose to ignore that question.

"And if Black were to claim it was all under that Curse, you'd rescind that order?"

"Far as I know he hasn't. He seems to be claiming he didn't do any of it."

"So far it looks like he has a point."

"It's not over yet. I am confident the Ministry will prevail in the end."

"And if it turns out everything everyone thinks about Black's all wrong? If he was innocent of all of that as it's starting to appear?"

"Had I known that at the time, we probably wouldn't be here. But all I knew is what I've stated."

"And if it turns out the whole Wizarding World was wrong about what happened back then?"

"We'll deal with that if the time comes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Petitioner calls Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt to testify," Daphne said as soon as Court was back in session. Nobody who thought about it was surprised. His name had come up just that morning and everyone seemed disappointed that the interrogation had not been discussed at all. Shacklebolt was sworn and took his seat.

"Please state your name for the record," Daphne began.

"Kinglsey Lionel Shacklebolt, Senior Auror, Auror's Office, Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"And when did you become an Auror?"

"I completed the Academy in 1974."

"You were an Investigating Auror in the fall of 1981?"

"I was. I made Investigator in four years. That's faster than average these days, but we were taking losses in that war. Still, I did score almost perfect on the examination."

"You weren't involved in the apprehension of Sirius Black on November 2nd, 1981, where you?"

"I wasn't there when it happened, if that's what you mean. I was part of the response team called in afterwards. Lead Auror Robards was in charge of all of it and I was in charge of the incident investigation."

"Aside from the reports by Aurors Dawlish and Stiltson, there were no other reports?"

"There was the Incident Response Report prepared by Auror Robards…"

"Yes, we'll get to that."

"I did have an opportunity to see those, by the way."

"Are you aware of any other reports?"

"Not in response to your subpoena."

"So there were others?"

"I don't know."

"Wouldn't you have submitted one?"

"I was told not to."

"By whom?"

"Barty Crouch and Albus Dumbledore." The crowd gasped.

"And when was that?"

"Later that evening."

"Before or after the interrogation that's been mentioned?"

"Oh after. Black had already been portkeyed to Azkaban."

"Is it unusual to be told not to make a report?"

"Very."

"Did you ask why?"

"Naturally. Crouch said it was an open and shut case and suggested my time was better spent dealing with an open investigation. Dumbledore added that to file a report based upon what I knew might … well, he said there were sensitive matters that were best left unsaid."

"What did he mean by that?"

"He didn't say. I could only guess."

"And what was your guess?"

"Objection, speculation."

"The witness said he was told not to submit a report and he complied," Daphne said. "He said it was unusual. He said that Dumbledore said it might touch on sensitive matters and it seems he accepted that. I think it's prudent to ask why he did."

"Agreed," Harry said. "Objection overruled."

"The only thing I could think of was that I knew where one of the victims of the attack of October 31st was or at least had been. Since the attack in London was connected, that would've been in my report."

"Which victim was this?"

"Harry Potter. I knew he had been taken to Hogwarts and then was to be relocated to his relatives' home south of London. Dumbledore felt it best to keep that quiet and that made sense to me since there was no doubt in my mind the Death Eaters would make a go for the boy if they knew where he was."

"And how would they have known?"

"DMLE was compromised. We knew that. Even a classified report would've been known to the Death Eaters. The Order was similarly compromised."

"Order?"

"Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore led it. They were doing what they could to keep You-Know-Who from taking over. We knew there were spies in both such that nothing was secure. The best way to keep Potter safe would be for as few people to know where he was as possible and to ensure there were no records."

"Did you know where Harry was?"

"Only what I told you. No more than that."

"Okay, I'm going to show you the Incident Report filed by Auror Robards back on November 2nd, 1981 tentatively marked as Petitioner's Exhibit E7."

"No objection," Madam Bones said. "Not to the exhibit at any rate."

"Noted." Harry said.

"It says in there, does it not, that Sirius Black's wand was taken?"

"It was. That's pretty much standard procedure."

"And that it was tested somehow?"

"There's a spell called _Priori Incantatem,_" Shacklebolt said. "All Aurors learn it. It allows us to tell what the wand had done recently. Well, that's not accurate. It tells us what the last few cast spells were."

"And the last one was a Blasting Curse?"

"That's what the report says. I can tell you that was consistent with the scene. It was a wreck."

"Only one wand was recovered, correct?"

"Correct."

"And all that was found of Pettigrew was a finger?"

"It was odd, but yes. Usually there'd be more left. It'd be a nasty mess, but usually there'd be something. Unless the wand was hit dead on, something would be left of it too. And Black was unscathed, which was also odd given the amount of destruction. But until it turned up yesterday that Pettigrew was an animagus, it was an odd anomaly, but not so out of the realm of possibility to be any more than that."

"Is a blasting hex unusual from an Auror's wand?"

"Depends."

"How so?"

"We do use it in a fight. It's a spell that can be blocked, but if it isn't the bad guy goes down hard."

"Is it lethal?"

"Can be. Depends on where the person is hit and from how far away. Would've been that day even if it hadn't missed and set off a gas main. They were less than a yard apart, apparently."

"It missed?"

"Point of impact for the spell was about eight feet behind where Pettigrew was standing. Assuming Black cast it, he missed. Then again, that assumes he was trying to hit Pettigrew. Can't see a Hit Wizard missing a target three feet away if he intended to take it down. That was another odd thing. But given how odd Black was that day… He'd clearly gone 'round the twist. No telling what he may have been thinking."

"Assuming it was his spell to begin with."

"That seemed like a fair assumption at the time."

"Can that _priori incantatem _spell tell you when that last spell was cast?"

"No. Just what the last spell was."

"So, even if the spell was the last one, it could've been days or even weeks since it was cast."

"Could be."

"Could an Auror using that spell tell for certain when a spell was cast?"

"No. All the spell tells you is that it was cast. You could do that spell on a wand that you know hasn't been used in years and on a wand that was just used and you can tell what the last spell was. The only way to know for certain when a spell is cast is to see it cast."

"Did anyone see Black cast a spell that day?"

"Neither of the Aurors on the scene when it happened saw it cast, apparently. It would've been in their reports if they had seen a spell cast. Naturally, I didn't as I didn't get there until afterwards and Black was already in custody."

"Aside from that detection spell used on wands, would there have been any way to tell who cast the spell that blew things up that day?"

"We were pretty sure it was Black at the time. He was quiet when I arrived but Dawlish said he was laughing like a madman – his words – right after the explosion."

"Could you have figured out who cast that spell if you weren't so certain it was Black?"

"No. That's not possible. Spells don't leave detectable traces that can link them back to the caster after the fact."

"Everyone seems to think the Ministry has some way to detect such things. You mean there's no way the Ministry can detect underage magic?"

"Not per se, no. The Ministry can detect magic up to a point. It can tell if a spell was cast where one was not expected, such as a Muggle Shopping area. But it can't tell you who cast it. A child raised in our world could only truly get caught doing underage magic if they did it away from their home – in other words somewhere where we wouldn't expect a spell to be cast. We would then have to send out some folks to ask around to find out that it was such a violation. Muggle raised children – well, they're usually the only likely culprit as there're rarely any magical families close enough to where they live for us to think it was anyone other than that underage witch or wizard."

"Okay, moving on much as I'm sure many of the Muggle raised underage witches and wizards would love it if I dwelled on this some more – you were at the later interrogation of Sirius Black."

"If you could call it that, yes."

"You don't call it an interrogation?"

"Not really. No."

"Care to explain?"

"The suspect appeared to be … I don't know … out of his mind? Distraught? Hysterical? He was clearly unresponsive. Didn't respond to any of the questions. Kept saying it was all his fault over and over again. Didn't matter what the question was. Just about all he said was it was all his fault."

"Just about? He said something else?"

"Two other things … no three. Thought he was raving at the time and believed it right up 'til I saw Pettigrew in this Courtroom. At one point he did say that 'James and Lily are dead because of me.' I can't remember if that was in response to any question although I do recall it was not an answer to any question. He also said he needed to catch the rat. Again, 'til yesterday I had no clue what that could've meant. The only question he appeared to have answered was whether he killed Pettigrew. He said he certainly wanted to."

"I'm going to present you with the Interrogation Transcript of Sirius Black dated 2 November 1981…"

"No objection," Madam Bones said.

The document was marked as E8 and handed to Shacklebolt.

"Could you read to us the Questions and Answers?"

Shacklebolt did. It took about fifteen minutes and made no sense to anyone in the room although it pretty much went the way Shacklebolt had said earlier. When he was finished, he looked confused as well.

"Who asked the questions?" Daphne asked.

"Barty Crouch, head of DMLE."

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Why were you there?"

"Standard procedure. I was one of the on-scene supervisors for the incident."

"It says that Dawlish and Stiltson were there. Did they ask any questions?"

"No."

"Is that standard procedure? Is it always head of DMLE that interrogates suspects?"

"No it's not. In a case like this where the suspect was caught doing something and had not been under prior investigation for wrongdoing, it would usually be one of the Auror's who caught him and maybe a superior such as myself. Before we went on the record, Crouch told us he'd do it as he was certain now that Black was the mole in our organization. Couldn't see that myself."

"A mole?"

"Another word for a spy. It's a guy who's right under your nose and selling you out."

"You couldn't see Black as a Mole? Why not?"

"Some of the stuff we knew was leaked to the bad guys he would not have had access to. He wasn't an Auror the whole time, you know. Most of it, he was just a Hit Wizard. And 'the Mole' was active his whole time he was with DMLE releasing information he could not have had access to. It seemed off. The whole thing did but we were all … well, none of us knew who we could trust with anything and I know Crouch wanted whoever it was that was working for the other side."

"Was Black the Mole?"

"No. That case broke wide open a couple years later after Crouch was reassigned to International Cooperation. It was the then Head of the Auror Office Julius Edgemont. He killed himself before we could bring him in, but we had a solid case against him."

"Never thought of taking a new look at the Black case?"

"Crouch wanted to do the interview because he thought Black was the Mole. It was not why he was there – Black I mean. After about fifteen minutes of questioning which I read earlier, all of which were about what happened earlier that day in London, Crouch said he had enough and invoked the Emergency Act to send Black off to Azkaban."

"Did you find that odd?"

"Not at that time, not really. Anyone we caught who we thought might be in league with You-Know-Who got sent off to Azkaban under the Emergency Act. Kept them out of trouble. Black was out of it and if he was one of them we certainly didn't want him set loose. It seemed prudent."

"That Act also requires that the suspect stands trial for his crimes within a year, doesn't it?"

"As I recall."

"And otherwise, the suspect had to be released."

"That's my understanding.

"Did you ever hear of a trial in the case of Sirius Black?"

"No."

"Did you find that odd?"

"Until yesterday, I admit I never really thought about it. Unless I was called to testify or it was all over the papers, I doubt if I would've known."

"You're an Auror and were on-scene investigator!"

"Doesn't mean DMLE would've thought my testimony was needed. Again, never thought about it."

"And when word got out of his escape not two months ago?"

"I wondered how he managed that. But the word was he was convicted so I assumed there had been a trial."

After a pause where it seemed Daphne was looking over her notes or something she said. "No further questions."

"Senior Auror Shacklebolt," Madam Bones began. "You testified that at the time Black was arrested the Aurors believed there was a mole in their ranks?"

"We were beginning to suspect that before then, yes. Too many of our operations were coming up empty for it to be just a run of bad luck. Someone was telling the bad guys we were coming for them. By then, we were sure there was a mole."

"How?"

"Set up an op – short notice thing. We had a place that had been staked out for some time. It was the home of a suspected Death Eater who lived alone. Another of the Senior Aurors decided to bring the guy in and set up a raid on short notice. This came out later, by the way. The only others aside from his team who had any heads up were the Head of the Aurors and the other Senior Aurors. My team was tapped as a potential backup, 'though we weren't told where or for what. The raid went out and just as they portkeyed out the guy on stakeout came in to report that about twenty Death Eaters had just arrived at the location and looked like they were expecting a fight. By the time my team got there, it was too late. The bad guys were gone. The team that went in were ambushed as soon as they arrived. Never had a chance as they portkeyed into a hail of Killing Curses. None of them survived."

"Could Black have been the one?"

"Not possible."

"Can you be sure?"

"I'm certain of it. He was in St. Mungos recovering from injuries he received only the day before. He could not have known about that raid."

"That was almost twelve years ago, how can you be sure?"

"Cause after it happened I was asked to figure out who could've known. Aside from the dead team, there were about a dozen who knew far enough in advance that they may have had time to tip off the bad guys. My team and I had five minutes and were not told where this raid was set. Aside from the raid and my team, all the other teams were out of the office at the time. And I had the list of those in St. Mungos. Because of what happened later, I checked that list and Black was on it. He couldn't be the mole. Not the one who set that team up, at any rate."

"Prior to yesterday, did you have any reason to believe Black had not killed Peter Pettigrew?"

"To be honest, no. Then again, I also assumed the Ministry and DMLE did their job in the end. It appears at the very least we seriously dropped the Quaffle with Black."

"No more questions," Madam Bones said quickly.

"I take it you have more witnesses, Madam Advocate?" Harry asked consulting his watch.

"One more, I should think, Milord," Daphne replied.

"Will it be quick?"

"I don't think so."

"In that case, it might be best to recess for today. We'll reconvene at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Court stands in recess. I again hope everyone enjoys their evening at the Farm."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dumbledore was sitting in the Dining Room of the Old Farm Manor where he and several of the members of the Wizengamot were staying. He was seated with Amos Diggory, Deadlus Diggle who were loyal members of the Liberal Faction and Augustus Burke, who was a Traditionalist and Marcus Weasley, who was a Moderate and related to Arthur Weasley.

"Thought just for a moment that Auror chap was throwing you to the Dragons," Weasley said. "Did make it seem plausible in the end." It seemed to Dumbledore that his dinner companion was hoping he had been thrown to the Dragons.

"They do seem to be doing this professional," Burke said. "I dare say, they're making sure all the 'i's' are dotted and 't's' crossed. When I saw who was on the panel and who the House Advocate was…"

"They're definitely covering all the hoops," Weasley agreed. "So a few of them are a bit young. Can't remember such a professional trial. Shouldn't be surprised though what with Davis and Cartsons on the bench as well and Solicitor Tonks at the Manor table. Fair bet his hand's all over the Manor Advocate's presentation of the case."

"Why isn't he up there instead?" Diggle asked.

"Don't be daft," Weasley replied. "It's a Manor Court. They're being awfully professional 'bout it, but it's considered a matter of internal affairs or whatever. They don't bring in outsiders to present the Manor case. Never have. But they're certainly making sure we'll overlook that and they have enough press here we'd be fools not to. They're basically handing us a prepackaged trial in one piece. Fair bet they're going to ask us to take up the issue of Lord Black's incarceration and right now I'd say we skip the show and tell and get straight to ruling. No sense in reinventing the wand."

"I tend to agree." Burke said. "So far, I doubt we'd get a better presentation."

Dumbledore could not decide if he liked this idea. He was sure if he thought this should be ignored, Diggory and Diggle would back him. But there were far more members and votes seeing this who would not back him just because he was Albus Dumbledore which meant if they felt the way these two felt… He did not want to think about what consequences might follow.


	39. Chapter 39: Meat Pies

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I debated about posting this the same day as Ch. 38. After all, I hadn't been sitting on this story for weeks which was my usual excuse for posting more than one chapter. But, this Chapter is the one I think many were waiting for…

**CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: MEAT PIES**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993 (Day 3).**

"All rise!" Hermione called out. "The Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter resumes session!"

"Good morning everyone," Harry said. "Madam Advocate, are you ready to proceed?"

"Petitioner is ready."

"Madam Bones?"

"We can proceed, Milord."

"Right then. Madam Advocate, call you next witness."

"The Manor calls Sirius Orion Black." No one was really surprised at this by now. Aside from Harry and a few others, no one knew that there might have been two other witnesses, namely Harry's parents. It was decided the night before, outside Harry's presence that they would not need to be called. Harry wanted them to remain unknown just in case Dumbledore tried something and they would only have been called if it was necessary. Harry knew it was not. Then again, he did not need to be convinced.

"Please state your name for the record," Daphne began.

"Sirius Orion Black. Lord Black I suppose. Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, Earls of Hangleton and Falthsome, Baron of Savoy and all that."

"When were you born?"

"December 29th, '59."

"When did you finish Hogwarts?"

"'78."

"And you were a Hit Wizard from that point until November 2nd, 1981."

"Wasn't informed I had been terminated," Sirius said. "Seem to recall they owe me a written notice or they can't stop my pay." There was some laughter and a very nervous look on the face of the Minister. "But I was until October 1980. That was a year before this stuff. I was then an Auror Trainee at the Academy for about a year and had just finished and returned to service as a Basic Auror when they decided to cart me off. I had been with DMLE for a little over three years."

"Basic Auror? You skipped over Auror Apprentice?"

"Time in Grade and with the Auror Office," Sirius shrugged. "I had two very intensive years with Moody's team before the Academy and apparently it counted."

"You're record lists you as still a Trainee."

"They had only just put in the paperwork," Sirius replied. "I guess it never made it to the file. I was receiving pay as a Basic Auror."

"Who did you work for during that time?"

"I was part of Mad-eye's team from the moment I was assigned after completing Hit Wizard training and was asked back to his team out of the Academy."

"Mad-eye?"

"Master Auror Moody."

"You called him Mad-eye?"

"Everyone did after he got that ridiculous magical eye. Just not to his face." There were laughs. Even Madam Bones chuckled.

"Always had a lot of cheek, Blackie," Mad-eye Moody growled. "Bloody good thing you were terminated. I'm sure I could find something unpleasant… Bugger. Forgot I'm retired as well." There was another round of laughter.

"Okay," Daphne continued. "While I'm not going to ask this, if asked would you testify under veritiserum?"

"So long as the questions steer clear of my love life, yes. There are probably some … well, not so young anymore ladies who might take offense if I kissed and told." There were more chuckles.

"Can you think of any reason why your love life – such as it might have been – is in anyway helpful in regards to your petition?"

"Nope."

"Then I guess we can steer clear of it. Madam Bones? Would you prefer proceeding with Veritiserum?"

"You verify that interesting chair's still working, and I'll forgo it for now. While a person under that potion cannot lie, they're not particularly responsive either. We prefer to avoid having to use it outside of an interrogation."

"Right then. Mr. Black, I'd like you to lie in response to this next question. Are you married?"

"No." He said. The chair and Sirius Black turned red for a moment and now there were gasps, even from Harry and Daphne.

"You old dog!" Harry exclaimed. "You never told us you were married!"

"Well none of you asked. And aside from myself and – well I suppose the not so lucky lady in question and the folks who hitched us in France, no one knows. Besides, I haven't heard from her in a while like say almost a dozen years or so. It's not like Azkaban is a place for one to keep up with their correspondence. Don't know where she is, if she's alive, if we're still married or any of that. And before you ask, I was stone cold sober both when I asked her and when we got hitched." He turned red again as did the chair.

"Bloody annoying chair! Okay, I did have a few in me when I asked. But I meant it at the time I asked and I was sober when I went through with it a few days later." This time, nothing happened aside from some more chuckles from the crowd.

"Okay, and when did this happen?"

"Asked her at the Three Brooksticks," Sirius said. "Just finished the Academy and we were celebrating. Had a leave coming up in a few days and … well she said yes and it was off to France to um … you get the picture? September of '81. Can't remember what day, to be honest."

"Not making any husband points by not remembering your wedding day…"

"I remember that, just not what day."

"Your anniversary then…"

"Well, never made it to the first one to forget it and get reminded, did I?" There were chuckles and a few louder laughs.

"I suppose not. Is there a reason it was kept a secret?"

"I wasn't very popular with the Death Eaters at the time and they liked taking it out on families. They couldn't go after mine. My father and brother were already dead. My mother was one of their biggest supporters. The Head of House … well, it would've caused problems for them to go after the Head of House Black, wouldn't it? After all, Great-great Granddad was the voice of their movement before You-Know-Who showed up. But I was clearly a Blood Traitor so I would've been fair game and my … well, she wouldn't have been safe at all if it had been known and with my job I couldn't be there to protect her all the time."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. Those were messed up times for everyone. I wasn't the only one whose life was wrecked one way or another. And here you said you'd steer clear of my love life," Sirius added with a pout.

"I'm not under oath," Dapne said in reply.

"Should've known. You were sorted into Slytherin…"

Daphne nodded. "Okay, I guess we can begin there," she said. "Were you ever a Death Eater."

"No." Nothing happened.

"Did you ever support their ideas?"

"Don't know how to answer that without this chair turning all red."

"Can you explain?"

"Ever means ever, right? My mother was … well, she believed all that Pureblood Supremacist rubbish and wanted her sons to believe it too. It was like she was a religious fanatic about that stuff and when I was really little … well, little kids tend to believe their parents, right? But I got older and it made less and less sense to me and when I got to Hogwarts I quickly saw it was utter rubbish. Mother would say I had been ruined by the heretical beliefs that ran rampant outside of Slytherin House and never forgave me for getting sorted into Gryffindor. By then I wanted nothing to do with her and if being sorted somewhere other than Slytherin meant I would not be like her, that was what I wanted. Didn't stop her, though."

"Oh?"

"Every Holiday she'd have her 'proper Pureblood' friends pop by for dinner damn near every night and I was expected to attend and listen to their oh so brilliant beliefs. Probably lost weight every summer since once they started into it I'd lose my appetite. Father didn't help. He never said much of anything and certainly would never contradict mother on anything. After I sat my OWLs and legally didn't have to put up with their nonsense, I never went back."

"Where'd you go since you stated you finished Hogwarts?"

"I spent the rest of my Holidays at the home of one of my best friends: James Potter. Truth is I soon saw that as my home. They certainly treated me like a sort of son or brother."

"When did you become friends with James Potter?"

"Can't say really. We were both little. He was a cousin of mine, my own age – the only one who was both a boy and not from a disowned Black line. His Mother was my Grandaunt on my mother's side. Pretty sure the only reason she hadn't disowned Grandaunt Dorea in her own mind at least was that even though mother thought the Potters were Blood Traitors, it was an Ancient and Noble House and she made exceptions for that. Bloody hypocrite if you asked me."

"Okay, but how did you meet James Potter?"

"The Potters were still 'society', you know? They attended many of the same functions as my parents and James and I usually got dragged to them. Kicking and screaming, in my case. They were bloody dull for a kid. But James and I found ways to liven them up…," he added with an evil grin.

"Oh?"

"Our first prank we put invisible toads in the punch. They became visible if you touched them which usually was when someone took a sip. Caused quite the scene."

"That's some pretty advanced magic."

"Don't look at me. Might've been able to do that years later, but we were only seven at the time. James bought the toads at Dervish and Bangs in Diagon Alley with his allowance money. I was the one, however, who came up with the idea of what to do with them."

"You were also friends with Remus Lupin, correct?"

"Yeah. James and I met him on the Hogwarts Express during our first trip to school. Saw him alone in a compartment looking all pathetic and we decided to cheer him up. It's a long train ride to be alone and pathetic. By the time we got to where we were going, I'd say we were friends."

"You'd only say?"

"Didn't know what House we'd all be in. James was pretty certain he'd be in Gryffindor. Remus was thinking Ravenclaw, Merlin knows he had the brains for that House. I was convinced I was to be cast into the Pit. Blacks had been Slytherins for ages – 'cept Great-granduncle Phineas's lot, but he wasn't Black at heart. But we were all sorted into the Tower. After that we were, as our Head of House McGonagall would say, 'thick as thieves'."

"You were friends with Peter Pettigrew as well?"

"For my part. Seems that turned out to be a one way deal. But yeah. Didn't meet him before we were sorted and he didn't fall in with the three of us for sometime after that. Second Year, for certain."

"And Lily Evans?"

"One could almost say everyone was friends with her, or at least liked her. Even the Snakes played nice when she was around despite the fact she was a Muggle Born. As for her friend, that took a while. She took issue with some of our less academic pursuits."

"Meaning?"

"She thought pranks were juvenile. Thought that when we were eleven and still thought that when … well even up to when it all happened although by then she could appreciate a very well planned and very original one. In the end, you might say she out pranked all of us."

"Oh? How so?"

"You know I can't say. The results of her last prank are protected under a Fidelius Charm, which in itself is pretty brilliant even if that bit wasn't part of her idea."

"Remus Lupin testified earlier that you, James and Peter Pettigrew became Animagus while still at school."

"We did."

"Why?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. Took a couple years though. James and I managed it by the summer before Fifth Year. Peter took until later that fall."

"And what were your forms?"

"James was a stag, Peter a rat and I'm a dog. A dog of unknown pedigree or breed, they say. Scion of a very Pureblood family and my animagus form's that of a large mutt. Always found that pleasantly ironic." There were chuckles.

"And you didn't register?"

"Didn't have to at first. Lily looked that up. It seems the law's silent 'bout under age animagus. We were to register as soon as practicable after turning seventeen…"

"Would've been the Christmas Hols your seventh year, wouldn't it?"

"'Cept I couldn't then. Got stuck at Hogwarts in detention over the Hols. Seems McGonagall didn't find one of our pranks all that funny. Then again, I don't suppose she'd admit to finding any of our pranks all that funny even if they were."

"What about after you finished school and before you started hit wizard training?"

"The four of us reported in for training less than an hour after the train pulled into King's Cross. I was up front with the Hit Wizards when they asked about 'special abilities' and they said to put it on the appropriate form and then told me to keep it quiet. James was told to go ahead and register his. Can't say if he did or didn't. Never asked."

"You started training right out of school?"

"No, got all the healer stuff and paperwork done. We then got two weeks off before they started the training proper. That was when James and Lily were married."

"You were at the wedding?"

"Best man! Although I will say I felt derelict in my duties as such. There wasn't much of a bachelor party." The chair and Sirius turned red.

"I don't have to explain that, do I?" Sirius asked sheepishly.

"Does it have anything to do with the events from 31 October 1981 until recently?"

"No," he said and did not turn red.

"Then I guess for now we can let that sleeping dog lie," Daphne said in an amused tone. "Did Peter Pettigrew become a Hit Wizard?"

"Thought Remus covered that. No. He didn't have the Defense marks for it."

"What did he do after he finished?"

"Told us he got a job with Zonkos. Can't tell you if that was true or not."

"So you, James, Lily and Remus all became Hit Wizards…?"

"Auror track," Sirius added. "We were sent to our teams in October of '78. Remus and I were assigned to Master Auror Moody's Team and Lily and James were sent to work for Lead Auror Fabian Prewitt. That team was also part of Moody's Section."

"Just out of curiosity, did you ever use your animagus form as a Hit Wizard?"

"Once or twice to infiltrate a target area. More often I used it in the company of an Auror for surveillance. We typically posed as a Muggle walking his less than well behaved doggie."

"Less than well behaved…?"

"If the subject was close, I took particular pleasure in lifting a leg if you take my meaning," Sirius replied in a devious tone of voice.

"That's a disturbing image. Okay, so how long did the lot of you work in Master Auror Moody's section?"

"Started in the fall of '78, nearer to Christmas really and shifted over to the Auror Academy in the Fall of 1980. So I was a Hit Wizard for about two years."

"And your other friends?"

"Remus also went through Auror training. Can't remember when he started, but he finished a few months ahead of me. James started with me but never finished and Lily was supposed to start as well, but didn't 'cause Lils took her leave of absence."

"Lils?"

"Lily Potter."

"And when was that? When was it that she took her leave of absence?"

"Lils took a leave of absence beginning not long after the New Year in 1980."

"And were you at the Academy in October '81?"

"Thought I said I was done with it and an Auror by then. Began as a Basic Auror in September of '81."

"And who was your Supervisor at that time?"

"I was again on Moody's team."

"And neither James or Lily Potter become Aurors?"

"James started. Lily did not."

"Why?"

"She was pregnant. That was why she took her leave of absence, you know. Voldemort wanted James and her dead by then and that didn't seem to bother her all that much until she found out she was expecting."

"Why'd he want them dead?"

"Didn't like it much when someone didn't die like they were supposed to, I'd guess. That's what some of the Mutts we caught were saying, you know. James and Lils fought him personally three times by then and had lived. Guess he didn't like there being evidence he wasn't all powerful and invincible. His toadies might begin to question their supreme leader and all. I mean you're not terribly invincible if there're others out there you can't seem to beat. He couldn't seem to beat James and Lily, couldn't seem to beat Frank and Alice Longbottom and I'm told doesn't seem to be much of a match for Harry Potter either." There were some chuckles at this.

"That's not why they ultimately went into hiding, is it?"

"No. That was something later. Something different. Must've been 'round December of '80 or so, maybe a little later. It was almost a year after Lils took her leave of absence. Harry was already born and there was snow on the ground and a Christmas tree was up when they told me they were going to go into hiding like Dumbledore suggested. James and I had finished our two years as Hit Wizards and had just started the Auror Academy. It was bad enough that his placement exams meant he'd need six more months than I would to finish, but this might be another delay. But they figured a way where he could stay in training."

"Why did Dumbledore suggest they needed to go into hiding?"

"You heard Dumbledore headed an organization called the Order of the Phoenix earlier, right?"

"That's in the record," Daphne nodded.

"Well, we were too. Peter was as well. Anyway, Dumbledore told James and Lily that he had an operative who had managed to infiltrate the Death Eaters and get close to Voldemort. Personally, I think the old man should've arranged a little accident for the bastard – Voldemort, I mean – but he didn't operate that way – Dumbledore, I mean. Anyway, this operative said that the stakes had gone up. Voldemort for some reason got it into his demented mind that Harry and another boy Neville Longbottom were bigger threats to him than the rest of the Wizarding World combined and wanted them dead. He wanted to kill them personally. Basically, it meant every Death Eater and everyone in league with them would be hunting the Potters – and the Longbottoms for that matter. All his other schemes had become secondary to killing two babies. I know. It makes no sense. But no one ever said the bastard was sane."

"So Dumbledore suggested they go into hiding? What did he mean?"

"Some place that could be placed under a Fidelius Charm," Sirius said. "They were living in one of the smaller Potter places. It was more of a vacation home and its wards were nothing like the ones on the main house…"

"Why didn't they move to the main house?"

"Couldn't. Jame's father had only just passed away. Even if the Will had been probated, because James didn't live there he could not access it before he turned twenty-one which wasn't 'til the end of the following March. They thought about other options, but Lils was looking after Harry and two other children during the day and didn't want to give that up, so they needed a place that was hidden, but one where she could leave easily to look after the other two children. Likewise, he needed to be able to come and go so as to attend Auror training. That and the Potter properties were too well known. Fair bet there were some Death Eaters who knew about them from before. That would've made a Fidelius Charm very, very difficult which is what Dumbledore recommended and we agreed it was the best overall option. They set themselves up in a safe house in Godric's Hollow and the Charm was cast."

"Wouldn't it have been safer had Lily stopped looking after those other children?"

"I honestly doubt the Death Eaters could've found her there."

"Why not?"

"It was a Muggle home in a Muggle community. Wasn't a witch or Wizard 'round for miles. Death Eaters weren't too bright about the Muggle World. Arguably, it was the best place to hide from them. As far as I know, Lily never had reason to think there was any witch or wizard who knew where she was during the day and, after more than a year in the Hit Wizards, she was observant enough to know if there was something magical going on anywhere in the area."

"But if she used magic…?"

"She wasn't that stupid. She knew it would be picked up by the Ministry and that might tip off a Death Eater."

"And Harry was with her?"

"He was."

"Wasn't she worried about accidental magic?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the toddler who lived at the home was a Muggle Born witch. Any accidental magic would be attributed to the girl and not another witch or wizard. The only concern was wand magic, which would trigger the wrong kind of attention."

"Why was she looking after the girl too?"

"The girl's parents worked. They needed a nanny or something during the day and Lils answered the advert not long after Harry was born."

"Surly she didn't need the money."

"It wasn't about the money. When Harry was born, James and Lils were notified that he shared compatible magic with the girl. They wanted Harry to … well … get to know the girl, grow up together, become friends and maybe … bond one day. Lils also liked the idea 'cause it meant James could continue his training without worrying 'bout her and Harry too much."

"But the Death Eaters went after Muggle Borns!"

"For some reason, they never went after the ones that didn't know about magic. We figured that they figured it would be unnecessary. They assumed they'd win and once they did… Well, with that lot in charge, do you really think Muggle Borns would be told about our world?"

"So they moved to this safe house and otherwise went about their lives?"

"As best they could, yes."

"And it was placed under a Fidelius?"

"It was. Dumbledore cast the charm."

"Who was the Secret Keeper."

"I was at first."

"Why?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time. I am, after all, Harry's Godfather." There were several gasps from the audience.

"You mean like the Muggle kind?"

"Magical kind, oath and all."

"For the record, what's that mean?"

"The oath is a kind of fealty oath. It doesn't make me Harry's Vassal or House Potter's Vassal, but other aspects are similar. I can't betray my Godson. I can't do anything that would cause him serious harm or knowingly allow him to come to serious harm. Doesn't mean that if I had to raise him I couldn't discipline him nor does it mean I had to support him politically. It's a familial kind of thing and is hard to clearly define. But, I could not cause him serious harm or allow it to happen, you know? Were I to try, I'd break the oath and drop dead. As Secret Keeper, I'd die before I could've revealed the secret to anyone if I even thought there was a remote chance it would harm Harry. It was a double protection of sorts. I was the one person who could not give up the secret voluntarily or under duress."

"But that changed, didn't it?"

"It did. I regret having any part in that change, but again it made sense at the time."

"When did it change?"

"'Bout a week or so before Voldemort attacked."

"Why the change?"

"The Longbottoms also had a Secret Keeper for wherever they were at. Julius McKinnon. We changed not long after the Death Eaters wiped out Julius and his whole family. We had no reason to believe that they were attacked because he was the Secret Keeper, but we couldn't rule that out seeing as by then we knew someone in the Order – which knew about Julius – was a spy for Voldemort. Some doubted that could be the case. They thought for certain that couldn't happen, not with Dumbledore in charge of things. After the McKinnon's were wiped out, James, Lils and I didn't want to take any chances. We didn't tell anyone in the Order what we were doing, not even Dumbledore. Then, I made the biggest mistake of my life."

"And that was?"

"Well, we decided to change Secret Keepers. I doubt anyone didn't know I was probably it. I had just completed Auror training and been assigned as an Auror with Moody's team again and knew I'd be in the thick of it. Just got out of St. Mungos, to be honest. Wasn't back on the job a week when I was in an op that went pear-shaped. And if I copped it, the Fidelius could collapse and anyone who knew the secret could spill it. So we needed a new Secret Keeper. The only one we thought we could trust was Peter Pettigrew. Lily cast the new charm and Peter became the Keeper."

"So you weren't the Potter's Secret Keeper on October 31st, 1981?"

"No, the back stabbing, so called friend, traitorous rat was."

"Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yeah," Sirius said darkly.

"Okay then, let's go to October 31st, 1981. By then Pettigrew was the Potters Secret Keeper. What are your recollections of that day?"

"Not good, I can tell you." Sirius muttered.

"Well?"

Sirius sighed. "Didn't suspect a thing, you know? We knew there was a spy in the Order, but Pettigrew? His Mum was a Muggle Born and his dad's parents were as well. Not exactly standard recruiting material for the Death Eaters. Far from it. He likely was just below his Mum on the types that lot liked to kill for fun. Anyway…

"I had a shift that day with the Aurors. I got off shift just before sunset and went to check on the rat. I had him stashed in another safe house nowhere near Godric's Hollow or where Lily went during the day."

"Did he know about that?"

"Not that I was aware and now I doubt it."

"And you say that because…?"

"Pretty sure the Muggle place was not under a Fidelius. Can't say that for certain, of course. For all I know it might've been. But if Pettigrew knew about it and it was not, my guess is that's were Voldemort would've attacked. Would've been an easy target too. Probably no wards to speak of. But he didn't.

"Anyway we had Pettigrew tucked away in a safe house and I checked on him before and after my shifts."

"Why?"

"Needed to make sure he was set for food and the like, you know? We all agreed it was best if he stayed out of … well anywhere where a magical might run into him. First several days, he was there. Seemed nervous, but he always seemed nervous and those were pretty bad times. That evening I arrived and he was gone. There was no sign of any struggle. It was like he just up and left after promising all of us he wouldn't do that. I was puzzled for a bit and then … then I thought the worst. Thought he might be the spy and if he was…

"Went to Godric's Hollow as quick as I could. I couldn't apparate in. The whole town was under a wide area anti-apparition ward. You couldn't get to within two hundred yards without hitting the wards. So apparated to a safe place outside the wards and then I rode as fast as I could…"

"Rode? You mean a broom?"

"A Boney."

"What's a Boney?"

"A 1977 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. It's a Muggle thing. Two wheels with an engine. Wicked cool! Made several modifications – magical enhancements – over the years so it could fly silent, invisible and faster than any broom I knew of. I shrunk the bike, apparated to the edge of the wards near the town, resized the bike and got to the safe house in about five minutes. It was too late. The second floor wall was blown out where Harry's room was and the front door was missing. Blown into the house apparently. But something was off."

"I'd say seeing the house a shambles would've been off."

"Well, that too. Clearly there'd been an attack. But there was no Dark Mark."

"Excuse me?"

"Death Eater's calling card. Some kinda Charm Voldemort and his bootlickers cast once they did the deed to let the rest of us know who had come calling. You'd have to be a Muggle or blind not so see it once it was cast. Any time they hit anyone they put that up, unless they were all taken out in the skirmish or forced to retreat. Didn't know what to make of it."

"I was about to go in when Hagrid came out. He had Harry with him. Apparently Dumbledore had given him a portkey that would activate if the defensive wards on the house triggered or something. Aside from a cut on his forehead, Harry looked okay and was alive. Hagrid said he needed to get Harry back to Hogwarts and it sounded like a good idea so I loaned him my Boney. Figured it be easier on Harry than a portkey."

"So Harry went off with Hagrid?"

"Yeah. Didn't even get a tingle from that oath. Wish I had now. Once Hagrid rode off I entered the House. The first floor parlor was a wreck. There'd been one heck of a fight there and James Potter's body was on the floor. Least he gave it a good go before getting hit. Wasn't anything I could do for him so I went upstairs. Harry's room was a shambles too, although it didn't look like a dueling chamber. Lily's body was beside the crip and she didn't really look dead. No injuries, nothing. Killing Curse, obviously. Her body and the crib were about the only things in that room that didn't look blown to all hell. Near the door there were robes. Fancy ones. Custom ones. I'd only ever seen robes like that on Voldemort. I guessed they were his and what looked like a pile of ash within the robes was what was left of him. Not that it did James and Lils any good."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

The trial had been in recess for a half an hour following Sirius's testimony about the night at Godric's Hollow. Daphne was again standing at the lectern and Sirius was in the witness box.

"Let's review before we move on, okay?" Daphne began.

"Is there going to be a quiz?" Sirius quipped. There were chuckles from the audience.

"Were you ever a Death Eater?" Daphne asked ignoring the question.

"No."

"Were you ever in league with them?"

"No."

"Were you their spy in the Auror Office?"

"No."

"Were you their spy in the Order of the Phoenix?"

"No."

"Were you the Potters' Secret Keeper on October 31st, 1981."

"No. Peter Pettigrew was."

"Did you betray James, Lily and Harry Potter to You-Know-Who?"

"No. Pettigrew did."

"Okay," Daphne continued. "We left you standing in what was left of Harry Potter's bedroom in Godric's Hollow. James and Lily Potter were dead. Harry had suffered apparently minor injuries and was on his way to Hogwarts with Hagrid and it appeared that Voldemort had been defeated…"

"What's this?" the Minister exclaimed. "He was killed that night! Everyone knows this!"

"Minister," Harry said from the bench, "need I remind you this is a Manor Court and not the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic? You, Sir, are out of Order and I will not tolerate such outbursts!"

"But everyone knows…"

"Everyone believes," Daphne said. "One can argue that what is believed and what is known are two truly different things. We have eyewitness testimony from Lord Black and I'm sure were we to recall Hagrid to the box he would corroborate the particulars. All that was in the room when Lord Black arrived was the body of Lily Potter, a set of robes believed to have belonged to the self proclaimed Voldemort and some stuff that looked like ash. Lord Black? Was there another body in the room?"

"No, there was not."

"Did you, as an Auror junior as you may have been, reach any conclusions regarding what had occurred?"

"Actually, I had more questions than answers."

"Explain."

"The only things I could conclude were that James and Lily had died by the Killing Curse. James had put up a fight and it did not appear that Lily had done the same. Harry had been injured, but the state of the room was such that it could not be determined when or how he had been injured."

"He survived the Killing Curse!" the Minister Protested. "Everyone knows that!"

"I don't," Sirius said. "Arguably, I was the first Auror – the first Ministry employee on the scene. I had no reason to believe Harry had been hit with that curse. The evidence, to be honest, leads to the opposite conclusion. Had I submitted a report, it would have stated that he was injured most likely in the explosion. It was clear there had been one and it was further highly probable, given the state of her body, that Lily Potter was already dead when the explosion occurred. I could not determine the cause of the explosion nor explain the presence of those robes at the scene. But Lily's was the only body in that room. Her wand was the only wand I saw – although I will admit I did not run a full on inspection of the scene. The lack of the Dark Mark over the scene suggests Voldemort was defeated. It's possible the ash I saw were his remains, but not conclusive. Absent further clear evidence of demise, I would have concluded that somehow things had gone very pear-shaped for him and he scampered."

"I would like to add," Amelia said, "that the initial reports at the time were silent as to what is now commonly believed. The first reports in DMLE was that there was a confrontation between the Potters and You-Know-Who and it appeared that while the Potters were killed, You-Know-Who had been defeated. There was nothing in those reports linking the defeat to the infant who survived. It was the Daily Prophet that spun that tale and it was not supported by any clear evidence. Subsequent events, most notably the complete collapse of the Death Eater movement support the conclusion that You-Know-Who was soundly defeated somehow that night, but it does not follow that he was clearly killed. His organization was held together mostly through fear of his power. That myth was arguably destroyed when he failed to kill a mere, defenseless infant. That he was, in fact, killed is a possibility. But there's no evidence that refutes the possibility that he was not killed. If need be, I can recall Master Auror Moody to provide testimony to this effect as he led the subsequent investigation."

"As interesting as this discussion is," Harry said, "this Court would like to remind everyone that this Proceeding is not about whether or not Voldemort died that night. Either way, it seems to this Court that this lively discussion has no bearing whatsoever on the Petition before us. Or, Madam Advocate, has this Court missed something?"

"You have not, Milord. The fate of Voldemort is in no way relevant to the merits of the Petition of Lord Black one way or another."

"As was stated very early on in this Proceeding," Harry continued, "there is a difference between what is objectively true and what is believed to be true. This Court is acutely aware of what is believed to be true in regards to the fate of the self proclaimed Voldemort. Neither that belief, nor the objective truth of that matter if different, has any bearing on what is before us. This Court is not charged with, nor can it rightfully claim authority under Article 21 to review that particular matter. As it is outside of this Court's recognized jurisdiction, the Court recommends we proceed with what is within this Court's jurisdiction: the merits of Lord Black's Petition. Continue, Madam Advocate."

Dumbledore was floored. He knew that Harry knew that Voldemort had survived that night. This was a golden opportunity to dispel the misguided belief that all was well in their world and Harry had let it go. Moreover, Harry's reasons for doing so were perfectly sound. There was already talk amongst the other members of the Wizengamot of basically rubber stamping the actions of this Manor Court and that was something Dumbledore did not want at all. A free Sirius Black was not in his best interests. A small, immature mistake by the boy and he was certain that cooler heads would prevail and Black would be left to linger as was best for the Greater Good. Harry had just avoided a major mistake and in a way that would only garner him more support within the Wizengamot.

"My apologies to the Court, Milord, for the unnecessary digression," Daphne said. "You stated earlier you did not perform a full investigation of the scene, Lord Black?"

"I figured I could leave that to a team from DMLE who'd be better equipped for that. There was a fugitive on the loose and a narrow window of opportunity to catch him. I'll admit now I had personal reasons for going after Pettigrew, but as an Auror I dare say it was my duty to do so as well under the circumstance."

"And what were those circumstances?"

"Pettigrew was most likely doing a runner. I knew one place he would go first and wanted to get there before he did. Once he left that place, finding him would become a herculean task. The world is, after all, a very big place."

"Where was this place you thought he'd be? That safe house?"

"There was nothing there for him," Sirius said. "Besides, he would've known it would be the first place anyone looked. No. Before he had become the Secret Keeper and moved to that location – with just a few changes of clothes – he had a flat in London: Camden Towne to be precise."

"The sight of the confrontation? Where all those Muggles died?"

"Right outside the door leading to his flat, to be precise."

"Why did you think he would head there?"

"If he was doing a runner, there were things there he would need: potions, clothes, money…"

"Money?"

Sirius nodded. "Quite a bit, I should suppose. He told me he'd won a fair bit gambling. Can't tell you if that's true. Showed me it sometime before he became Secret Keeper – a few months earlier I'm fairly certain. Don't know how much, but it looked like a lot. He had a fair few Galleons, but also a lot of Muggle Money. It was in an expandable bag that you could easily stuff in a trouser pocket. Figured he'd need that so I hoped to get to his flat before he could."

"Did you?"

"I got there maybe an hour after I had arrived at the Potter's safe house. Had to use my wand to get through his magical protections. Told me he probably wasn't there yet and certainly hadn't scampered. Wouldn't make sense to keep such protection up after he had left for good. So, I took a seat in his parlor and waited for him."

"You missed your shift the next day and were well overdue the day after…"

"I was still waiting for the rat. Pretty much cleaned out his cupboards and all of his pepper-up potion waiting. Found his money bag, too. Probably owe him for the meat pies I bought."

"Oh? You left the place?"

"One of those food vendor carts the Muggles had was set up just outside the door leading to his flat. The chap sold meat pies. They were pretty good, to be honest."

"What did you do with the money?"

"Aside from buying some meat pies, I put the pouch in my pocket. Still had it on me when I was brought in."

"I'm going to show who what's already been admitted into evidence. It's the Prisoner Receipt form from Azkaban. Would you look at it and tell us if that money bag's there?"

Sirius looked at the form. "Yeah, it's here. 'Bag or pouch – black leather – charmed to be expandible. Contents Cash.' Lists a summary of amounts: 817 Galleons, 10 Sickles, 22 Knuts and various specie and denominations of Muggle currency – British Pounds, French Francs, Italian Lire, German Deutchmarks, American Dollars and some Canadian stuff as well. Estimated value £47,234 and change depending upon current exchange rates. That's quite a stash. He said he'd won it gambling, but he was never that good or lucky. I wondered where he really got it. Then again, is seems he was a Death Eater. Ill gotten gains, most like."

"Back to my earlier question, missing your shift. Weren't you concerned with that?"

Sirius shrugged. "I was a bit put out, you know? Didn't help that I was soon wired on Pepper-up. But I figured it might well even out in the end."

"Oh?"

"If I brought in the rat. Figured I'd get an earful from Moody 'bout what I did but knew it take some time had I gone straight in to the office to set up a proper stakeout and that would give the rat a chance to get there and get away clean. Lesser of two evils, I thought. Our job was to nab those guys and that's what I was trying to do. Figured Moody'd give me an earful. He'd certainly want it known that I shouldn't make that a habit. But I'd probably get some kind of commendation for … well, for thinking, as it were and might even get the tight wads in payroll to cough up some overtime…"

"So you weren't all that worried?"

"In my mind, I was on the job even if my boss didn't know that."

"Okay. And Pettigrew did not show up that next day November 1st?"

"He didn't. Can't say why."

"He did show up the next day."

"He did. It was around lunch time and I headed down to buy some of those meat pies. He was at the cart with his back to me probably thinking about those meat pies himself, although I can't say for sure. I said 'Hello Peter' loud enough to draw his attention as I drew my wand. He didn't seem to respond or turn around right away. Turned after a few seconds, he looked … I guess he looked spooked or something. He also seemed to be in pain. Eyes all wide and all."

"Had he drawn his wand?"

"I'll admit I made a mistake at that moment. We were taught early on as Hit Wizards and it was a point brought up time and again by Moody and again at the Auror Academy never to stare at a target and certainly never at their face. The threat is the wand and wands are in hands, not on the face. The eyes can tell you something, but you need to keep an eye on the hands. It's the hands that can ruin your day, not the face or eyes. I forgot that at that moment. Didn't watch his hands at all. Maybe it was what happened to James and Lils. Maybe it was all the Pepper-up potion. I'm sure Moody would be all over me for losing my situational awareness…"

"Damn straight, I would've been," Moody growled.

"Had he drawn his wand?" Daphne asked.

"I didn't see it. In hindsight he must've. But I didn't see it."

"In evidence are the reports of Auror's Dawlish and Stiltson who say they saw what happened that day. Did you see them there?"

"I noticed Dawlish across the road. Didn't see Stiltson 'til later."

"Why didn't you call out to them?"

"It happened so fast," Sirius replied. "Peter turned and almost immediately started yelling at the top of his lungs about how I killed James and Lily Potter and how I betrayed them to the Dark Lord. Those are almost his exact words as I recall and I was stunned by them. Next thing I knew, it was as if the whole world blew up in front of me and I saw the bastard transform into his rat and scamper into a hole."

"Why did what he say stun you?"

"James and Lily Potter," Sirius said. "He said their full names which struck me as odd. Can't say why, but it did. He knew that I knew who he meant. It was as if he was saying it for someone else. Then he said 'Dark Lord;' not Voldemort, not You-Know-Who, but Dark Lord."

"Why does that stand out?"

"Only Voldemort's Death Eaters and supporters called him that. Those of us from Old Families and Purebloods and such who did not want that usurper taking over would never stoop to dignifying the cretin with the term 'Lord' - 'Wanker' maybe, but not 'Lord' - and vast majority of the Wizarding World preferred You-Know-Who if they spoke of the bastard at all. Those who openly opposed the usurper called him Voldemort if they were in polite society and far less acceptable things if they were not. That Peter used the term Dark Lord… I already knew I had the traitor to James and Lils, but it now seemed I had the Order's Mole and a probable Death Eater as well. I never saw that coming and I hesitated for just a moment."

"So that's when did you cast the Blasting Curse that blew up the street and killed all those Muggles?"

"I didn't. That was Peter."

"The Aurors report says you did."

"I seem to recall it was ambiguous on that point. They were out of position to see what might've happened and who cast what. The meat pie cart was between us and them."

"They said your wand cast the spell…"

"They said the last spell from my wand was a blasting curse and the explosion was consistent with a blasting curse, ergo it was my wand. But it was Peter that cast that spell and killed all the Muggles. Made a mess of the meat pie chap and his cart as well."

"You testified earlier that you used your wand to get through the wards or whatever Pettigrew had set up…"

"I did."

"So, if you didn't cast the Blasting Hex in the street, when did you cast it?"

"The day before. I was looking for Pettigrew's money bag. Wanted to make sure he didn't have it. If he did, I'd've known he was long gone and if he didn't I'd know he'd be 'round. There was a cupboard in the kitchen magically sealed up like no one's business. Didn't want to spend goodness knows how much time trying to take down the protections. Cast a silencing charm and then blasted the thing a couple of times. Blew it apart and there was the bag."

"You said you had your wand drawn at the time Peter Pettigrew turned and began yelling?"

"I did."

"Were you aiming at him at that time?"

"No."

"Do you recall where your wand was pointing?"

"Probably at the ground. Certainly not at him or anything in particular."

"Why was your wand drawn?"

"I had Peter Pettigrew in front of me. He had betrayed James and Lily Potter who were dead from his betrayal. I was certain he was at the very least in league with Voldemort. Giving him the benefit of what little doubt there was, it is possible he might've been under the Imperius, but there had been no sign of a forced entry at his safe house or any indication anyone had been there aside from Peter which strongly suggested he had left of his own free will. This meant he was with them and dangerous and since things had gone pear shaped for Voldemort, I was almost certain Peter was doing a runner. This made him unlikely to 'come quietly' as it were and possibly dangerous. It made sense to have my wand at the ready."

"Did you want to kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"I won't say the thought never crossed my mind up to that time. I was willing to if that's what it took."

"Explain that."

"I wanted him to suffer for what he did to us. I won't deny it. Death may have been necessary, but it was far too merciful for him. I wanted to bring him in and let the system do its worst. But I would've killed him to keep him from getting away, or so I thought."

"Or so you thought?"

"Told you I hesitated. I never truly had the drop on him and then the world exploded and he was gone. I guess there was a part of me that still remember Peter the friend and I couldn't bring myself to … I hestitated."

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Who?"

"I know some. They all were identified. I'm sure they're listed in my Personnel record."

"How many people have you killed?"

"Um… Never really kept track, you know. That seemed wrong after the first few. Twenty-eight? Maybe more? Had a few partials as well, I recall."

"Partials?"

Sirius nodded. "Two of us hit a bad guy with a potentially lethal spell but if could not be determined which one offed the guy. That's a partial. Fairly common occurrence in a real wild melee."

"Did you ever hesitate to use force prior to that day?"

"Might've my first few times out. Not much, but most of us do. But not generally. Certainly not by then."

"Do you usually banter with your opponent?"

"No. It's not… You need to focus on the task which is taking the bastard down. You do anything else and you're asking to be taken down."

"You ever let your opponent yell at you like that?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Well, on the situation really. On who the mutt is, what they're doing at the time, whether they're an immediate threat, whether the situation is one where less than lethal force will work and we can take him in, whether he's actively resisting; stuff like that. I can tell you, once we have their wands some of them lay it on pretty thick. We have them dead to rights and they come up with the most amazing excuses or theories as to how they really didn't do it."

"But, that day, when you confronted Pettigrew, you're saying you did not fire. Your wand was at your side. Your opponent began yelling and you did nothing…?"

"I … I can't explain it. I've had close to twelve years to live those few seconds over and over again and still can't explain it. And before you suggest it, I don't think magic was in play of any kind. I was not in a clear state of mind. I hadn't slept in days. I was wired on pepper-up and probably not thinking clearly. But I'd been in scrapes before as a Hit Wizard and such under similar circumstances and didn't hesitate. The only thing I could think of was this time the guy on the wrong side of the dueling line was a friend. He had just betrayed my two best friends to their deaths. But there may have been a part of me that couldn't truly get past ten years of friendship that came before. I knew he was probably a Death Eater and certainly playing for that side and yet I still didn't want to believe it."

"You were laughing when the two Aurors came up …?"

"I don't really recall that. I'm not saying I wasn't. It was either laugh or cry or scream and I'm pretty sure I did all three for quite some time. I had him! I had the bastard who betrayed James and Lils! I played a hunch and it played out. I all but had the drop on him and that split second of hesitation… He was gone. I knew he'd be hard to find if not impossible and … and what had happened. It was horrible. All those people dead. All that suffering. For what? They all died so that rat could get away? It was horrible. Such a waste. I could've stopped it. I should've. But I didn't. I still can't forgive myself for that. It's my fault, you know. If I had done what I was supposed to do, if I hadn't hesitated for that split second, if I hadn't trusted Peter in the first place, they all would be alive… James, Lils, all those Muggles… that girl…"

"What girl?"

"She wasn't far from us when it happened, I should think. She may have been six or seven. Of all those bodies, she one of the only two I remember. Her face is burned into my memory. The meat pie chap was the other. She never knew what had happened. Never knew about the world that did that to her. She had a life, and magic comes along and she's dead, starring up at a sky that doesn't care. She didn't deserve that. None of them did."


	40. Chapter 40: The World Is Pear Shaped

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I'm now in the habit of not answering reviewer things and these notes, but there was a good one following the last chapter and since it is not a story point and has not come up later, but as I did think of it at the time, I will respond here: On the stand, Sirius bemoaned the fact that had he not done what he did with regard to the Potter's Secret Keeper, James and Lily would be alive. Why didn't the chair turn red or something? Because of the Fidelius Charm that covers the truth about James and Lily Potter. He cannot reveal the Secret or be caught in an evasion or lie about it by any known magic. (Had Ginny been on the stand, however…)

**CHAPTER FORTY: THE WORLD IS PEAR SHAPED**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993 (DAY 3).**

After a long pause where not a sound was heard in the great an crowded room, Daphne then continued: "Do you recall being brought into the Ministry after that?"

"Not really."

"Did Auror's Dawlish and Stiltson say anything to you when they came up to you?"

"I'm certain they did. But I don't remember."

"Did they take your wand?"

"I'm sure they must have. Would've been standard procedure. But I don't remember."

"You were interrogated?"

"I don't really recall. I know I was taken to a room and remember the people there that were listed in that transcript we heard about earlier. But I really have no clear memory of what went on or what was said."

"You realize they've called that transcript a confession, don't you?"

"Really? Didn't sound like much of one." There was some nervous laughter. "I certainly don't remember confessing to anything like what they say I did."

"You were then taken to Azkaban, correct?"

"Obviously. But to be honest, everything after the explosion's a blur. I was in Camden Towne starring at that dead girl. I'm in the Ministry. I'm in Azkaban. I'm in a cell. And there I remained."

"Did you get any mail after arriving at Azkaban?"

"No."

"Send any?"

"Not like they gave me anything to write with or on, is it? Guess they thought I might off myself with a quill." There were some chuckles.

"Were you ever questioned about that day again by anyone?"

"No."

"Did you ever get a trial?"

"I wasn't at one. Can't say what the Ministry or Wizengamot did."

"You were in prison for over eleven and a half years. Did anyone ever talk to you about what had happened?"

"No."

"After all that time, you escaped. Why?"

"Harry was in danger. I'm his Godfather and I knew Harry was in danger."

"How did you know?"

"Newspaper."

"You got newspapers while in prison?"

"No. No newspapers, books, letters or anything. Well, they did feed me, if you can call that swill food."

"Okay, if they didn't give you newpapers, why'd you say that?"

"Fudge gave me one."

"Fudge? A guard?"

"No. Minister for Magic. A couple months ago. He looked in my cell for some reason. I saw he had a paper and asked if I could have it."

"Why?"

"Wanted to do the crossrword. Hadn't done one in a while and there really isn't all that much to do in that place. Now that I think about it, it was rather silly seeing as I had nothing to write with."

"He gave it to you?"

"He did. Seemed a little put out for some reason."

"I am going to show you what's marked as Exhibit F for identification," Daphne said. After it was shown to Madam Bones it was handed to Sirius. "What is that?"

"Daily Prophet from July 7th, 1993. Says so on the front."

"Is that the paper you saw?"

"A copy, yes. The picture below the fold on the front page and stuff told me Harry was in danger. I knew I was the only one who knew it."

"Why was Harry in danger?"

"He was at Hogwarts, or would be come September 1st."

"Who was? Harry?"

"Well, that's why Harry was in danger, wasn't it? Harry was in Hogwarts but this picture shows Peter Pettigrew and I knew Peter would be there too. The boy in this picture is holding Peter. Peter's in his rat form. And the boy was in Gryffindor with Harry and they were friends according to the paper. Peter would be there and he had betrayed Harry's family to Voldemort. Why would he be there? I figured he wanted to finish the job if he could."

"So you needed to protect Harry?"

"I am his godfather. I'm supposed to do that. I failed him once, didn't I? Failed him and my friends all those years ago. Couldn't do that again. I was supposed to look after him, you know. I was supposed to be his magical guardian and teach him what he needed to know about things. Instead, I wind up in prison without so much as a 'by your leave' and had no idea about anything. Well, I wasn't going to fail him again."

"Why didn't you tell a guard?"

"They don't listen to prisoners. Can't blame them really. Most of the prisoners are raving. Can't expect them to see the difference between a raving lunatic and anyone else in those cells, can you? Besides, as you pointed out, it's not like I was convicted of anything, was it? Figured saving Harry was more important than watching the walls of my cell. Done almost a dozen years. They didn't do much at all – the walls I mean. Figured the walls wouldn't miss me and I had something worth doing outside. That's more than most of those poor buggers. Since I really didn't do anything aside from fail my friends and Harry was in trouble, why not go and help him?"

"After all that time? You said earlier you have a wife…"

"I was a mess for a long time in there. By the time I started to get it together – assuming that's what happened – a long time had passed. I had a wife. I can't say sitting here today that I have a wife. We'd only been married a couple of months and had only dated for a month or so before that. I figured she must've moved on. Harry, however, was in trouble. That was real and not some dream of what might've been."

"One might say you had failed him before this past summer; that he had been in danger and you did nothing."

"The oath is not like an Unbreakable Vow. It only comes into play if I know of the danger and do nothing. Unless I knew for certain of a danger to Harry, nothing would happen to me if I did nothing. Suspicion or worry is not enough and ignorance is an excuse – unlike that other Vow. Sitting here, I regret not trying something sooner, but until that paper I thought he was safe enough. I had no reason to think or know otherwise. But that paper, that was different. And no – before you ask – I wasn't afraid of the consequences of breaking the oath. I would've tried to do something without it. Harry was the son of my best friends and that was enough. All the oath did … well, I suppose it helped me think more clearly."

"So how'd you do it? How'd you escape that inescapable prison?"

"Same way I mostly kept my wits about me once I figured that out. I'm an animagus, remember? They either didn't know that, or had forgotten it or figured I couldn't do it there or didn't care. Place is bloody freezing, you know. I was warm as a dog and as a dog those dememtors didn't really bother me. All I sensed as a dog was it was cold. So whenever the dementors were about I was a dog. Always wondered whether I could … The guards there have a sick sense of humor. They occasionally 'forget' to lock a cell when they finished their rounds. Seemed to do that a lot with me and seemed surprised to see me – well – unchanged later. If you don't have your wits 'bout you when that happens, the dementors will get in and it's over. Then again, the dementors ignored me as a dog. After a few of those jokes, the dementors never bothered to enter my cell when it was unlocked. Guess they figured it was empty. Some nights after that paper, one of the guards left my cell unlocked. Got out as soon as the dementor opened the door. Squeezed through the bars at the end of the row of cells and was out. Nothing between me and the gate. Course, there was the North Sea and … well, I had to save Harry or die trying. That was one long, cold swim."

"You made it to shore obviously…"

"Somewhere in Scotland. It was north of Inverness 'cause I passed through there on my way south."

"Isn't Inverness near Hogwarts?"

"As compared to most Muggle places, yes. It's southeast of Hogwarts, unless I'm mistaken."

"So if you were passing through Inverness heading south, you weren't heading to Hogwarts?"

"I had a month and more before I needed to be there. Harry wasn't there yet and I wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Did you know where Harry was?"

"Had an idea. I knew if anything happened to James and Lils, he was supposed to go live with the Grangers. I knew where they were living at the time – back in '81 – and had to hope they were still there. It was a pretty nice place and I figured they were not likely to move, but you never know. Took me a while to get there as they're near London. Bit of a hike."

"Grangers?"

"Parents of Hermione Granger. She's one of Harry's wives now. But the idea was he was to live with them if anything happened to his parents. I was to be his magical guardian."

"You walked?"

"Stowed away on southbound freight when I could. But yeah."

"As a dog?"

"Figured it was safer as a dog. I was human a couple of times. Nicked some clean clothes. Checked out some papers and such. But mostly I was a dog. Took 'bout two weeks to get to the Grangers place and they still lived there. Mrs. Granger answered the door. Tried to make myself as presentable as possible, but I'm sure I looked a sight."

"Did she know who you were?"

"We met a few times before things went pear-shaped. From the time Harry was about a month old 'til probably the day it happened, he and Lils spent almost every day at the Grangers. I was around from time to time."

"Anyone else know about that?"

"James did. The Lovegood family did as their daughter spent her days there as well. Peter did not, in case you're asking."

"Harry wasn't there, was he?"

"Staying with his relatives – Lily's sister. Met her once. Wouldn't wish that on anyone 'cept maybe my worst enemy. Real bint, she was. Although she was nothing compared to her Husband. Worst sort of Muggles. Mrs. Granger told me where they lived and I was off."

"She didn't think anything of you showing up after all those years?"

"Told her I'd been living in an Artist's Colony. Probably looked the part what with the long hair and beard and such. Learned later she was sort of expecting me."

"Oh?"

"Harry and his ladies had pretty much sorted out what really happened and what was really going on. They had his family journals and loads of other stuff and that lot tends to research … a lot. Those journals told a very different story than what the papers did and they figured things were very different. Figured I was not on the run to harm them and that I was probably trying to find Harry so they set about to catch me. Or I should say you. You were part of it, you know."

"For my part. Continue."

"Rose Granger knew to expect me at some point. You lot weren't certain I'd go there, but it seemed a logical possibility and I did. Rose told me where Harry was. Harry set the trap and he was the bait, sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well, there're wards on that place he was staying. I didn't know 'bout them, but he did and he knew I couldn't get close. So he – came to me as it were. Set himself up at a Muggle park outside the wards. Then gave me a temptation I couldn't refuse."

"And that was..?"

"He figured being on the run as I was I'd be hungry. I was. Left a ham sandwich just out of his reach. Couldn't help myself. Easy pickings as a dog. Turned out it was a portkey and I was copped." There was laughter. "Never figured a thirteen year old could be so … devious." The laughs continued. "Then again, it wasn't just Harry, was it? He had five scary smart witches helping, 'though he told me the ham sandwich portkey was his idea. Animal cruelty, you ask me. Poor unsuspecting doggie done in that way," Sirius shook his head and chucked as did several others.

"Where did the portkey take you?"

"Here. Well, not here. But it was on this Estate, wherever this is."

"And you've been here since then."

"Pretty much…"

"Ah! That's right. The Minister did mention something about Gringotts. That was after you were brought here?"

"It was."

"And why did you go to Gringotts?"

"Learned that my Grandfather passed on about two years ago and that another Lord Black had not been designated. I went there to find out about that as I had once been Heir Apparent."

"I see. Who did you meet while you were there?"

"The Black Family Account Manager mostly. I was also allowed to meet with some foreign venders so that I might do a spot of shopping. While my Galleons may be good, I was left with the distinct impression that a visit to Diagon Alley for some new togs might not be in my interest. Seems there are people about who want me dead. Can't understand why." There were chuckles.

"Did anything unusual happen at the Bank?"

"There was the very impolite Ministry employee who decided to hex me when my back was turned with what looked like a Killing Curse. Can't say it was, 'cause I didn't hear the telltale incantation. But it was green and after missing me and barely missing my account manager it did do a number on the counter that it did not miss. Poor thing couldn't get out of the way."

"Did you do anything to provoke such an attack?"

"Never knew exchanging formal pleasantries with a Gringotts Account Manager could be considered provocative, but I have been away a while."

"You didn't draw a wand on her?"

"I didn't see her 'til after when the Goblins were hauling her off. Ugly bint. Ought to be a law 'gainst being that ugly in a public place. I certainly hope there's one in any food service establishment. But I didn't see her before they hauled her away not that it mattered."

"Why didn't it matter?"

"I was arrested and incarcerated. They took my wand years ago."

"They might say you got it back somehow."

"Don't even know where it is. Wasn't about to spend time looking for it once I was out. Kind of would defeat the purpose, don't you think? Didn't need a wand to swim for it and it wouldn't've helped me off that island, assuming it was there to begin with. So, if someone is suggesting that I had a wand, I dare them to say it in this chair. I did not."

"Did you kill anyone while you were at Gringotts."

"No. I'm not that stupid! I'd like to keep my head, thank you very much."

"No further questions."

"With the Court's indulgence," Madam Bones said, "I would like an opportunity to go over my notes and prepare for my examination of Lord Black. Furthermore, although I do not doubt the properties of that interesting chair, I do feel in the interest of being thorough that questioning under veritiserum would be prudent and will need time to prepare the questions."

"This Court granted that option," Harry nodded. "Lord Black consented at the opening of his testimony. We shall recess for lunch. Court will resume at two!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is not looking good, Albus," the Minister for Magic said.

"Oh, Cornelius? How so?" Dumbledore replied.

"Don't play daft! This will not look good for the Ministry! I spoke with Madam Bones and we have nothing to counter what's been presented. She's throwing everything on the Veritiserum in the hopes that the chair they're using isn't perfect. She's known 'bout this for over a month! She's questioned people. She would've been allowed to bring them here and call them as witnesses for the Ministry and decided not to! I know it's her call and all but… She said every witness she could call would either support the Manor's case or make things worse for us. She said Crouch could … if Barty was called it could bring down the government!"

"I'm sure she's merely being cautious, Cornelius."

"Perhaps, but you must admit as things stand right now the Ministry hasn't a prayer to get out of this without … significant embarrassment and if calling our own people could only make it worse…"

"I did suggest you overreacted with that Order back in July."

"Yes. But my advisors made sense at the time…"

"This would include that woman whose sense is the reason why Britain's in front of the ICW?"

"I have trusted her advice for years…"

"I see. Most unfortunate as it seems from where I am watching she is on a course of action that could well see your continued tenure as Minister subjected to … questions in the Wizengamot."

"You mean No Confidence?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "It would be prudent if she were … let go."

"Easier said than done! She knows things…"

"The Wizengamot will not be concerned about what she knows. Keeping her on given these two successive crises would be … unwise regardless of what she may know. Should it come out she is also involved with the dementors…"

"What are you suggesting?"

"When we leave here, for the sake of your administration, I would end her employment. I won't suggest how she leaves, as long as she is well and truly gone. Rescinding that shoot to kill order, as it's being called, would also be prudent; as would removing the dementors from Hogwarts. There is already pressure to investigate that from my side particularly in light of the fact that three of them boarded the Hogwarts Express."

"And the Wizengamot?"

"Has not been implicated. Whatever errors were made back then, they were errors made by your predecessors in the Ministry. Black's situation was never brought before the Wizengamot and you know we generally don't prefer to look over the Ministry's shoulders. As no one formally brought it to our attention…" At least no one that anyone other than I know about today, Dumbledore thought to himself.

"I meant now!"

"I cannot speak for now. There seems to be strong sentiment that suggests that if there is general agreement – or at least not generally disagreement with the findings and recommendation of the Manor Court, many will push that the matter be decided here and now. Naturally, I would prefer that this matter wait and be placed into the regular schedule for consideration which, for now given more pressing events and the delays said events have necessitated would mean we might get to this matter in the spring when, upon distance and cooler reflection, we might come to a more reasoned decision. I cannot say and do not believe that in any event we could support continued persecution or future prosecution of Lord Black. But he is also seeking compensation for his sojourn in Ministry custody and to avoid a damaging award, we need time for the passions of the moment to cool off. I can only do what I can to avoid a Quorum Call. I do hope to appeal to their sense of reason, but can make no promises."

Deep down Dumbledore knew this was a disaster. All he could hope to do was damage control. He truly hoped when this began that the situation could not convince anyone of Black's innocence. Innocence or guilt was not the important issue. Exoneration was. An exonerated Sirius Black could wrest magical guardianship of Potter away from Dumbledore and with that could abrogate the Weasley contract. But hope was fading on the easy path as he doubted there would be any votes to delay or to do anything but set Black free – aside from those of his own faction. He knew Fudge cared little about the bigger picture. Fudge's concern was his seat as Minister and nothing more.

"I think we must consider what has happened to Mr. Black as bad business," Dumbeldore said. "The best thing to do is correct this situation with as little pain and discomfort as possible. As I said, you were ill advised in this matter and the best way to keep that a non-issue is to deal with the advisor in question. I may be asking for your support in the near future on an issue and for that support, I may be able to stave off any serious discussion into you administration. Umbridge, however, must go."

"I'll see what I can do."

Dumbledore sighed. He could care less about the witch. She might have embarrassing information on Fudge, but that did not concern him. Fudge giving the woman the sack in exchange for protection from a vote of no confidence made Fudge a bought man and that could be useful. This was politics. Quid pro quo was not a one way street. Fudge had to lose something useful to him to gain the boon of retaining his seat. Maybe he could use that to somehow regain control of this other situation.

The fact was, as calm as Dumbledore appeared, he knew things were spinning out of his control. The situation with the ICW alone would be a major problem. He knew there was no outcome in which the British Government would not suffer some damage and it was all he could hope to do to keep it to something relatively mild like a short term censure. But this Black business could tip that delicate balance. It had nothing to do with the ICW mess, not really. This new business would cast serious questions as to the integrity of the British Government which would only make potential sanction worse. The ideal thing for the Wizengamot to do was get rid of Fudge like a bad habit. Even Dumbledore would admit that this would go well with the ICW. But he could not afford that. As much a fool as Fudge kept proving himself to be, he could be controlled and manipulated as needed so long as Fudge knew he needed help. If Fudge was out, there would be no telling who might be in and the last thing Dumbledore needed was an opposition member with a brain and a backbone and many of the most likely candidates had both flaws.

He was losing control of Harry Potter. He knew that and knew he had to wrest it back. An exonerated Lord Black was a near nightmare but it was also all but a foregone conclusion. He might be able to keep Black from gaining magical regency. And this stunt of Harry's might give him grounds to get Harry back under some control. But he had to tread carefully to get what he wanted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The testimony of Sirius Black under Veritiserum following the lunch recess was mercifully brief. It only lasted about an hour. It was merciful not so much for the witness, but for the rest who had to sit through it. He would later say he had little true recollection of Madam Bones's questions at all, which was not at all unusual under that potion. But for all the others who had sat through the trial, it was extremely anticlimactic. Nothing truly new was learned and nothing contradicted what had been said earlier. Moreover, while there were few real surprises when Sirius had testified that morning, at least he had been entertaining. Following the testimony of Sirius Black, several newspaper articles containing statements of various Ministry officials and others regarding Sirius Black were placed into evidence. The surprise for Archibald Cartwright was that there were so few real surprises during this entire day and only one of those could be considered important. That little detail about Black being Harry Potter's magical Godfather pretty much meant that Black had been railroaded somehow. A proper interrogation would have uncovered that. Instead, Barty later said that the interrogation he conducted got a complete confession. Archibald wondered what Crouch was playing at all those years ago and was surprised he had not been called to testify. He wasn't even present.

Once Black finished testifying under Veritiserum, there were no more questions from either advocate. Petitioner submitted his case and the Respondent offered no more witnesses. Moreover, there was no more from the advocates as the Court took the case, as it were, and "retired" to come up with its decision. It gave no indication how long this might take and offered the numerous guests to remain at the Village in case they returned quickly or to be transported back to where they were staying, in which case they might not make it back to the court if there was a quick decision. Archibald was not surprised to see that most everyone had stayed around just in case. He noted that Dumbledore seemed interested in leaving, but far too many of the Wizengamot wished to remain so Dumbledore did. He was certain the politicking had already begun. The recess was not long. In less than two hours after it was called, the announcement was made that there had been a decision.

The crowd filed into their seats in the court room. The advocates were at their tables as was Sirius Black and the Court clerk was again at her place below the bench. "All rise," she called, "the Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter is back in session." With that, the six people who had sat at the bench entered and resumed their seats.

"Be seated," Harry Potter said. He then began to read from a pile of parchments. "The Manor Court, although it has fallen out of use, is a remnant of the oldest form of court or government in Wizarding Britain dating back to centuries before the formation of the Wizengamot. Before the Wizengamot, Wizarding Britain was not united under one governance, rather it was several separate clans, each under a Clan Head or Chief and each with its own lands and peoples. Within the lands of the Clan, its Head was the Court and was expected to resolve any disputes that arose between the members of the Clan or upon the lands of the Clan. Naturally, this presented a problem if one of the parties to the dispute was not a member of the Clan. By custom, a foreigner could not seek redress from the local Head of Clan. In practice, it was extremely difficult to compel a non-member of the Clan to comply with the Head's rulings. For this and other reasons, the Clan Heads throughout Wizarding Britain gathered together to form a single government we now know as the Wizengamot which originally was an assembly of all the Clan Heads, what became known as the Ancient Houses. The Manor Court system, however, was retained for more local disputes.

"Our current Article 21 continues this tradition. It is of limited utility as there are few if any Ancient Houses that still could be seen as to rule over lands and people in any locality. For there to be a valid Manor Court, the Head of House must be recognized as such by history and magic and must own or have control over not less than five square miles of contiguous land outright. Moreover, in addition to his own immediate family, those lands must also be residence to no less than one hundred elves or witches or wizards. We are currently on Potter farms, lands which belonged to Lord Charlus Potter, Lord James Potter and myself and which comprise five hundred contiguous square miles and serve as residence for over two thousand elves, witches and wizards excluding my family.

"The authority of such Court is limited. Where a Head of House can convene such a Court, he may resolve any disputes between any residents of his Estate or any Breeches of the Peace that occur upon such Estate provided such resolution is consistent with the laws of Wizarding Britain as a whole. There is an exception to this limitation. Should a witch or wizard have a claim against any individual or organization beyond the estate and show to the satisfaction of the Head of House and consistent with Article 21 that seeking redress in his own right through the greater government is not practical, then a Manor Court may be convened to hear his plea and if satisfied that it has merit, the Head may take that claim as his own and seek appropriate redress from and through the greater government. It is in this limited capacity that this Court has been convened and a case submitted for its consideration.

"Under Article 21, provided this Court finds merit in some or all of Petitioner's Claims, it shall make an advisory ruling and submit such ruling to the Wizengamot for its consideration and shall back such ruling with its seat and votes in the Wizengamot. The composition of the Manor Court and procedures before it are left to the discretion of the Head of House.

"In considering Petitioner's Claims, House Potter decided to convene a court after making an initial finding that Petitioner had a grievance and could not pursue that grievance in any other manner. By the admission of the Minister for Magic himself, should he have come into the hands of the Ministry, he was to be summarily put to death. Naturally, this would make appearing before the Wizengamot under ordinary circumstances somewhat difficult.

"In deciding to call this Court, House Potter had to take into consideration the threat posed to the Petitioner. Should Petitioner prevail, and given the severity of the allegations and the threat, House Potter felt it prudent to involve more than one House in the process. As you can see, there are six of us up here and with proxies we represent eight Houses, eight of the seventy-six seats on the Wizengamot and 115 of the 307 votes. Any findings and recommendations we make in this matter shall represent our unanimous conclusions and shall be backed by our seats and votes.

"The Petitioner had the burden of proving that the Ministry, through its officers or agents by gross neglect or through intentional misconduct did engage in one or more of the following wrongful, unjustified and/or unlawful acts against Petitioner: wrongful deprivation of liberty, wrongful incarceration, attempted line theft and/or attempted line assassination. Additionally, that at various time on or after November 2nd, 1981 the Ministry through its officers or agents intentionally or through willful or reckless disregard for the truth did make statements in regards to petitioner that were false, that by their nature could cause great harm to Petitioner's reputation and that were disseminated to the public. For the purposes of this Manor Court and the claims of Petitioner, it is not necessary for the Petitioner to present specific evidence of wrongful misconduct by any specific individual.

"This court finds the following facts to have been proven by the evidence presented:

"First, Petitioner was not a Death Eater on or before October 31st, 1981, nor was he a supporter of the self-styled Lord Voldmort;

"Second, that since on or after July 31st, 1980, Petitioner was and remains the magical Godfather of one Harry James Potter born on the same date;

"Third, that on October 31st, Petitioner was not the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter such that he could disclose their whereabouts to any person;

"Fourth, that Petitioner did not, through disclosing the location of the Potter Family safe house to the self-styled Lord Voldemort or those in league with in, betray House Potter or its interests;

"Fifth, that the wizard named Peter Pettigrew did not die on or about November 2nd, 1981 and is in fact alive as of this moment;

"Thus sixth, petitioner did not kill aforesaid Peter Pettigrew;

"Seventh, as petitioner did not cast a blasting curse on or about November 2nd, 1981 in Camden Towne London, rather it was cast by another, specifically one Peter Pettigrew, no deaths or injuries incurred at such location and on such date are attributable to Petitioner;

"Eighth, that Petitioner cast no magic in the presence of Muggles at that time, date and place;

"Ninth, that at no time on or since his apprehension on November 2nd, 1981 to the present has Petitioner ever been tried for any crime arising from the events described above; and finally;

"Finally, that Petitioner committed no acts in breach of the general peace, in violation of Goblin Law or in violation of the Truce of 1715 while attending to House Black business on 9 August 1993."

"We find that Petitioner was apprehended lawfully on November 2nd, 1981 as a suspect in the events that left a dozen Muggles dead and scores more injured. But lawful apprehension of a suspect is not the same as proof of complicity in a criminal act.

"We further find that under the Emergency Acts and based upon the observations of Aurors at the scene and the apprehension of Petitioner alone, the Ministry could send him to Azkaban to await trail. Thus his confinement at such location on that date under those circumstances was in compliance with the laws in effect at that time. However, those same Acts required that petitioner be tried before the full Wizengamot or make a valid confession as to his guilt of such crimes within one year of his confinement or be released. Despite statements from Barty Crouch which appear in the record, we find that the interrogation Petitioner that occurred on November 2nd 1981 fails to rise to the level of a valid confession as to anything, much less as to the crimes which the Ministry claims and neither does it constitute a trial for such crimes nor did Petitioner make any valid confession or receive any trial within the time contemplated under the Acts. Under the language of the Acts, the Ministry had no choice but to drop any charges and release Petitioner not later than 1 November 1982 unless trial was in session on such date. This did not occur.

"Consequently, this Court finds that Petitioner's incarceration in Azkaban after 1 November 1982 constituted a wrongful deprivation of liberty and wrongful incarceration. We do not find it necessary to determine whether this unlawful act was intentional on the part of any official in the Ministry.

"Furthermore, we find that as early as 7 November 1981 and as recently as 15 September 1993, as reported in the Daily Prophet, various Ministry Officials have referred to Petitioner as a Death Eater, a Lieutenant of Voldemort or You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or similar, a criminal, a mass murder and a convict. Not one of these statements were true and the Ministry at all times had information or could with the exercise of minimal effort have obtained information as to the truth of these matters and failed to do so. Such public statements in disregard for the truth and the reputation of a formerly respected officer in DMLE constitute actionable defamation.

"As to the claims of Attempted Line Theft and Attempted Line Assassination, while the evidence is suggestive, based upon what was presented we find those allegations not proven. This finding of 'not proven' is not to be construed as conclusive as to this matter and we would encourage further investigation.

"As there are findings in favor of the Petition, this Manor Court hereby publishes such forthwith and submits the same for consideration before a duly constituted assembly of the Wizengamot.

"This Manor Court recommends the following:

"First, that the Wizengamot exonerate Petitioner Sirius Orion Black of any and all wrong doing as alleged by the Ministry on or after 2 November 1981 consistent with the above findings;

"Second, that the Wizengamot find that the continued incarceration of Petitioner Sirius Orion Black in Azkaban after 1 November, 1982 was in violation of the law and the rights of Sirius Orion Black;

"Third, that any statements by Ministry Officials after 2 November 1981 inconsistent with the findings of this Manor Court be found defamatory and damaging as to the reputation of Sirius Orion Black.

"Fourth, that the Wizengamot direct the Ministry of Magic to drop all charges, rescind all warrants, remove any and all rewards or incentives associated with the capture or murder of Sirius Orion Black; and repeal, rescind, cease and desist in any and all action in any way restricting the rights and freedom of Sirius Orion Black and otherwise in anyway inconsistent with his liberties and inconsistent with the findings of this Court and issue public statements to such effect.

"Fifth, that the Wizengamot direct the Ministry to immediately and without limitation remove any and all dementors from any and all locations other than Azkaban Prison to include without limitation Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Sixth, that the Wizengamot take up the issue of compensating Sirius Orion Black for his eleven years, and approximately nine months of unlawful incarceration taking into account his lost wages as an Auror, unjustified separation from his wife and family, and damage to his reputation.

"Nothing in our recommendation should be construed as precluding the Wizengamot from conducting further investigations into the improprieties suggested herein so as to hold the specific parties accountable for their flagrant violations of Petitioner's rights as a citizen.

"House Potter remands Peter Alan Pettigrew over to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for further investigation and ultimate trial for numerous crimes including: Conspiracy to Commit Murder of James, Lily and Harry Potter; Attempted Murder of same; Murder of James and Lily Potter; Murder of twelve Muggles; Attempted Murder of fifty-eight Muggles; Aggravated Assault upon fifty eight Muggles; Class One Violations of the International Statue of Secrecy; Flight from Justice; being an Unregistered Animagus and any other such crimes as may be supported by additional evidence uncovered during further investigation."

"So ordered and so Published!

"The Matter of Sirius Orion Black versus the Ministry of Magic before this Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter is hereby deemed adjudicated. The House Potter Manor Court stands adjourned!"

"Lord Potter?" a voice called out as Harry stood with the others preparing to step down from the bench.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Albert Dean, Milord. Ancient Line of Robbins, Wizengamot, Sir. I understand that we are currently under some form of time altering magic? That despite the time we've spent here, it's still the morning of Saturday, September 18th 1993?"

"That's correct, Sir."

"And we cannot leave the estate while such magic is in effect?"

"Correct."

"And how much longer will it be in effect, or can you shut it down?"

"Ah. Well, once the sequence is active, it must run its course, Sir. I had anticipated a longer trial. Or even two trials. But after our first day, I had a talk with Madam Bones regarding Pettigrew and it was agreed we would allow DMLE to handle the rat, although they've asked my House to continue to detain him until they're ready to bring him before the full Wizengamot for trial. How much time left? Excluding what remains of this day, three days and part of the following morning, Sir."

"Thank you. I call upon the Chief Warlock to call the Wizengamot into Special Session to consider the Manor Court findings and recommendations!"

"Hear! Hear!" several voices replied.

"I must disagree," Albus began.

"What possible reason could you have to refuse? It's not like we have pressing plans, Dumbledore!"

"As Chief Warlock I feel that to call such a session without notice to our absent members…"

"Come off of it!" a new voice called from behind him in the Wizengamot box. "We've got sixty-four seats present and two hundred seventy-eight votes! That's more than enough for a quorum, Chief Warlock."

"It was more than were present in our last full session!"

"And our emergency sessions last month!"

"I still feel it would be imprudent" Dumbledore pressed. "Such a matter as this should not be considered in haste…"

"What's to consider? They gave us the trial and recommended findings!"

"You honestly think anything will change if we wait?"

"When do you propose we consider this?" Dedalus Diggle asked.

"In due course as soon as it can be placed within the regular agenda…" Dumbledore began.

"That won't be 'til February!"

"Assuming the ICW matter does not push things back more!"

"Sounds like you're trying to sweep this one under the rug, Dumbledore!"

"I feel that to consider this now would be unwise. It would be best to consider the matter upon sober reflection and with cooler heads," Dumbledore replied.

"The man's lost enough of his life to delays, Dumbledore!"

"Any further delay would be a travesty!"

"Not to mention that until we act, he can't set foot outside of this Estate and expect to survive the day…"

"Perhaps then we should substitute the Manor Court recommendation with a more obviously pressing item?" Augusta said. The reaction was generally negative. "If the Chief Warlock insists on such unnecessary delay, than perhaps we should meet in special session to consider whether he should remain as Chief Warlock!" To this there seemed to be universal cheers.

"And his lap dog fool of a Minister, too!" another voice said. It seemed the support was strangely less enthusiastic for that.

It was hard for Dumbledore to assess the situation. It was clear that a majority of the members were opposed to the delay. It seemed clearer that if he were to continue to push for it they would hold a session without him and discuss his continued tenure as Chief Warlock and there were enough seats and votes present to oust him. "Very well," he said resignedly. "We shall convene in Special Session tomorrow to take up the Manor Court's recommendations."

"No tricks, Dumbledore! You mean tomorrow for us, not tomorrow for the rest of the world, don't you?"

He had meant Sunday and not the next day at the Estate. But it was clear from the mood in the room, the Wizengamot wanted it their next day if they couldn't set to it immediately.

"Tomorrow as in our tomorrow…"

"Where?"

"I can make this space available to the Wizengamot," Harry said.

"So be it," Dumbledore sighed. "We shall convene here at nine tomorrow morning to consider the findings and recommendations of the House Potter Manor Court…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sirius looked at Harry. They were in the Informal Dining Room with all of House Potter present as well as Professor's Lupin and McGonagall.

"Is there some reason why you think it's a good idea to turn Pettigrew over to the Ministry?" Sirius asked.

"The dog has a point," Remus said. "It's not as if the Ministry has been looking too good throughout this."

"Couple of reasons," Harry said. "First off, I suppose I could've used the Manor Court to try the rat directly, but we talked about it. I agree with my ladies that would probably lose us some of the support we seem to have in the Wizengamot. We expect this to damage the current administration and … Fudge can't seem to help himself, can he? But we don't want to lose support now. The point of all of this was to get Sirius exonerated. Everything else is secondary to that and you heard how Dumbledore seems to be pushing to delay that as long as possible. Nothing against you, Sirius, but don't you want to be able to leave this estate sometime and not worry about getting killed for trying?"

"I'm in no hurry."

"What about that wife of yours," Lily said.

"I … I don't even know if she still is," Sirius said. "We married in France to keep it quiet and she may well have … Getting chucked into prison can be grounds for … divorce. She might've moved on."

"You don't know that, Siri."

"I'm not sure…"

"Really had it bad, didn't you?" Remus asked. "Single Padfoot could roll with those romantic hexes…"

"Yeah, had it bad and I still do."

"So, was she French?"

"No."

"Don't you have to live there or something?" Hannah asked.

"My family has a villa there," Sirius said. "Somehow that counts for them. You said there were two reasons to turn Peter over to DMLE?"

Harry nodded. "Hermione and I both had minor memory uncaps when the rat was forced into being Pettigrew again. The short answer is Remus was right. The Ministry's not looking too good right now and it's in our interests that they still have competence issues at some levels."

"Such as holding a rat animagus," Hermione said.

"Sounds like you're hoping he gets away," Lily said.

"In that memory," Harry nodded, "the rat did a runner the same time Hermione and I saved Sirius from Fudge's 'shoot to kill' order. It was the rat who finds Voldemort and is a major reason why he came back."

"Explain why this makes sense," James said. "He did betray us."

"He's a coward. He had two years in which he could've finished the job. From September 1st my first year 'til this past June there's only been about one month when I was not sleeping in the same room with that rat almost every night. He never made a move against me. But in that other timeline he did run off and find Voldemort."

"You want that thing to return?" McGonagall asked.

"We need him to, preferable under very similar circumstances," Hermione said. "For one thing, he needs to be destroyed and we don't think that's possible until he gets a body. For another, it will remind people just how messed up that Pureblood stuff is."

"We figure the best shot at getting Voldemort back is through Pettigrew, although don't ask us why. And, while I am confident in Madam Bones and the Aurors I've met, from what we've learned getting ready for this trial, the lot at Azkaban is sloppy."

"We're hoping they can hold him long enough to try him. If need be, Harry's going to recommend a prison term as compared to something more permanent."

"There're no guarantees he'll escape," Sirius said. "Took me a while to get 'round to it."

"He's probably more motivated than you were.

"Hey!"

"He wants nothing to do with that place and certainly whatever guilt he might feel for what he did is far less than his fear of that place."

**DAY 4**

The building on the Square that had been the scene for the Manor Court was not built for that purpose. Harry wanted a public building of some sort where the entire estate could gather for naming ceremonies for the elves and such. But, it was a magical village in a magical estate and it did not take much time for the building to be renovated into its role as the Manor Court. And, it also had taken little time for the elves to transform it into its current incarnation.

Gone was the high bench where Harry and the other five "adjudicators" had sat through the trial, the witness box, the special box for the members of the Wizengamot and Hermione's desk as well as the tables where the advocates and sat and the lectern. In their place was now a horseshoe shaped set of rising benches that, had Harry any memory of it, resembled the seating arrangement for the Wizengamot deep within the Ministry of Magic. There were no tables and the only other adornment was a small desk located at the center of the horseshoe. This was where Dumbledore sat and the members filled up the benches around and behind him. The remainder of the gallery from the days before remained largely unchanged and just as on the days before they were mostly filled. In the front row sat House Longbottom and House Potter, the only "assigned seating" there had been in the Gallery thus far.

Harry noticed that Hannah's mother took her seat in the Horseshoe as Regent for House Abbott. Susan's Aunt Madam Bones was seated next to her. Sirius told him there was no formal seating arrangement in the Wizengamot, but members who were friends with other members did tend to sit together. Also in the horseshoe not far from Dumbledore was the Minister for Magic and Harry was about to ask about that until he remembered the Minister held or could hold the twelve Ministry votes. Sirius was not seated in the Horseshoe. While the Manor Court had acquitted him of any wrong doing, until that decision was ratified by the Wizengamot or the Minister himself changed things, he was still technically a fugitive and unable to take his House seat.

"Wizards and Witches," Dumbledore intoned, "this Special Session of the Wizengamot of Greater Britannia is hereby called into session. Madam Clerk, please call the roll and tally the seats and votes present."

A woman rose from her seat at one end of the Horseshoe and the lowest row of benches. Sirius explained that the Clerk was always the most junior of the lifetime appointees by date of appointment and held the position until a newer appointment was made. Apparently, no one wanted this job as the Clerk "actually has to work," according to Sirius.

"Ancient and Noble House of Abbott," the Clerk called.

"Present," Mrs. Abbott replied.

"One seat, six votes," the Clerk added before calling the next seat. Not every seat was present.

"Ancient and Noble House of Black?"

"Present by proxy," Mr. Carstons said. He had been one of the adjudicators.

"One seat, twenty votes…"

Harry and the others learned that while it was normally one seat per person, they could see that in some cases it was two. Mr. Carstons also held the seat for the Ancient Line of Eorsyn in his own right and the three votes that went with it and for now Neville's Grand held both the Longbottom Seat as Regent and Potter as Proxy and all Sixty-Four votes that went along with it. There were a few members who, through proxies, held more seats than she did but none with anywhere near as many votes in the tiered voting structure.

"And the Ministry of Magic?" the Clerk finished.

"Present," Minister Fudge said,

"Will you be exercising all the Ministry Votes if called?"

"I shall."

"One seat, twelve votes. Chief Warlock, the roll is called. Present are more than the numbers of seats and votes required for a Quorum."

"Thank you Madam Clerk. As we do not have a proposed agenda, we shall begin from where we left off at the last session…"

"Point of order!" a voice called.

"The Chair recognizes Madam Longbottom."

"While we may not have voted upon it yesterday, Chief Warlock, it was my impression that it was the desire of the Wizengamot, or at least the majority of seats and votes, that this Special Session should deal with the recommendation submitted to us from the Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter before raising any other business." There were clear voices of assent. "I move that we place the findings and recommendations of aforesaid Manor Court before this Session as our initial business."

"Hear! Hear!"

"While I sympathize with such sentiments, I do not believe it would be appropriate to consider such relatively unimportant matters at this time given the current crisis within the ICW. I stand ready to report on the…"

"I second the motion of Madam Longbottom!" another member announced.

"Now hold on!" Elphias Doge, a Liberal faction member began, "you did not allow the Chief Warlock to finish."

"And were we to allow that," a supposed Traditionalist said, "I dare say we'll be here for the next three days listening him drone on and on. He expressed his desire to delay this yesterday, probably until all of us are dead and buried. We did not agree then and I have no doubt we do not agree now. The motion's been seconded! Put it to the vote!"

Dumbledore sighed. "A motion is before this assembly to place the findings and recommendations submitted by the Manor Court of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter as the first order of business in this Special Session and it has been duly seconded." It was obvious Dumbledore was not pleased. "All in favor raise their hands?"

Most of the members raised their hands.

"Opposed?" Dumbledore and six others raised their hands, seven including Fudge. "The motion passes. This Assembly shall consider the submission of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. Said House has given us food for thought. I ask Madam Clerk if she has the Wizengamot trail calendar available so that we may find an agreeable date to set this for a proper trial before this body?"

The Clerk began to look through what looked like a notebook.

"What're you on about, Dumbledore?" a member asked rudely. "Were you somewhere else the last three days? I seem to recall that there's been a trial!"

"Article 21 proceedings are merely advisory," Dumbledore said calmly. "It is still the province of this body to try cases. As I see it, the Manor Court has merely pointed out the fact that Mr. Black did not have the benefit of a trial…"

"Come off it!" Which was one of the more polite outbursts.

"Article 21 does not mandate a retrial before the Wizengamot," Madam Bones said. "That is an option that the Wizengamot may adopt if a majority are in agreement. It may also forgo such trial and move to debate or ratification of the findings and recommendation…"

"I move we set the case of Sirius Black for proper trial," Amos Diggory began.

"Seconded," Elphias Doge agreed.

"A motion is before this assembly to set the Black case for trial before the Wizengamot proper," Dumbledore said smugly. "All in favor?" His smile died when only the same hands rose. "Opposed?" The rest of the Wizengamot seemed to raise their hands. "Motion defeated. But I do think we are overly enamored by the last few days worth of entertainment. After all, this was the Manor Court called by a thirteen-year-old and now, it seems, the Wizengamot is dancing to that thirteen-year-old's tune! I believe that this matter is not something that should be dealt with at this time and not at all until a more thorough and more professional investigation has been carried out!"

"He just stepped in it," Hannah said to the others in the Potter row.

"I see," Madam Bones said. "So I am unprofessional? Is that what you're saying, Dumbledore?"

"I did not mean to…"

"Oh no? That was one of the more professional trials I've participated in. What did you mean? You do realize who was seated at Manor Advocate's table throughout? Are you suggesting that Theodore Tonks is some unprofessional thirteen-year-old? For the record, although not doubt she was well prepared by her more mature co-advocate, I think I speak for most here present that Lady Abengale gave a very favorable account of herself without regard to her supposed maturity!"

"And maybe I was in a difference Manor Court," Nathaniel Davis said. "After all, Cuthbert Carstons and I were on that panel as voting members and all approved findings had to be unanimous. And before you even suggest that Lord Potter influenced our votes I can assure you he did not speak during deliberations and always voted last. You cannot argue a lack of maturity in regards to that panel unless you're suggesting that it lacked maturity because you were not a part of it."

"Perhaps," Madam Longbottom interjected, "rather than this bickering and in hopes that we can attend to the task at hand that most all agree needs attending, we can sidestep all of these obstacles by submitting a motion of censure against the one whose recalcitrance is impeding the work of this Assembly?"

"Now Augusta, I'm sure we do not need to be so rash," Dumbledore said.

"Seconded! Hironymus Flint added.

There was a long, silent pause.

"Chief Warlock? There is a motion pending and it has been duly seconded," the Clerk said.


	41. Chapter 41: More Than Meets The Eye

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I debated and debated about posting this now. But it seems that people have hissies if there's a cliffy…

**CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE**

**SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18****th****, 1993 (DAY 4).**

"Okay," Ron said, "you all may think I'm thick, but…"

"May?" one of the twins asked.

"There's no 'may' 'bout it, Ronnikins."

"We know you're thick."

"Har Har," Ron rolled his eyes. "You lot still can't beat me in chess even with a six piece advantage. But this ain't chess. It's politics stuff and … does Binns even teach this Hermione?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Please! Everyone knows you're the only one who doesn't fall asleep in that class!"

"Lavender and Parvati don't either," Hermione replied.

"Or spend it whispering 'bout what's in Teen Witch Weekly, then," Hannah said. "It's really annoying."

"Especially when you're trying to sleep," Ron agreed. "Can someone tell me what that stuff was?"

"Use small words," Hermione suggested.

"Yeah," Ron agree. "What she said."

It was lunchtime and Harry and the others had decided they probably would not return for the afternoon session. It seemed all the real fun was over and all that was left seemed to be debates about the only one of the Manor Court's recommendations that could be debated: compensation for Sirius for his improper stay in Azkaban. Once things had settled down, everything else had fallen into place. As it stood, the Ministry was now tasked with clearing Sirius's name, restoring all his rights, titles and any properties that might have been transferred after his father died, and recalling the reward, the shoot to kill order and the dementors. Sirius had told them the money debates were neither important (Sirius didn't really need the money) nor were they particularly interesting, especially after that morning. So Harry and his ladies had decided to act their ages, to the extent they ever had. They were now in the Dining Room of the Valley Guest house on the lake by the Quidditch Pitch. This was where a lot of young people were staying, most notably three of Ginny's brothers and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Harry had been dreading this a little. He had gotten these people here by promising them they could use his pitch for a few practices and Oliver seemed a little too thrilled with the idea now that he had seen it.

"Well, I don't understand the details," Ginny said, "but I do think our Great Aunt Muriel would say he had a Senior Moment."

"Maybe in part," Ron nodded. "But why? Don't you lot take this the wrong way, but who cares?"

"Remember what we told you 'bout Ginny?" Harry said.

Ron nodded. "Something to do with that?"

"Among other things," Hermione said. "Ginny was part of his great plans to control our Harry."

"Who doesn't like being controlled," Luna added.

"Doesn't like knowing he's being controlled," Daphne said with a smirk.

"Doesn't like being controlled in ways he doesn't want to be controlled," Hannah concluded.

"You're using small words," Ron frowned, "but not making any sense."

"Sorry," several of them said.

"You know he wants control of my House," Harry said.

Ron nodded.

"And he thinks I'm somehow important in dealing with Voldemort. That means I'm scary to him."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ron said.

"Didn't say it did," Harry replied.

"We knew he was going to try to do something to try and keep things the way they were," Hermione said. "He wants Harry to fit a role – well, more than one actually. For Harry to fit that role, certain things must … Well, Harry has to play along. Harry's not playing along. Harry's bonding with us, getting married, learning about his past and his family, these are things that Dumbledore knows he has done and it does not fit within the man's plans at all. A Harry who knows about House Potter is not likely to be a follower type and certainly not of Dumbledore and his Greater Good, whatever that is."

"We're pretty certain Dumbledore has some kind of plan for me," Harry said. "We also know enough to suspect that whatever his plan for me is, it's not good for me at all. Placing me with the Dursleys was a part of that plan. He might've thought it was an important part and that it was working. He set things up so I knew nothing about magic and our world and, one might say, has set things up so that ordinarily I can't learn much about it even if I want to and what I can learn is what he lets me learn. But, getting bonded and married and coming here and other things has allowed me to learn things he hoped I'd never learn…"

"Or at least that Harry would not learn until it was too late for him to do anything about it," Ginny said. "That contract, had Harry not done what he did earlier this summer, would place Harry under Dumbledore's control – or at least the control of Dumbledore's followers – for the rest of Harry's life."

"You're talking that Vassal thing," Ron said.

Harry nodded. "When everyone thought my parents died, that was when he thought of that, we think. Until just before I came to Hogwarts, that was part of his plan. He's got some kind of vision for how the world should be. Don't know what it is. It's not like he tells everyone. But to have that vision become reality, he needs to control the votes in the Wizengamot. House Potter has always stood in the way of that. So when all that was left was me, well he set things up so that I wouldn't … get any ideas; or at least not any that weren't his to begin with. Then Voldemort started trying to come back. He truly thinks I had something to do with getting rid of him the last time…"

"You didn't?"

"I can't say that I did and neither can Dumbledore," Harry replied. "My parents don't even know what happened. It's just as likely that Voldemort made a mistake or whatever my Mum did that night made what he did a big mistake."

"More likely," Hermione nodded. "Boy-Who-Lived nonsense aside, which is more likely? A fifteen month old baby defeats the most powerful dark Wizard anyone can think of and kills him, surviving the Killing Curse as well? Or his parents cast a very complicated and rare – probably House Potter protection magic on Harry that somehow reacted to the spell Voldemort used destroying him?"

"You put it like that," Ron said. "I'd go with the spell backlash. That kinda thing's known to happen."

"But everyone, including Dumbledore, goes for the incredible rather than the explainable," Hermione said. "Guess in a world where we can do the incredible with magic, explainable is … too mundane?"

"You put it like that … that makes sense, you know?" Ron replied.

"So, now Voldemort is trying to come back, and he like everyone else thinks I'm the one to stop him," Harry continued. "But if I stop him… What if I had some ambitions? What if I wanted to be Chief Warlock or Minister?"

"Do you?"

"No. But if I stopped Voldemort, what's to stop me? And if my idea of what things should be like is different from Dumbledore's – and in this case it is – what's to stop me from seeing his way scuppered? I'm too dangerous to be allowed to grow up any way other than his way. And it was working, too – his plan for me that is. It was working right up to the moment that I bonded with Hermione and Luna and then was able to learn about the contracts."

"That still doesn't explain what happened this morning," Ron said after a moment where it looked like he was thinking.

"We figured he'd try something to get Harry back under some kind of control," Daphne said. "He tried the day we got back to school…"

"According to McGonagall," Hermione said. "He seemed fine with Neville's situation. But he tried really hard to keep things the way they were with Harry. The only one who supported him was Snape, but not for the same reasons. McGonagall told me that it seemed as if he thought this bonding was much ado about nothing and since Harry's Muggle Raised, he should not be allowed married quarters. Took most of the staff to get him to back off."

"We figured he was going to make some kind of go at getting Harry's emancipation repealed," Daphne said. "After all, until Harry became emancipated Dumbledore was Harry's magical guardian. But, this assumed that Sirius Black was not in the picture. As Harry's godfather, Sirius is supposed to do that unless Harry's parents' Wills say something different and he had those declared invalid ages ago. If Sirius is exonerated, Dumbledore can't get control over him."

"What about your parents, Harry?"

"Very few people know about them," Harry said. "Their being alive is under a Fidelius Charm. Dumbledore has no clue that they're out there. We didn't think he'd make such an obvious go at Sirius, not after all that came out. We figured he'd wait, then cook up something 'bout me being too immature to be emancipated and Sirius being unfit to be a Guardian after all those years in Azkaban. That might've worked too. That's when we planned to bring in my parents. But…"

"He got desperate, it seems," Daphne said. "Went straight at Sirius as soon as he could. So long as Sirius is still a fugitive, he can't be a guardian. Well, I suppose he could be if Dumbledore let him as in if he was a good doggie and does what Dumbledore wants him to do. But instead we see what happened this morning."

"But what does sensing do?" Ron asked.

"It's called censure," Hannah said. "It means he can no longer talk in the Wizengamot or talk to anyone about Wizengamot business including other members. Short of being kicked out of the Assembly altogether, it's the worst thing that can happen to a Member. And they made it worse for Dumbledore by not sacking him as Chief Warlock. He still has to show up for all the meetings and do that stuff about letting them all know who's talking and calling for votes, but he can't put in his own ideas or opinions at all. He's quite the politician. Very persuasive. But if he can't talk, he can't persuade which means he's less than nothing there now."

"So he really stepped in it then?"

"Basically. You saw what happened. He tried to block or delay anything to do with what we did the last three days and they censured him for being obstructive – as in being difficult. Once they did, they quickly ratified the findings and most of the recommendations of the Manor Court. They're debating now about whether to give Sirius any money…"

"Which he could care less about," Harry said. "He's Lord Black now, which means money's not a problem."

"And the Wizengamot knows that. They're debating whether to stick the Ministry with the bill or open an investigation to find out who did what to Sirius so they can stick those people with the bill. The import bit is Sirius Black's a free man now and will be forever."

"Didn't give him a lifetime pass," one of the Twins said. "Don't think he can go out snuffing people just 'cause of that."

"You know what I mean."

"So Dumbledore's done then?" Ron asked.

"Doubt it," Harry said.

"It's not a permanent censure," Hannah agreed. "Sounded like it only applies to this Special Session and such. But we got what we wanted for now."

"That and if he does make another run at Harry, he'll have to do it before the Wizengamot," Daphne said. "That was something else they did when they voted to recognize House Potter's authority, limited as it is. He can't do anything to a recognized Head of House except before the full Wizengamot. Before, he could've just put it before the Underage Magic folks at the Ministry."

"We still think he'll have a go at my status and try to end Sirius's Guardianship as well. And that's when we'll spring my parents on him," Harry said.

**Day 6**

"UHG!" Harry said collapsing onto a couch. He was in one of the lounges in the "Clubhouse" by the Quidditch Pitch in the Valley.

"That was brilliant," Ron said sitting in one of the chairs.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Remind me not to let Wood have unlimited access to this place with Time Compression."

"Um…"

"Two days of practice," Katie Bell groaned. "I agree with Harry."

"But…"

"Were it up to Wood, we'd practice like the pros," Alicia Spinet agreed. "Only time we'd not practice would be when we had a match. You'll see, newbie. A little Quidditch is fun. All the time Quidditch? Not so much."

"Careful," Harry chided. "That's Ron Weasley you're talking to; our new Reserve Keeper. If he could eat, sleep and use the loo playing Quidditch he probably would."

"Okay," Ron complained, "I'm not that bad. Even I know there's a limit. But I thought that was brilliant."

"Not upset your sister made the team at reserve?"

"Would be if she were no good," Ron said. "Never knew she could fly like that. Scary. She learned that here?"

"Bill and Charlie taught her."

"Oh. Guess that makes sense. Those two are almost as sneaky 'bout things as Fred and George. Percy'd be all on about her for so much as looking at one of Aunt Muriel's brooms and… Well, I'd probably have said something stupid 'bout it. Not now 'though. She's really good."

"Must be a Weasley thing," Angelina Johnson said.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"Aside from your brother Percy, the lot of you've been real players given a chance. Bill was a chaser, you know. Charlie a Seeker and Captain and according to Wood until Harry came along no one was better. Fred and George are the best Beaters at school. You're a right nightmare at Keeper – in a good way for us. Your little Sis could run with our Chaser Line and, if we didn't already have Harry, she'd be no slouch at Seeker. What happened to Percy?"

Ron shrugged. "Guess he can't fly straight with that Big Head of his. He's not too bad, really. He just doesn't like it the same as the rest of us."

Ginny now sat down looking put out.

"You okay Gin?" Harry and Ron asked almost in unison.

"Brilliant," she said almost sarcastically. "It was brilliant for the first three hours or so…afternoon before yesterday. Is it always like that?"

"Would be," Fred said. "Think Wood's trying to convince McGonagall it should be."

"She won't buy it," George added having walked in with Fred and Ginny. "While she might want us to clean the Pitch with the other House Teams and put a permanent sticking charm once the Quidditch Cup is in her office, she's always arguing with Wood about his practice schedules. We're here to learn first. Quidditch is not why we're at Hogwarts and any schedule that even looks like it's Quidditch first and school and studies second … she'll toss it."

"Won't stop Wood 'though," Fred said. "Our First Year we did okay, but aside from Wood and Carmichael, the whole team was newbies. Should've won it the last two."

"We know it," George said.

"Whole school does," Fred agreed.

"'Cept maybe the Slytherins."

"This is Wood's last year. He wants that Cup."

"We do too. But he _really_ wants that Cup."

**MONDAY, SEPTENBER 20****th****, 1993.**

"Why didn't you do something?" Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Minister," Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement replied, "and just what would you have be do?"

"I don't know! Something! We look …"

"Incompetent? Petty and vindictive?"

"Not the image I intend!"

"Yet, even before this Manor Court thing, it was precisely the image you were projecting, Minister," Amelia said. "You're Senior Undersecretary nearly provokes a war with the Goblins and then you waltz in to Gringotts and make things worse…"

"You're job was to support the Ministry! You let them get away with…"

"Proving your predecessor and her administration made a very big mistake. I kept you out of it which, having investigated this matter, is about all I could do, Minister. They mostly steered clear of what happened in Gringotts. Had they really gone there, it might be seen as a link. The Wizengamot might see you as part of a conspiracy to destroy or usurp an Ancient and Noble House as opposed to a fool who listens to the wrong people."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You saved your career by doing as the Wizengamot required," Amelia said ignoring the question. "With Sirius Black exonerated and that order and reward rescinded, House Potter is satisfied. Since we did not open any new doors for the Wizengamot, blame for this fiasco rests on former Minister Bagnold and a former holder of my Office, Barty Crouch. I can assure you, all I could really have done to refute the Manor's evidence was call them to testify – which I was allowed to do if I wished."

"And you didn't!"

"The Former Head of my Department would have testified that he did exactly as the Manor said he has done or he would've been caught in a lie. Furthermore, it would've come out he had personal reasons to recklessly disregard the law. He was in the line of succession to become Head of House Black you know. Specifically, he was next in line, through a Cadet branch should Sirius Black not attain his Lordship. By throwing Black to the dogs, as it where, he believed he would secure that House for himself. Unfortunately he had not counted on two things. First off was the revelation that his son was a Death Eater. As you should be well aware, were it not for that little fact I would be talking to him right now and not you. Second, he failed to perceive just how ruthless the prior Lord Black could be. The former Lord Black asked for a trial for his grandson, Barty refused. He then demanded a trial and Barty and Bagnold managed to stop him in the Wizengamot. Barty's line was promptly disinherited and House Black pushed for and received Crouch's exile. This would have come out."

"Yesterday's news, Amelia…"

"Is it? You came into office and promoted the same Barty Crouch from his position effectively in exile as ambassador to the Tribes in New Guinea to his current position, did you not?"

The ambassadorship to New Guinea was actually more like House Arrest. The ambassador was expected to be "as if" at his post, as in out of the country, unless formally called to consultations. But the reality was few ambassadors ever took up residence in the embassy. After all, one never knew if they were invited to a "State Dinner" whether they were a guest or the main course. It was said that the natives were more civilized and far less inclined to eat foreign wizards for their magic. But no one had decided to test this theory.

"He's an old friend…," Fudge said.

"A friend you would have been well advised not to acknowledge. He still covets your job and you promote him into a position where, should your leadership come into question, places him as a contender as your replacement."

"As are you!"

"Except I have no such ambitions and most people know that. I am quite content with where I am. Besides, Crouch is from an old and 'proper' family and all I can claim was that I married into one.

"This is all academic," Amelia continued. "I kept your involvement in this mess out of the papers, as it were. You're actions will be seen as questionable but not culpable. After all everyone knew Black was guilty, didn't they? You relied on what those who came before you did, didn't you? You remain as Minister, don't you? And now, you have an opportunity to secure that position."

"Oh?"

"Your Senior Undersecretary is a large reason why you find yourself in the Cauldron, wouldn't you say? She was the one who recommended your shoot to kill order, wasn't she? She also recommended the very unpopular idea of posting dementors at Hogwarts, did she not? And she is the reason why the Ministry is in the Potion with the Goblins and the ICW. If you ask me, she seems to be setting you up, Minister. And her good friend Barty Crouch is in position to take over once you fall." She then pushed some photographs towards the Minister.

"That bitch!"

"When I received notice of the Manor Court, naturally I had the allegations investigated. I found no evidence supporting the position you would have me support. But I also uncovered several plots that … well, it could well bring down the entire government were it to become public. My goal at that Court was to prevent any inquiry that truly would damage the Ministry. All I really had to do to succeed was to roll over, as it were, and let the world see the truth about Black, and yet not see the real truth I uncovered."

"What now?"

Amelia pushed another paper to the Minister. "Umbridge has her own agenda. We think she is also … covetous of your job. If I were you, I'd give her the sack…"

"She … she knows things."

"I'm sure she does."

"She's got dirt on just about everyone…"

"Which is less than everyone. She's working for someone, Minister. I have evidence that she is, but do not know who that someone is. I can say she's working against you and, quite possibly, against the interests of Greater Britannia. Crouch may be involved as well or he may just be a convenient opportunity for her and whomever she's working with. Sign this order…"

Fudge looked at a document laid before him.

"What's it do?"

"It authorizes DMLE to launch a clandestine investigation into the activities and suspected treasonous conduct of Madam Umbridge. It gives us rather broad authority in that regard. Moreover, this order does not officially exist. If she claims you or I were doing something nefarious, then this order will come into play. It lays out the evidence against her obtained to date, our suspicions and the legal justifications for our continued investigation. I am certain that the Wizengamot would be most unsympathetic were she to complain to them. It has other provisions that allow us to lean on the press so that she is denied that avenue. Whatever information she thinks she might have, it is useless if no one can hear it, don't you think?"

"But …" he began as he signed the order.

"You are wondering how this will remain quiet?"

Fudge nodded.

"Even your penchant for being … gregarious and loquacious in the wrong context is of little concern. Right now, the only people who know of this are you, me and one other whom I trust. There is a way to keep it that way…"

**TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27****th****, 1993.**

Hermione would be the first to say that "happily ever after" only happened in books about make believe. Harry had hoped that freeing Sirius Black would be as easy as it had appeared to be. The Special Session of the Wizengamot in the trunk had adopted and rarified the findings and recommendations of the Manor Court, and he hoped it would be that simple. Time Compression had ended and at first it had since the last thing the Wizengamot had done in their Special Session was pass a Resolution directing the Ministry to make whatever was needed happen. The dementors were gone from Hogwarts by the end of the real Saturday.

Hermione's birthday the very next day was a bigger deal than it might have been as most of the entire school was in a celebratory frame of mind. But aside from her friends, most were celebrating the departure of the Dementors. The whole place just felt less oppressive once they had been removed. Her birthday was limited to her parents and House Potter and Longbottom, but that was fine with her. She particularly liked Harry's present even though now it seemed he had a pattern. Like Ginny a month earlier and Luna a couple of weeks earlier, Harry had given her some jewelry as well, although he seemed to have a good idea what each of them would like. (Daphne was now really looking forward to her birthday in November.)

Malfoy seemed to be among the few who were rather put out about this turn of events. As Daphne had said, however, the git had a big mouth and couldn't keep it shut. He was back in the hospital wing by Tuesday claiming that three Hufflepuffs and "gone all Muggle" on him. Aside from Snape, no one was willing to believe him, although in reality everyone did. He apparently had this "brilliant" idea about convincing some "gullible" First Year Muggle Born (more than one would be better) to "make friends" with the dementors and was put out that not only was his great plan not working at all, but now it was totally scuppered and when he made a comment about it to some older Hufflepuffs, they expressed their opinion as to him and his plan with their fists.

The Monday edition of the Daily Prophet was almost entirely about what had happened on Saturday. The front page announced that Sirius Black was innocent and mentioned the Manor Court below the fold. The whole paper spelled out everything that had happened including a short article about what had happened to Dumbledore at the beginning of the Special Session. For over a week, the paper continued to expand on the initial stories and the fallout. Fudge's "shoot to kill" Order, which the paper now called both "morally repugnant" and "legally questionable" (whereas it had been praised when it was originally issued) and the huge reward for his capture had been repealed and there was an announcement that anyone attempting to harm Lord Black would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Dumbledore's Censure was also a front page article later in the week, although the paper was at a loss as to why he was so insistent on "continuing to torment an innocent man."

Of course, the news about Harry's new lifestyle came out as well. Thankfully, most of the school already knew as over one hundred students had been invited to the Estate for the Manor Court as had many of their families. Every possible guest room at Potter Farms had been filled, as had all similar rooms at Longbottom Farms where a temporary dedicated portal had been set up between Longbottom Farm and the still unnamed Tavern on the Square at Harry's Elf Village so the Longbottom guests could attend the Court and later Special Session and all the guests could enjoy both Farms. Three campgrounds were also opened to handle the crowd: one was at the tropical beach, one was at the lake in the Valley and the third on the shores of the Great Lake.

The Prophet had been silent about all of this, but the "extravagant" lifestyle of Lords Longbottom and Potter and their new brides made the special editions of both Witch Weekly and Teen Witch Weekly later in the week. After all, how many other thirteen year olds had their own huge farms with lakes and trails, a large house (even though few had been invited there), guest houses that were more elegant than any inn in the country and facilities for other leisure-time activities? From Harry's point of view he was glad that almost as much ink had been spilled gushing about his friend Neville as it had on him and it seemed from the articles in those two magazines the only difference had been what little extra they had devoted to the Manor Court.

Witch Weekly had a huge section on the now exonerated Lord Sirius Black. This one dealt almost entirely on the little information that was revealed at the outset of his testimony where he announced he was not married to prove he was lying. He had yet to tell anyone who the mystery wife was or anything much about her at all. Witch Weekly offered page after page of speculation about this development.

Sirius Black opened his eyes and saw a plain, white ceiling in front of him and was officially confused. He had no idea where he was. This wasn't his room at the Estate as the color was all wrong. He could tell he was in a bed of some kind, so this ruled out both Azkaban and a Ministry holding cell, neither place known for such luxuries although as he recalled from his days as a Hit Wizard and Auror, at least the holding cells had hammocks instead of a stone slab. From the smell, if he had to guess, he was at St. Mungos. He wondered how he wound up here.

He had given things a week Outside to get settled. He figured by then he could get on with his business without worrying about getting hexed for his trouble and there were things he needed and wanted to do that could not be done from the Estate. His first stop had been the Ministry itself. Among other things, he needed to stop by Wizengamot Administrative Services regarding the House Black seat and the Archives office for a variety of reasons not in the least of which being they might have information that could help him find out about his wife. They had only been married about two months when he was sent away and she may well have moved on with her life, but that didn't mean he didn't want to know.

His last clear memory before opening his eyes here was that it was Monday morning and he was in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. He had only just arrived and was checking in at the security station. His last memory was pain just before everything went black. All he knew for certain was what it was not. He had not been hit by the Curtiatus Curse. But he had clearly been hit by something.

He turned his head to try and figure out where he was. He was clearly in St. Mungos or, if not, wherever he was looked like one of the rooms there. There was another bed in the room, but it was empty. He could see the door to the room was closed. There was a surprising lack of information.

"It's good to see you're awake, Cousin," a female voice said. Sirius turned towards the window and saw a young woman seated in a chair with pink hair.

"D-Dora?"

"Looks like the mutt didn't scramble all your eggs," she snarked. "You have so few unscrambled ones left."

"Why am I … why're you here? Thought you were at the Academy."

"Investigator Walters thought this'd be good training – watching a mutt, that is," Dora said. "Apparently, this counts, not that I'm complaining. And before you ask, I am not here for any other official reason. In other words, once the Healers say you can leave, DMLE won't be interested."

"They interested now?"

"Only because you're a victim of an assault and might know more about it than they do. Another reason I'm here is to get your statement."

"Assault? Um … what day is it?"

"The day after yesterday, obviously," Dora said cheekily. "And yesterday was when you were 'allegedly' assaulted."

"Don't think there was anything alleged about it," Sirius said. "But can't say I know much. I was checking in at the Ministry and got hit."

"Darn it!" Dora said fishing through a bag. She pulled out a notebook and what looked like a Muggle pen. "Should've had the book out. So, checking in at the Ministry and it happened?" she added writing.

"Yeah."

"Why were you there?"

"Business. Lots of things to do now that I'm allowed to. Wizengamot stuff. Some personal stuff as well."

"That it?"

"Pretty much."

Dora shrugged. "There were some who had hoped you might be looking into getting your old job back."

"Hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest," Sirius replied.

"Haven't ruled it out?"

"Wasn't even thinking about it. Guess I should've considering they had to pay me for all those years." His compensation included over eleven and a half years of pay as a Basic Auror since the Ministry had neglected to terminate him properly.

"Payroll was right put out about that," Dora nodded. "That came from their funds and the person who dropped the quaffle on that retired years ago. So, you didn't see who did it?"

"No, and what did happen? Why am I here? This is St. Mungos, isn't it?"

"Spell Damage Ward," Dora nodded. "Short term care. You took a Bludgeoning Curse to the upper back, close range all though not straight on since your spine was not injured by it. Let's see…" she flipped through a page on her notebook. "Four broken ribs. Punctured right lung. Right arm broken in four places. Bruised right Kidney. Contusions. Head injuries consistent with a violent fall. Loss of consciousness."

"I get it."

"Victim had no wand in his possession…," Dora continued.

"Didn't have one on me. Was hoping to get my old one back, you know, and some of the other stuff they took from me when they tossed me in that place." Sirius was not about to mention he had purchased a wand from a foreign vendor when he visited Gringotts.

Dora nodded. "Don't count on Pettigrew's money bag. They're keeping that… and the money that was in it. Evidence, you know."

Sirius nodded. Pettigrew was still at the Estate in stasis. DMLE was working at setting up his trial and Amelia Bones figured he'd be more secure there. Her concern was there might be some former colleagues of his out there who might not be all that pleased he had not stay dead. "I had my own as well and some other things."

Dora nodded. "I was told to tell you that aside from Pettigrew's pouch, you'll get it all back once the Healers say you can be released. Healers say you were hit with a Bludgeoner. You have any reason to think otherwise?"

"No. Statement again?"

Dora nodded.

"Never saw a thing."

"Moody'd have a field day about that."

Sirius nodded. It was true. During that month at Longbottom Farm he had spent a lot of time talking with Dora and regaling her with stories about his time as a Hit Wizard on Mad-eye Moody's team and at the Academy. Moody was always on about situational awareness and having eyes in the back of your head. It didn't matter a wit to Moody that he was the only one with a magical eye that effectively gave him just that. Loss of situational awareness was why things went pear-shaped when he tried to catch Pettigrew and the price was almost a dozen years with the dementors. Now, once again, he had lost situational awareness.

"Did they get…?"

"The doer?"

"You've been hangin' out with Aurors, haven't you?" Sirius teased. "You're parents know they're a bad influence on innocent, young minds, don't they?"

"Yes," Dora said. "To both questions, if you must ask. The doer was Mundegus Fletcher, age forty-seven. Record longer than my arm. He's a sneak-thief mostly, burglary, pickpocket and the like and a known fence for stolen goods both his and just about anyone else as well. Never an assault before."

"Dumbledore?"

"Man was on about him," Dora said. "Kept saying he's in tight with the old man. Didn't seem to know that doesn't mean much at all right now."

"That's not what I meant. I mean Fletcher does odd jobs for Dumbledore. They think he…?"

"Really?" she said making a note of this. "You think the Old Man tried to see to it you had an accident?"

Sirius nodded.

"Nah. Fletcher wasn't told to do you. Bolt thought so as well. I was there for the interrogation – training, you know."

"Bolt?"

"Senior Auror Shacklebolt. Back in your day, you never called Moody Mad-eye to his face and now we don't call him Bolt to his. As for Fletcher, it seems he was freelance as it were. He saw you and fifty thousand Galleons. It seems he also hadn't heard that the reward deal's off as well. They got him in a holding cell for now. He's not too happy seeing as DMLE wants to chuck him into Azkaban and his mate Dumbledore can't spring him. But we can't have people hexing Heads of Houses and such for kicks now, can we?"

"Why don't I think it's that simple?"

"Bolt would say 'cause you were a good cop back in the day," Dora said. "Fletcher is that simple and stupid, come to think of it. Nailed you in the back and you wound up here. But I'm not just here to take your statement as part of my training, Cousin. I'm part of your protection detail."

"Okay… That's unexpected."

"Ever hear of a Rory Mulciber?"

"Name's familiar. Think I snuffed a Mulciber mutt back during the War."

Dora nodded. "Whole family of mutts. One of 'em's rotting in Azkaban. You got his son. This one's a younger brother of the one you got. Was still in Hogwarts when you got sent away but it seems he'd'a been a Death Eater given a chance. He's … what'd'ya call a bloke who mops floors and cleans toilets?"

"Mr. Flitch?"

Dora laughed. "I forgot 'bout him. Then again, did my best not to get noticed by the man when I was in school, unlike a certain cousin of mine. Nah. It's what that Mulciber mutt was doing for a living. Worked here at St. Mungos and tried to off you last night. Fortunately, he's a toilet cleaner for a reason. But it seems someone put him up to it as well. DMLE's still giving him the full treatment. Seems a few of his brother's former associates aren't too happy you're out and about."

"Don't see why they should care. It's not like I killed them," Sirius said.

"No, but you killed quite a few. They may have avoided the dementors 'cause they were never found out or 'cause the imperius defense was raised and a lot of gold changed hands, but there are a fair few out there and some have tried to settle old scores. Auror's put a detail on you after Fletcher took his shot. That Mulciber idiot made a go at you last night even with one of the Auror's outside. Fortunately, the outside watch thought something was off. Now there's an inside watch as well."

"How'd he try and … you know?"

"Had a plant with him. Devil's Snare. Ever hear of it?"

Sirius nodded. The idea of being strangled in his sleep in a hospital after all he had been through was not a pleasant one.

"Told the guard outside it was a gift from an admirer. Guard thought that was off and followed the mutt in after a few seconds. Saw him put it on the tray table beside your bed and … took all of a second for that thing to start to try to… Mutt was stunned and the plant was killed. Mutt's trying to claim he didn't know but none of the boys're buying it. The Welcome Witch isn't that stupid, for one. She'd've seen it right off if it came in through the public entrance – unless it was an inside job like it appears to be."

Sirius snorted.

"What?" Dora asked.

"They say it's good to die in you sleep," Sirius said. "I'd'a hoped I'd be a lot older, 'though."

"Well, you haven't snuffed it yet, Cousin," Dora said.

"Seems like there's a line to see it done. One of Dumbledore's loyal followers and then one of…"

"Fletcher did it for the reward. He hasn't spoken with Dumbledore recently. As for Mulciber, we're not sure about that yet … Well, they might be by now. I was told he'd be swimming in veritiserum if he continued to be difficult. Still, I think if it was a Death Eater hit, they'd've used someone who had the skill to pull it off. And the Higher Ups think so as well. But they're working under the assumption he's working for someone else."

"Can't tell from where I'm sitting," Sirius said. "Still, that plot's not a Death Eater's style."

"That's what the higher ups say. Then again, a Killing Curse in St. Mungos might attract more than the usual amount of attention, or so I'm told."

"Still…"

"What?"

"I don't think that Mulciber bloke just up and had a brilliant idea," Sirius said. "You said I was brought in yesterday?"

"In the morning."

"And he tried to off me last night?"

She nodded.

"Word's out I was attacked?"

"Not that I'm aware."

"So this toilet cleaner – to use your expression – just happens to show up at work with Devil's Snare in his dinner pail? They sell it in the flower shop for all those people coming to see their relatives? Everybody does that, these days? Nice little Devil's Snare to brighten their loved one's room? I admit I've been out of it for years and have lost track of the current fads, but that's…"

"As I said, they think the mutt's not running solo, but the problem is it's not like many knew you were here last night."

"So, why are you here guarding me? Why not Harry or someone else still in school?"

"Are you trying to be funny?"

"Maybe."

"Well, I don't think it's all that funny, Cousin! There're two Aurors outside the door and another in the Entryway," Dora said trying not to sound insulted. "And I'm here 'cause that's what the Family wanted. But if you don't, I can just…"

"I'm just being morose," Sirius said. "Wake up, no idea how I got here and I learn one person tried to sell me for a reward and another to kill me in my sleep. I'm allowed to be a little brassed off. I am curious how it is an Auror Trainee pulled this assignment. Pretty cushy duty…"

"I said it's what the Family wanted."

"Um…"

"House Potter? None of them could be here this time of day, you know. There's a couple who can't be here just yet. Harry and his lot have classes and it is a weekday. Lupin's teaching. My Mum and Dad have to work. So it's me or some other Auror and the Family wanted one of us here when you woke up. My Mum contacted Madam Bones personally and told her about when you'd come around and here I am."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"I wasn't given a choice. Orders, you know."

"What? Didn't want to see you ailing cousin?"

"Don't want to think what the other trainee's are going to say when I get back. They're getting the full workout and I'm here taking it easy."

"You're right. They're really going to like you."

"Oh good, you're up!" a voice called from the door. Sirius saw his Cousin Andi standing there. "This malcontent giving you trouble, Daughter?"

"Nothing I can't handle, Mother."

"Well, he is restrained," Andi said.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Ribs," Andi said. "They take the longest to set with magic and we don't want you making things worse. You did have a punctured lung after all."

"So, you're my Healer?"

"You sound disappointed. Should I feel insulted?"

"Sorry. Apparently I'm sounding what I don't mean."

"Well, to answer your question, no. I'm not your attending. I am, however, reporting on your condition … and behavior if I have to … to the Family. They want a full recovery."

"After the trouble they went through to…"

"There's that as well. But, I'm pretty sure I've found the Spell my dear sister must've used on the Longbottoms."

"It was one of ours?"

Andi nodded. "Right nasty one. Worst part is, it's entirely possible the victims have no clue. They're trapped in a fantasy world in their own minds."

"It can be countered, can't it?"

Andi shrugged. "It can be broken. And it's one of the family specials. Countercurse is easy enough. But I can't do it."

"Bella?"

"She could. She and one other person."

"Who?"

"The Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black."

Sirius nodded. "They would want a special particularly difficult to counter."

"So since Bella's not likely to accommodate us, we need you healthy, Cousin. Still…"

"I sense there's more."

"There is. The problem with that spell is even if countered, the victim might not recover. They have to want to come back, for lack of a better term. If their fantasy life's better than the one they left…," she shrugged.

"Harry would say we should try anyway."

Andi nodded in agreement. "Nothing else has worked."

"May I come in," a deep voice asked, "or is Auror Black in no state for visitors?"

"My Cousin's never considered in a state for visitors," Dora said. "But he's otherwise available, Senior Auror Robards."

"Black, I guess I should say good to see you," Robards said.

"Been a while, Robards," Sirius said.

"I regret that like many others I failed to look for, much less uncover the truth all those years ago."

"It was a time when we could not trust anyone, it seemed," Sirius said.

"And what's this about you being married?"

"Pretty much said all I can say on the stand. Haven't seen or heard from her since the morning before it all went pear-shaped for me. And you, Gawain?"

"Could take hours to catch up, and I am on the clock as it were. Did he have anything we didn't know before?" he said turning to Dora.

"No Sir," she said.

"Didn't think so, but you never know. Well, Sirius. Not free a week and you've already opened a can of worms."

"Excuse me? Thought I did that 'bout a month or so ago in Gringotts or two or so when I decided it was time to take a walk."

Robards snorted. "Not what I meant, but good point. I'm here to tell you where we are."

"St. Mungos, unless this is all a clever fake."

"I meant with what's happened. Forgot how you can be a … Never mind. I guess some things don't change. Right then, you were told about Fletcher?"

"Yeah. Knew him back in the day. He was a part of Dumbledore's organization. Dora said he did me in the Ministry for the reward."

"Might be a fairly good thief," Robards said, "but he's pants as a bounty hunter. Then again, with his arrest record, he's not that good a thief either. Only reason he's not done time was 'cause Dumbldore's been around hauling his sorry carcass out of the fire again and again. But that's a Snitch he won't be catching this time. She tell you about last night?"

"Some borderline Squib upset that I offed his brother back in the War?"

"Can't say if he knew that," Robards said. "Not terribly bright, that one. Thinks the Dee Eees can still play and is trying for his Mark. Sang like a Phoenix he did. Seems a few of those who avoided Azkaban still play rough. Fingered the man who sent you the gift. You weren't the first to almost not wake up with a Devil's Snare 'round his neck. Couple years ago Greg Akers met a similar fate here, 'cept he never woke up again."

"Who?"

"Auror," Robards said. "Younger than you. He was two years out of the Academy and was part of a team dealing with a smuggling ring with rather interesting and dark connection. Got injured when he tripped a ward he shouldn't've tripped and wound up here with a Devil's Snare neck tie. That time, we never caught the mutt who did it. Then again, this idiot Mulciber didn't seem to think that an Auror outside the door was a problem. But he didn't scheme up that bit."

"Who did?"

"Ever hear of Warrington Wilkes?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Not surprising. He wasn't a known Death Eater. His older brother was killed during the war. He's an administrator here at St. Mungos or at least he was 'til Mulciber fingered him today. Had some interesting plants hidden in his office. Can't tell you more than that right now, but it seems we may be on to something thanks to you."

"I'm glad my nearly snuffing it helped," Sirius said sarcastically. "This group gonna walk?"

"Heard 'bout the Imperius defense, I take it?"

Sirius nodded.

"That was years ago and its chief supporters were Bagnold and Dumbledore. Fudge might be inclined to support it. A few of his friends are members of the Imperius Club, as we call 'em. But Fudge's up to his neck in it 'cause of what happened at Gringotts and Dumbledore's not about to make a noise after what happened after your trial. Bones is Head of DMLE and not that toady Ross who replaced Crouch. Madam Bones didn't believe in that defense then and won't let them even ask for it now. They'll need a better one than that to avoid Azkaban."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sirius awoke not quite with a start. It turned out that Dora had been there for the family and to take his statement for DMLE, but her presence as a guard at his bedside was only for her shift. The "inside" guard would be one of the guards from outside who would be present whenever anyone else was in Sirius's room with the exceptions of his attending Healer and Andi – and they had to take a certain potion to be allowed to enter without escort, one which would drop just about any know magical disguise. When he went to sleep, he had yet to meet whoever the attending Healer was. Andi had not told him who it was by name, only that she was confident in that Healer's abilities. Sirius never thought to ask.

The room was darker for it was obviously night time, but there was light in the room from a pair of candles off to the side of his bed. His gaze was drawn to the light. The candles were on a small table. The chair that Dora had occupied earlier was next to the table and someone was sitting in it. That someone was obviously female, but also neither Dora nor Andi. She was wearing Healer robes and appeared to be asleep or at least dozing. Sirius thought he knew who she was, but it couldn't be her. He was convinced it was a trick of the poor lighting and his faded memory.

He did not say anything. He dared not speak at all. He was certain this was a dream, a very vivid dream but a ream nonetheless. If it was, it was a pleasant one. He gazed at the woman.

She seemed to wake up with a bit of a start and then shake her head as if to clear it. There were some papers on the table and she seemed to return to reading them. Sirius tried to quietly shift but that apparently caught her attention and she turned towards him. It was definitely a dream, he thought. There was no way she could be here, was there? She smiled at him and rose from her seat. She walked over, sat beside him and took his hand in hers. It felt real. It seemed real.

"Connie?" he asked.

"Hello, Siri," she said. There were unshed tears in her eyes.

"How…this is a dream, right?"

"It's not a dream."

"In my dreams, you always say that."

She leaned over a bit and pinched him and he yelped. "Do I do that in your dreams?"

"That hurt!" he protested.

"Am I real?"

Sirius nodded. "But I don't understand. It's been…"

"Almost twelve years since my husband walked out the door to go to work and never came home," she said. "I never believed anything about what they said happened, you know. That Sirius Black was someone else entirely. But…"

"Couldn't really do anything to help."

She shook her head. "Who would've believed me? No one knew we were married. I don't think that would've changed anything if they had. They were convinced you were all that they said you were and I … I was not yet nineteen and had known you all of three months. But I knew what they said was all a lie and waited…"

"You … you did?"

"What else could I do? What else would I want to do?"

"You … you didn't have to."

"Are you saying I should not have?"

"N-no. But I could n-not ask that of you."

She smiled at him. "I know," she said softly. "You would never have asked me to wait like I have. It is the reason why I did."

"I don't…"

"Do you honestly think I would've done better? Having found the best, why would I settle for less?"

"But I couldn't…"

"In my heart I knew you still cared for me, Siri. I knew if you could, you would come back to me."

"I wanted to," Sirius said. "All that time, in the few moments when I could think clearly, there was a part of me that wanted to. But I knew I couldn't. Unless the truth came out, I could not leave that place for you. I would be a fugitive and outlaw and while I could accept that fate for me if necessary…"

"And you did."

Sirius nodded. "Much as a part of me might have wanted to, I couldn't ask you to become an outlaw too."

"I know. It is why I waited. I am your wife, Sirius. That will never change and I have no intention of having another."

"Surely there were others."

"There were those who hoped to be, Siri. But there have been no others."

"I … I don't know what to say."

"I only expect you to say one thing."

"I still love you, Connie."

She smiled. "That was the one thing, Siri. And I still love you too."

"This bond is really something, isn't it?"


	42. Chapter 42: Love and the Game

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: No two for one this time...

**CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: LOVE AND THE GAME**

**TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28****th****, 1993.**

The woman sitting on the bed with Sirius Black was once named Connie Donovan. Her parents were Muggles and lived in Nottingham of Robin Hood fame which was where she and her older sister and younger brother grew up. Her father worked at a powerhouse and her mother was a secretary at a firm in town. For as long as she could remember, she and her siblings were somehow very different than all of the other children around. They were even different from their parents. Strange things happened when they were around, although none of them seemed to know why. They could not control such things nor explain them.

It had begun with her older sister, although that was before Connie's first memories. The first time Connie realized that something strange had happened, her sister had seen it too and they had a talk. It became their secret. They did not tell their parents about it because they could not explain it and their parents clearly did not understand it the few times they encountered it. But it was nice that her sister was the same as she was because there was someone she could talk to about it even if neither of them knew what it was. When they realized their brother was the same as them, he became part of their little club as well.

They would later learn what it was. When Connie was eight, a strange woman arrived at their home unannounced and had a talk with their parents about her older sister. That was then 'it' now had a name: magic. The woman explained that magic was quite real, if also very rare. She explained that perhaps a third of the people with the gift came from a family that seemed to have no such gift at all and that once the gift manifested itself with one child, every child born to that couple thereafter also was born with the gift. The Donovans now knew that the girls were real, live witches and the boy was a wizard. They learned that there was a special school for such young people that taught them to control their gift and were told that to grow up without learning such control was dangerous. The woman was very convincing and Connie would learn later she and her siblings were fortunate. Her parents accepted this gift. It was not uncommon for Muggle parents to react badly to learning this. This tended to be true for the more narrow minded and religious Muggles, but it was neither limited to them nor universal with them.

Connie later learned that the visit served two purposes. The one that was obvious at the time was informing the family of their child's gift and telling them about the school that was available to them. The second reason, which was not stated at the time, was to assess the parents. They would be evaluated then and over time and if it appeared they could not adapt to this change and refused to accept it and if it proved their revulsion or reaction would be harmful to their magical children, arrangements would be made for the children. Fortunately, this was not an issue in the Donovan family.

The summer after Connie turned eleven, her sister had just finished her Second Year at this special school. As she had on each of the prior Holidays, she told her family about the school, what she had learned and what was going on, although in the last case Connie was certain her sister was leaving something out. In early July, before Connie even thought to worry about whether she would be left behind, the family received a letter from one of those odd post owls informing them that she too had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the policy at that time that Muggle Borns attended to their shopping in Diagon Alley in a group and with several older witches and wizards who acted as an escort. The Muggle parents were not part of this for some reason.

Connie started Hogwarts in the fall of 1974 and was sorted into Hufflepuff House, the same House as her older sister and, it turned out, the same one that would accept her younger brother two years later. She learned about the reason why Muggle Borns went to Diagon Alley in groups very early on. That was a recent change. When her sister had first gone to Hogwarts, what would later be called the War had barely begun and most people in the Wizarding World were unaware that there even was a such thing as Death Eaters. The summer before Connie was set to start, and fortunately on a day after her family had purchased her sister's supplies for the next year, things changed. The Death Eaters attacked the alley on a day where there happened to be a significant number of families shopping for their Muggle Born children. Those families had been specifically targeted and many died, although it would have been far worse had the Aurors not arrived in numbers.

Connie's time at Hogwarts had been defined by that War. As a Muggle Born, she was escorted to and from classes as a lower year and became the escort for younger Hufflepuff Muggle Borns as an upper year. The threat was from those students who supported the Death Eater cause. This was thankfully a small proportion of the student body, but it was a potentially dangerous one. Most of these students were in Slytherin House, although again they were by no means the majority of the students in that House. It did not help that few of them were seriously punished for their actions by the faculty. But the same faculty tended to look the other way when the other students retaliated in kind. If anything, it seemed you were more likely to get bloodied up and spend time in the Hospital Wing if you were openly a supporter of You-Know-Who than if you were not. But that did not mean that as a Muggle Born anyone wanted to find themselves alone with those supporters.

There were even a few deaths at the school. She remembered one in particular. It was during her Fourth Year and a Muggle Born girl a year behind her in Hufflepuff had been assaulted sexually. The rapist had been a Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect and his body was found the next morning at the base of the Astronomy Tower. Officially it was ruled a suicide. But everyone believed the rumor that the dead boy had been killed by a Gryffindor who caught the boy in the act and the rumor was the Gryff had not hesitated at all. Things were a little better at school following that. The Death Eater types now feared the Gryffindors and a few of them realized that the other two Houses could well follow Gryffindor's lead.

For Connie's year, they had been able to enjoy Hogsmeade Weekends during their Third Year, but they were cancelled completely for the rest of her time at school. It was too dangerous to allow the students off school grounds in any numbers. The rumor was that the Death Eaters planned to attack the village to hunt "undesireables" which included more than just Muggle Born children. The attack never came because no student set foot in the Village. Another change was the exclusion of parents or anyone other than students and staff from Quidditch matches at school. It was another precaution to prevent a Death Eater attack.

But while things seemed to get better at Hogwarts, the same could not be said for the world beyond the walls of the school. It seemed that the Death Eaters were winning beyond the walls and most of the older students knew this was not a good thing, unless you happened to be one of them. By Connie's Seventh Year, she knew that she would have to make a decision upon Graduation: risk her life and remain in Britain, or leave altogether. Many if not most of the Muggle Borns were emigrating to other countries and she was giving that serious consideration. Australia and New Zealand seemed to be the best options for that. The Americas had different and more restrictive requirements for emigration. That was certainly true in the English speaking north. Her older sister had remained in Britain but she had a job where she spent far more time overseas than at home.

Connie knew she was not going to just leave Britain when she finished. She could not really tell anyone why, because she really did not know herself. Something was calling her, for lack of a better word. She was meant to be here. Her destiny was here despite everything that was happening. Most of her Muggle Born friends would leave altogether. But she was determined to stay. She had applied for and was accepted into Healer training, but that would not start until the new year so she had six months without any real plans. Although it was a risk, she decided to live at home with her parents for now. The Death Eaters were attacking families of Muggle Borns, but it did not appear to be an organized plan. Living in the Muggle world actually seemed safer than the alternative, short of leaving Britain altogether.

Training as a Healer was one profession she had been interested in even before she began Hogwarts. She had learned they were like Doctors in the Muggle world. As she went through school she had also learned it was among the few professions that did not favor wizards or discriminate against Muggle Borns. Healer training required high marks in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration and Charms and at least passing NEWTs in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. They could not add other restrictions if they wanted qualified applicants and the profession could not lower its standards to favor "the right sort." Witches and Wizards seemed less concerned about parentage when they or their children were sick or injured. They wanted to be healed. St. Mungos had been the one place that had been safe from Death Eater raids. Although there had been some mysterious deaths there, those deaths had not been among members of the hospital staff.

She literally bumped into him in Diagon Alley a couple of weeks after she had finished Hogwarts in June of 1981. She had gone to the Alley on a day when it was heavily guarded. DMLE could not provide continuous security against attacks, but they could flood the Alley at announced times and days so that law abiding people could do their shopping in relative safety. Connie had gone there to stock up on her magical needs for the next several month until she was able to start Healer Training after the New Year. She was leaving the Apothecary when she ran right into him, dropping her packages. He helped her pick them up, apologized profusely and asked her to lunch as part of that apology.

He had been a boy three years ahead of her at school. She had first noticed him practically on her first full day at Hogwarts and she felt drawn to him in an odd way. It was not like a crush but something deeper, although neither would she say it was "love at first sight." After all, she was only eleven and a little young for that. Not that it really mattered. The boy was also in a different house, at least three years older than her and ran with a group of friends that she would rather avoid. They were not mean necessarily and certainly not to any Hufflepuffs she knew. But they would prank you as soon as look at you.

For those first four years, he had been the only boy who had her attention. He seldom ever spoke to her and even when he did it was only out of politeness. Oddly, this did not upset her even though she knew there were several reasons why it seemed that her interest in him was not reciprocated. Three years was a very big age difference. He was a Sixth Year when she first was old enough to visit Hogsmeade Village and she never thought he would ask her out and was not disappointed when he did not. During her Second Year, there had been a threatened Death Eater attack during such a visit and as a result the school was in virtual lock down until after she finished. No one was allowed to leave or enter the school grounds without permission from the Headmaster which meant that parents and others were also barred from attending the school Quidditch matches.

And then, three years after she had last seen him during her Fourth Year, here he was helping her pick up her packages and then inviting her to lunch for the trouble. She was a little leery of the invitation. He had a reputation at school about having a lot of girls, but none that he was ever serious about. Still, it was just a lunch, wasn't it?

Except that something happened. Lunch turned into an afternoon out in London proper which was safe according to him. He had just about finished Auror training after two years as a Hit Wizard and while he did not talk about that much, she got the idea that if he thought it was safe on the Muggle side, probably was as safe as it could be. The afternoon out was followed by a lovely dinner at a Muggle restaurant and then she found herself at his flat which was also in Muggle London. Before that day, she had never even thought she could give herself to a man that readily. In fact, she had been certain that such things only happened in books or to girls with issues or no morals. But to say that one thing led to another hardly did justice to what happened between them.

She had been a virgin when she woke up that morning; at least insofar as that meant she had never had sex with a boy. Her first time with a man she barely knew was beyond any description and it turned out he thought it was that way as well even though he could hardly be called inexperienced. He was from an old Wizarding family and immediately thought something magical had happened between them and he did not mean metaphorically. She felt she needed to be with him in a way she could not describe so the next day when he went off to the Ministry for a routine assignment, she spent her time moving into his flat. When he came home that evening, he had a piece of parchment with him. Something magical had happened the night before and he regretted he was not on good terms with his family because for once he felt in need of some of the rarer books out there. They had apparently completed a bond that could only happen if they shared a "magical compatibility" since birth and at least magically speaking they were as good as married.

"I don't know much about these things," he admitted. "Not something a proper family dwells upon, unless the couple in question is what they would've considered the right sort in any event. I know it's not something you can ignore when it happens. I'm thinking of going to see a relation who does not think I'm a disgrace to my family to see if he has any works on the subject."

Apparently, this relation did not but suggested a trip to France where such works were available. They left for France about four weeks after she moved in and found the works in question. The bond meant that they were magically dependent upon one another among other things. This was not as bad as it sounded, for it meant they were both somewhat more powerful than they would have been apart from the bond and there were other benefits magically speaking. Because of this interdependence and the fact that the bond could only form between a witch and a wizard, most magical societies considered a forming bond a binding marriage regardless of whatever other rules or laws they had on the subject. Even Britain recognized this, which was one reason why information regarding the potential of such bonds was restricted. After all one cannot help who it is they can bond to. If the other potential bondmate is "unacceptable" for whatever reason, that does not matter. Should the couple bond, it would invalidate any form of relationship that existed beforehand, to include other forms of marriage. Merlin forbid that a proper Pureblood should form such a bond with a Muggle Born.

Fortunately for Connie, while he was a Pureblood and possible Heir to an Ancient and Noble House, her bondmate thought the society rubbish about marrying the right sort was a form of socially approved incest as to marry "the proper sort" often meant marrying a cousin. His parents were cousins and those cousins he knew who were female, neither far too old or far too young and "the right sort" were the last women he would ever consider marrying – aside from one who ran off with a Muggle Born. She was the decent one of the bunch not that he saw here in that sort of way to begin with. She was seven years older for one thing and had two sisters he would rather never meet socially, although he was more than willing to deal with one in a "professional" manner. There was a younger cousin although still older than Sirius who had been "alright" before she started school. But that girl had turned into a bit of a snob and had married a man he also would only wish to deal with professionally. Connie knew he meant that the best thing that one could do for the Wizarding World was to drop dead.

He was not about to fight "what's meant to be." They married while they were in France. Apparently, France was taking advantage of the unrest in Britain and had very lax rules about a lot of things. The fees were a little stiff. But there would be none of the potential hazards associated with marrying openly in Britain and France also had a very liberal emigration policy that favored those who had some connection with France, such as having been married there. Then again, his family did own property there which made it easier. While neither of them were willing to be shot of Britain just yet, this was an option and they both agreed it was wise to have a plan if things ever really got bad.

They were married all of two months when he disappeared. She never believed the rubbish that appeared about him in the papers. She felt it was all lies and had to wonder whether it was her heart or their bond that was telling her that she was the only sane person in all of Britain when it came to him. She remained in their flat and had to delay her start at Healer training for a few years. Fortunately, she found she was not the only lunatic out there. There was an elderly man whom she learned was his paternal grandfather and the Head of House who also thought the common wisdom proved that the vast majority of witches and wizards in Britain were little more than gullible idiots. A couple of weeks after he went missing, the old gentleman appeared at her door. He had learned – with effort – that his grandson and heir had bonded to another witch. He was unapologetic about his general beliefs about society, beliefs that placed a Muggle Born like her as within an otherwise practically untouchable caste. But he also knew or believed that magic such as their bond cannot and should not be scoffed at or ignored simply because in conflicts with usual social conventions. He knew enough to know she was stuck in a way. The bond meant she could never marry another and her life was quite literally tied to that of her bondmate. He supported her – very quietly and certainly not lavishly – ever since and there was even a secret codicil in his Will that continued the support after he passed on in 1991.

And now, Sirius Black was back.

"So," Sirius said after learning about his Grandfather's role in things, "Grandfather just handed over a few Galleons now and then?"

"You don't believe me?" Connie replied.

"Actually, I do. If he was anything it was completely unpredictable. Spouted that Pureblood rubbish as if it came down from Merlin himself – which it didn't. Doubt even Sal Slytherin was that way back in the day. The really old accounts – ones you can't find at Hogwarts – paint a very different picture about the old coot. Grandfather knew that bit. I'm sure his Grandfather knew it too, but chose to ignore it as it was inconvenient."

"What bit?" Connie asked.

"Sorry. Got to get used to be sociable, I suppose. Got used to being with a group that was well read into such things. Right then. The common belief is that Sal Slytherin was opposed to Muggle Borns, right?"

Connie nodded. Everyone had been told that. It was a "fact" constantly referred to in Magical History.

"Wrong!" Sirius said with a smile. "Oh, he did have a bit of a falling out with the other Founders about Muggle Borns. They felt the Muggle Borns should get no special treatment whatsoever. Sal had very different ideas. Sal's idea was to take the Muggle Borns as soon as possible and have them raised in magical families, preferably while they were still infants so that they would have no memories of life without magic, thus making them no different than other magical children. The others were opposed to this on all sorts of grounds, not in the least of which being that the Muggle parents might not be so keen on losing their children as once magic manifests itself in a line, it tends to continue. There were also objections as to the mess it would make of inheritances as Sal would have those children properly adopted into those families which means they would have rights of inheritance and such. It's true he did leave the school because of the dispute about Muggle Borns and then a few generations later there was a Slytherin who publically called them abominations and such and it was from that descendant that the idea that it all began with Sal came to be.

"Anyway, the point I was trying to make was no one could truly predict what Grandfather would really do, especially about family."

Connie snorted. "I never got the feeling he really liked me. I don't think it had anything to do with my birth, rather it was that my Muggle family was not one of means. I had the impression he thought I might be … irresponsible with money. Odd that, considering a fair few Muggles born to wealth are the worst sort when it comes to managing money. But, you were the last surviving Heir and…," she faded off.

"Unpredictable," Sirius commented. "I was locked away and they seem to have forgotten there was a key. Twelve years in that pit! I can tell you that many don't last that long. Good as dead, wasn't I and yet he's still providing for you from beyond the grave as it were? You must've made some impression – not that I doubt that you could have. Made quite an impression on me, let me tell you. Told a few folks that one of the reasons why it seems to me that Azkaban did not affect me like it does so many others is I was miserable without any help from the staff. Bloody was stupid, wasn't I? Got chucked into the place without so much as a by your leave and conveniently forgotten by the powers that be since my freedom – it seems – would be terribly inconvenient for them. All the while all I could think was how I let all the people I truly care about down. At least I believed James and Lily were not suffering from my mistakes, but all the while I knew you were and there was not a bloody thing I could do about it! I wondered how you were doing all the time. I wondered if you were getting on with things or struggling to get by or what. Glad my Grandfather showed a little human decency. I mean, I may still have been Heir Apparent, but it was not like the line would continue through me, was it?"

"You sure about that?" Connie said with a mischievous grin.

"I think I would've remembered if my mistake that day had left you and our kid high and dry. I also think I would remember something about a kid. And so long as I was stuck in that place, there weren't going to be any future heirs by my doing."

"All of this presumes something," Connie said.

"What does it presume?"

"That you don't have a child."

Sirius snorted. "I'll admit that before you I was … less than careful about some things. But our laws don't favor bastards. Even if there's a hoard of little FitzSirius's out there, they can't become the next Lord Black; not that there are any. If there are any fruits of my loins, I am unaware of them and certainly have not recognized paternity."

"You honestly think your Grandfather provided me with support as your wife out of kindness? Probably not. As you say, he could be quite unpredictable. But it was not a lark, either. There was a very, very real justification for the support. Have you checked on the Black Estates since getting out? You know I can't, not really. But there are some things I know…"

"That was what that whole deal with Gringotts was about," Sirius nodded.

"Rather odd, isn't it?"

"What's odd?"

"You were not disowned as your mother would've wished."

"As I said, Grandfather was unpredictable about a lot of things."

"And there's been no provision for another heir…"

"My Godson was next in line. No need."

"Except as he is from a distaff line, other lines can challenge namely House Malfoy."

"Granddad would never allow a French usurper…"

"And yet the law would allow it if the Will didn't not expressly exclude that line, correct? I've seen certain bits of the Will, you should know; those bits relevant to me as the wife of the Heir Apparent and know that it assumes the line will continue from you. You notice that?"

Sirius nodded. "I suppose he was hopeful?"

"Did you ever know him to hope when something more concrete was available?"

"No. Bloody pragmatic bastard."

"So, the pragmatic thinking would be to assume that the Heir Apparent was not likely to leave Azkaban alive. Lord Black was around for ten years following your incarceration and was trying to do something about it and getting nowhere. You think he'd leave a little loose end like the future of House Black hanging on the off chance that you might get out and have an Heir?"

"What are you trying to tell me?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"He came around about two weeks after you got thrown into prison, Sirius. If you remember, the day that your friends were attacked, I had a scheduled appointment with a Healer. I didn't tell you why but…"

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"I was late!"

"Late for your appointment?"

"Are you being cute or has Azkaban really rattled your cage? Sorry," she added contritely. "I never thought I'd have the chance to tell you this so … well … I was late, late. Not late for my appointment, late for my time of the month."

"You were…?"

"I was. Was going to tell you the moment you got home," she sniffled. "Didn't think it would be almost twelve years later."

"What happened? How did it happen?"

"I don't have to tell you where babies come from, do I?"

"Um, no. Seem to remember that bit. Well, maybe not the specific bit but you know. Um… was there…?"

She nodded, "your daughter was born June 22nd 1982, Sirius."

"Daughter?"

"Not an heir, but enough to keep the line going even if …?"

"I have a daughter?"

Connie nodded. "We have a daughter, Sirius. She just started Hogwarts a few weeks ago. She's in Huffelpuff like me."

Sirius seemed to be silent for a while. "I missed it," he said. "Missed it all, didn't I? Does she know about me?"

"Not much," Connie admitted. "Your Grandfather thought it best given the circumstances to keep that information limited. He saw it as protecting House Black which he saw as vulnerable to outside forces were it known that he had a legitimate great-grandchild. I agreed that little should be said about how you came to be lost to us, but that was because I felt she would not understand at first and when she was older I didn't want her clinging to some false hope that maybe you would return. I was doing enough of that for the two of us. She knows the important things."

"Such as?"

"What kind of man you were and that we loved each other very much and that you would've loved her with all of your heart. Left out my belief that you'd probably have spoiled her rotten…"

"You can bank on that," Sirius chuckled through forming tears. "And I missed the best bit, didn't I?"

"Which bit?"

"The bit where she was Daddy's Little Princess and likely to worship the very ground I walked upon, right? Now she's almost old enough to see us adults as being less than perfect. Not that it matters with all that's happened."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been out of the picture for her whole life, haven't I? She wouldn't need me…"

"She may not need you. She's always been very independent for her age and probably would've given you fits for not being the Little Spoiled Princess even if you were there to try. But she would love to know her father. Don't forget, Siri … we are bonded. I can no more give you up than I can give up breathing."

Sirius snorted. "Seem to remember reading somewhere that the Bond is like that. We can't really give each other up." There was another long silence. "So … does she have a name or were you waiting to talk to me about it?"

"Course she has a name! It's Anna; Anna Nadine Fitzhugh."

"Your mother's maiden name?"

Connie nodded. "Another suggestion from your Grandfather. Our marriage was never registered here in Britain. Doesn't make it any less legal, but given the times he felt it was safer for her to grow up without the burden of the Black name. He suggested that name to make it even harder for anyone to make a casual connection. Your notoriety aside, Siri, she is in line to become Regent for an Ancient and Noble House and there might well be pressure from other families for her hand."

"She's too young for that rubbish."

"You know that rubbish is done even today, Siri."

"Not what I'd want for any of my children, to be honest. You didn't…?"

"No, I did not. To be honest, even your Grandfather balked at the idea seeing as there were not many suitable candidates out there. He suggested such a contract to me regarding your Godson right off. That idea died once he learned that Dumbledore was acting as his magical guardian. Your Grandfather didn't want that man exercising any control over House Black and feared he might just try and pull something to achieve that."

"He was not off on that," Sirius said. "Pretty sure Harry'd have issues with it as well all things considered. You did read about Harry's rather unique situation, didn't you?"

"Kind of hard not to, Siri. Aside from your trial, the present circumstances of the Head of Houses Potter is dominating most of the news. About the only paper or periodical that hasn't commented on it … in any detail much less the annoying detail that just about every other publisher seems to insist upon … is The Quibbler. Then again, it's not due out for another week or so."

"You can expect a fairly balanced report from that one considering the editor's daughter is one of Harry's wives. If fact, he might well have the most complete story of the lot; not that every detail will be published. He's agreed to make sure House Longbottom gets nearly the same degree and depth of story considering their similar circumstances. Can you believe my Godson is bonding with two witches?"

Connie shook her head. "I didn't know it was even possible."

"Neither did anyone else, it seems. There's no record of it in Britain before Harry and his friend Neville found themselves in that situation. No one's heard of anything truly similar elsewhere. Then again, the parents of the two lads had tried to set things up to give all the bonds the best chance to take hold. It's possible there've been others who shared compatible magic with more than one other person but never actually bonded with the others. I've been told that records about such things are not kept after the younger member of the couple reaches age thirty since there is no record of a bond taking place that late in life."

"I read the articles about that too, Siri," Connie said.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I was, after all, very interested in all of it seeing as your Godson is the reason I can finally have my husband back. I'd like to thank him for that."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Papers say that aside from that trial there's no reason to expect that Harry's going to have some kind of open house wherever it is he's staying. Where is he staying, by the way?"

"A place for which they have yet to divine a satisfactory answer to that question. You get them talking 'bout that and be prepared for a lengthy philosophical discussion with no conclusion at the end. Suffices to say he and his girls live in a trunk or at least they use the trunk to access where he lives. It's rather confusing."

"And that's where you've been living?"

"It's been a nice place all things considered. Certainly the company's been much more pleasant than I've been used to. It has the added advantage that no one can get there without the permission of the owner. Nice place to be when it seems that every witch or wizard with a wand either wants to run for it upon seeing you or hex you up permanent."

"Have you given any thought to your living arrangements since your trial?"

"It was on my list of things to do. To be honest, finding you was a higher priority than finding a place to live."

"And now that you've found me?"

"More like you found me," Sirius chuckled. "Either that or I just landed in the right place at the right time."

"Siri, I'm serious and no, I'm not you."

"They won't let me use that joke either," Sirius moped.

"So, now that you've found me," she said trying to get him to answer her question.

"I have a few ideas," Sirius nodded. "Some are not practical and all the good ones were based upon you being my wife again."

"It's the good ones I want to hear, Siri, since all I've wanted for myself since you disappeared was for you to come home to me again."

"You do know I never truly considered that flat my home," Sirius said. "Just a place to rest my head. Only became 'home like' when you moved in and to be honest it's not enough."

"Anna and I have managed quite well there all these years…"

"And you deserve better," Sirius replied. "I'd like a place where I can spend time with you and Anna and not worry 'bout folks popping 'round for tea or out of curiosity. I'd like a place that truly is ours and not some Black Family hand-me-down. You ever see any of those places?"

"No. Your Grandfather never invited me and I never asked."

"Depressing, the lot of them. I've had almost twelve years of depressing and am not about to add to it. I was thinking of something like … well like what Harry has. You're still in the flat?"

She nodded.

"Could use that as our place and then use Harry's means to access our real place. Plenty of room in a place like that and no neighbors to complain 'bout anything. Does Anna fly?"

"Not much opportunity for that in London."

"What's she like?"

"I really wish you could see for yourself, Siri. I think she's perfect, but I'm biased. It's a pity you had to get free while she was in school…"

"Somehow, that's not the problem you think it might be."

"Oh?"

Sirius then began to explain his ideas for getting to know his daughter, getting to know his wife again and for their future as a family in general.

**THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30****th**** 1993.**

Fortunately, there was time.

His employer wanted this done. It made little sense to him. But he was not inclined to question an employer's sense, only the feasibility and advisability of their outlandish schemes and this particular employer proved somewhat entertaining in his machinations. The truth was he found the employers ideas far more entertaining than the jobs he was hired to do. Naturally turning their odd notions into a reality was often an entertaining challenge in its own right. He was certain that if he thought about the morality of what he was often asked to do legally he might have some sort of crisis of conscious. He liked to think he had no conscious in that regard. Others might cross the line into truly illegal activities on behalf of their employers or stay well short of the line. He liked assignments that bent but did not break the boundaries and this was clearly such an assignment.

Still, he wondered what was so important about the object of his employer's ire. True, the boy was famous and had very recently made more than a bit of a splash in the papers. He recalled an old fairy tale he had heard as a child. This boy all but showed that the "emperor" had no clothes. But was that enough to build a case to revoke his emancipation? The argument cut both ways. On the one hand, the boy played the game like a professional and seemingly outmaneuvered men for whom such games were supposed to be second nature. On the other, the boy had quite nearly brought down the government. It was this latter idea that made what he was asked to do legally possible. A thirteen year old with that kind of power and the willingness to use it for his own ends clearly could not be trusted with adult responsibilities.

His employer wanted the emancipation revoked. He did not care about the details, just so long as the effort was both successful and would hold up to the public and political scrutiny that would surely follow. The boy clearly was a political menace. The Muggles had a term for him: a loose cannon. There was, of course, the issue of sympathy. He was an orphan after all and the Heir to a venerable and highly respected Ancient and Noble House. The Justice of the Underage Bench in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Civil Claims could hardly be ignorant of such things. But orphan or no, he felt he could paint the boy as someone who was clearly in over his head. It certainly helped that this boy was also married to four young women and believed to be legally betrothed to a fifth. While such marriages were legal, they were also unheard of and this was further proof of the boy's absolute reckless and arguably dangerous disregard for the norms of society.

Yes, it would be ugly. Ugly never bothered him. It would be legal and could be done which was all that mattered in the end. Well that and the amount of Galleons offered to see to it.

The second part of the employer's scheme seemed even easier on the surface. The recently emancipated Sirius Black had to be declared incompetent to handle the boy's affairs if the boy's emancipation was revoked. The man may have just been exonerated by the Wizengamot, but they were not likely to just hand over the keys to the Kingdom as it were. They had done the man one huge favor. Two would be pushing their magnanimity possibly beyond the breaking point. After all, it was not necessary for him to show that Black was a threat to the boy or the boy's Estate. All he needed to do was show doubt as to the man's ability to handle the boy's affairs and that might not prove difficult considering recent events and the convenient fact the man had been in Azkaban for close to a dozen years. It would not matter that he was innocent of any wrong doing. No one spent that much time in that place without suffering adverse effects; effects that could call into question his competence.

The third part of his employer's scheme was the easiest, assuming he succeeded in the first two parts. With Black disqualified as a guardian and as the boy's parents' Will had been declared invalid, a declaration that had never been challenged and now it was too late to do so, the Wizengamot would have little choice but to restore his employer to the position as the boy's magical guardian. True, it was conceivable that this could fail. Then again, it was conceivable that the world would end tomorrow: conceivable but not at all likely. The only way he could lose on this third task was if any challengers to his employer's petition could prove that his employer would not or could not possibly act in the boy's best interests. He seriously doubted anyone could so smear the reputation of Albus Dumbledore who had been Headmaster of Greater Britannia's premier magical school for almost forty years. No one was willing to take that leap into the realm of the ridiculous.

He was all but ready to proceed, but his employer told him to hold off. The Manor Court was still at the forefront of people's minds including the minds of the Justice of the Underage Bench and members of the Wizengamot. He agreed with his employer to wait. His case was by no means a certain success and so soon after the Manor Court the boy and Black could easily ride the wave of public sentiment that had flowed from it. But people's memories were surprisingly short. His employer wanted the emancipation revoked before the boy left school for the summer holiday and that was months away. That would give the public time to relegate the Manor Court and the story of Sirius Black to the status of ancient history.

That, and who knows what the next few months could bring? It was entirely possible that the boy and Black could well add to his list of reasons to find against them.

**FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1****st**** 1993**

For the students at Hogwarts including Harry and the Family, most of the events that had transpired in the larger Wizarding World since the Manor Court were virtually unknown. Harry and the Family learned about the attack on Sirius at the Ministry from Professor Lupin the evening after it occurred. Aside from that, if it was not reported in the Daily Prophet, they were unaware of an event that was beyond the walls of their school. Despite everything else that had happened to them, they were students and their primary responsibility was to learn. Hogwarts was different for them. After all, their living arrangements were quite different then they had been the prior year. But otherwise Hogwarts was Hogwarts and its dramas were more mundane thus far.

Aside from the Manor Court and the brief posting of scores of Dementors at the school, the drama for this year had unfolded on Harry's first day of Care of Magical Creatures when Malfoy had provoked a Hippogriff. So far they had not heard of anything from outside the school regarding that event. But it was clear that Malfoy was making a bid deal about it. Everyone who was there – aside from Malfoy's Slytherin cronies – knew he had suffered little more than a cut and maybe no more than a scratch. But he still walked about with his arm in a sling acting as if he was at risk of losing the thing if he had to use it.

This is the drama which led Harry to where he was now. He was in the Transfiguration Classroom following dinner. He was there with the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team as well as the other three House Teams, all four Heads of House, Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey. It appeared Malfoy was still trying to play up his scratch for some reason.

"I am sure that Professor Dumbledore would consider this an acceptable solution to this dilemma," Professor Snape said.

"He might well indeed," Professor McGonagall replied. "However, as you are no doubt aware Professor Dumbledore is in Europe tied up with the affairs of the ICW and has been since the beginning of this year. In his absence I am acting Headmistress and for such a matter that cannot be resolved before his next anticipated visit, I am the one who will decide what is acceptable under these circumstances."

"I am not sure that Slytherin can accept that," Snape continued. "After all, you are Head of Gryffindor."

"Are you questioning my impartiality?"

"Just pointing out the obvious fact that it is well known that your desire is for your House to win the Quidditch Cup."

"I won't deny that, Severus. But were I to make my decision based solely upon that factor, I would probably be inclined to accept your proposal without further comment. However, as Acting Headmistress I do have to take into consideration the fairness to all four Houses and, of course, the rules regarding our school Quidditch League which, I should remind you, are not concerned with situations such as the one which your House Team finds itself in."

"The rules are hardly fair…"

"They are the same rules that have been in effect since the game was first introduced at this school four hundred years ago and the same rules that apply to the professional leagues. It is not the fault of the rules or on my part that find your Team in what you believe is its current bind. It is not the fault of the rules or anyone outside of your House that your team fields no permanent reserve. And it is not the fault of the school that the Team's benefactor has placed conditions upon the use of those brooms.

"The first Match scheduled for next week will not be postponed! Matches have never been postponed before. As you are aware, I was not in favor of cancelling the Griffindor / Ravenclaw match last year simply because there had been another attack. We did not cancel matches during the War, and I saw no reason to cancel at that time. The current situation is not even in the same realm as the one we faced last year and I will not consider a postponement!"

"Perhaps, in that case, we could merely reschedule things?" Snape suggested. "Under the circumstances, might it not be better for Gryffindor to play one of the other teams while our Seeker recovers from his life threatening injury?"

For a moment McGonagall looked as if she might truly lose her temper. But she calmed herself down before saying anything.

"That might seem equitable from your team's point of view, Severus. I might also agree it would not place an undue burden upon my House Team. But the other two teams are not scheduled to compete until November. Professor Flitwick?"

"I defer to the Team Captain, Professor McGonagall."

"We've fielded three new starters, Ma'am," Roger Davies said. "This includes our new Seeker who cannot be ready by next Saturday. We haven't scheduled practices in anticipation of a Match so soon."

"Professor Sprout?" McGonagall asked.

"I believe we'd find ourselves similarly handicapped," Professor Sprout said.

"We've only had one practice since the close of team tryouts," Cedric Diggory said. "We don't have another one scheduled until a week from Monday."

"I'm sure arrangements could be made," Snape began.

"Indeed," McGonagall added. "Assuming any such arrangements are necessary. Madam Pomfrey, would you kindly tell us your evaluation as to Mr. Malfoy's infirmity?"

"There's nothing wrong with him physically or magically," Madam Pomfrey replied. "The injury is fully healed and has been since about five minutes after he arrived in the Hospital Wing a month ago. He continues to complain of pain, discomfort and weakness in the arm, but aside from his complaints – which mind you are inconsistent – there are no signs of any injury whatsoever. In my professional opinion, he's a malingerer."

"The bloody thing still hurts you …," Malfoy began.

"Silence!" McGonagall replied. "As you are well aware, Severus, because these Matches are attended by the public, particularly parents and family of the students but also including others such as Scouts from the Professional Associations, we cannot simply reschedule Matches for something as trivial as an injured player…"

"Sure didn't try and reschedule our last match with Ravenclaw two years ago when Harry was in hospital," Wood said.

"Proving there is recent precedent for not doing so," McGonagall continued. "Significant effort attends to preparing for any such match and both the school and those spectators from beyond our walls cannot easily adjust to a last moment change – and this is indeed a last moment situation."

"I still see no reason why one of the other teams cannot play in Slytherin's stead," Snape said.

"And I can see no reason why one of them should! We did not reschedule matches during the Dragon Pox outbreak back in the '70's even though it left two teams with fewer than four players healthy enough to play on the day of their scheduled match! As Mr. Wood said, we did not reschedule when Mr. Potter was injured. I see no reason to inconvenience another team and another House just because Mr. Malfoy believes he's too crippled to play. Perhaps, Severus, your team should seriously reconsider his continued tenure with the team."

"What?" Malfoy shrieked.

"Silence," Snape said this time. "You are the reason why we're in this bind!"

"The rules are clear," McGonagall continued. "There are no provisions that alter the scheduling or playing of a match merely because one team or another finds itself short players at the opening of the match or during the course of play. I see no reason why such rules and Tradition should be disregarded in this instance."

"The brooms," one of the other Slytherin players groaned.

"We ain't got our own ones," Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Captain complained.

"The brooms were accepted with the caveat that they could only be used if the benefactor's son was playing Seeker," Snape said with disgust.

"Not much of a gift," McGonagall said. "Particularly given the brooms in question. Be that as it may, your equipment issues are of no moment for there are brooms available from the school stock. Naturally, this assumes Slytherin does not maintain its own stock of standby brooms."

As there was no reply to this comment, McGonagall pressed on: "The rules are thus: the game counts should any team take the pitch at the scheduled time. If the opposing team should fail to field a player within the half hour following the scheduled start time, the game is declared a win in favor of the team which is present. There is no allowance for any undermanned team. Consequently, Slytherin will take the pitch next Saturday. Whether you play with a new Seeker or with only six players is your concern. If Slytherin fails to play, it shall be a forfeit and Gryffindor shall be credited with a win."

"But no points," Madam Hooch added. "The win counts towards the overall wins and loss record, but Gryffindor would not be granted a point advantage for the match for later consideration should there be a tie between Gryffindor and another team at the end of the season based upon wins and losses."

The players understood this. It was entirely possible that two teams could finish the season with identical 2-1 records (in which case the other two teams would have 1-2 and 0-3 records). To select the Cup Champion, the rules then looked to points scored versus points allowed. This was one situation where the 150 point scored by a Seeker catching a Snitch did not factor into things as the Points Scored would be the total points scored by the Team's Chasers during the season and Points Allowed would be the total goals allowed by the Team's Keeper during the season. Thus, were Slytherin to forfeit, Gryffindor would enjoy a 1-0 win/loss record for the year but a 0/0 points scored/points allowed record towards any potential tie.

"Surely an exception can made," Snape began.

"For such a triviality? I think not!" McGonagall said. "Dumbledore might have been more accommodating but in case it has slipped your notice, I am not Dumbledore. The rules are the rules and they do not provide for any exception in this case and I am not about to throw the entire Quidditch schedule for this year and the future into chaos to pander to a student who has had more than a month to recover from a minor scratch! Your team will take the Pitch next Saturday with or without Mr. Malfoy. I will not make an exception simply because your team might play with only six players or on school brooms. Aside from yourself, Severus, are there any objections to this from the rest of the staff?" No one said a thing. "It is decided, then. Meeting is over," she said standing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron said with glee as they entered the Gryffindor common room. "The Git didn't get his way."

"Been asking for it since he started," Fred added. "For once, Snape can't run to Dumbledore to cover for the little snot."

"The question is what will the Snakes do now that their little scheme blew up like a cauldron in Snape's class," Angelina added.

"My concern exactly," Wood said. "They might be more of a threat if they're on something other than those 2001's. We all know Malfoy's a mistake at Seeker. They went 1-2 last year no thanks to him since he was 0-3 for the Snitch. Their only win was against the Puffs when Diggory caught the Snitch while the Puffs were trailing by 170 points. They might have someone in the wings who can play Seeker."

"We've scouted their practices, Ollie, and you know it," Katie said. "They've only ever had those seven."

"Never know," Oliver replied. "But for now we play our game and that should be enough against that lot."


	43. Chapter 43: Harvest Time

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: HARVEST TIME**

**SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2****nd****, 1993.**

Harry had to work out a deal with Wood and wondered whether he had made a bargain with a Quidditch devil. He needed time – real time – to get on with this year's remaining big project, one which was not based upon any memory uncaps. It had to be on a weekend and, more importantly, on a weekend that did not involve a Quidditch Match or a Hogsmeade weekend. Below the Castle there still lay the remains of that Basilisk and thus far Harry had little time to deal with the thing. He had gone down just once with some Potter elves to check on the cave-in and to test a theory of his. He figured that once the elves were down in the Cave or the Chamber of Secrets proper they should be able to pop back and forth from there and the Trunk. This would mean he would not be needed to access the Chamber whenever they were down there butchering the carcass.

The experiment worked. The elves could easily pop in and out of the cave even if the entrance was sealed. For the last couple of weeks, they had been working on clearing out the cave-in and shoring up the cave to prevent any further collapse. Once that was done, he would be able to bring people down there both to see the legendary Chamber and, more importantly, to deal with the carcass. Specifically, this meant bringing Spidey and Mandy (aka Peter Parker and Amanda Crosby, once known as Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel) into the Chamber to instruct the elves on how to deal with the beast.

The problem was this had to begin on a weekend and that meant Harry had to deal with Oliver Wood. Wood wanted to spend hours each weekend they could practicing and Wood was not about to let something like a dead basilisks worth at least a small fortune to someone stand in the way of practice. It was obvious that being Wood's final year he wanted the Quidditch Cup more than anything and it was not like Harry to try and pay for a day or two off from practice. Malfoy might pull that sort of stunt, but Harry would not. Still, some kind of "bribe" was in order otherwise Wood was not about to cut the Team and Harry in particular any slack from his grueling practice schedule.

But Harry had just the ticket. It was the main reason why the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had been invited to attend Manor Court. For the foreseeable future, Saturday practices would take place at the Estate Pitch and under a day of Time Compression which freed up all but an hour on every real Saturday for the Team to pursue other interests. Naturally, it annoyed Harry when Wood suggested including Saturdays where there would be a Hogsmeade weekend or where Gryffindor was playing a match as well. Harry considered it a worthwhile if not annoying deal.

The plan for today was easy enough. Harry, Ron and any of the invited students who wanted "the full tour" of the Chamber would enter "the normal way" from the haunted girls' bathroom on the Second Floor. Those who were less inclined to jump into the bottomless looking pit and those whose presence in the Castle might raise questions would be brought in by elves once the group gathered in the cave. The group that now gathered outside the haunted bathroom now included Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Lupin, Peter Parker and Amanda Crosby from Hufflepuff, Neville, Astoria, Tracy, Sally-Anne and Susan, Ron Weasley and Harry, Hermione, Luna and Ginny. Hannah and Daphne had heard vivid descriptions of jumping down the plumbing and decided not to have that pleasure. The rest of Houses Potter and Longbottom would enter by elf as would three others: Harry's parents and Sirius Black. (Sirius had returned to the Trunk the night before and had yet to tell Harry about finding his wife.)

"Right," Harry said looking at the group, "looks like we're all here. Shall we?"

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall interrupted before he could open the door to the bathroom, "perhaps one of the ladies should go first to be sure that the room is not currently occupied."

"It's almost always occupied," Harry said. "Moaning Myrtle hangs around…"

"It has been known that despite that particular apparition, girls in desperate need will make use of this room."

"You're right, of course," Harry conceded.

"I'll go," Hermione said and was through the door before there could be any argument. "It's empty," she called back a few moments later, "at least of physical beings."

Harry led the group into the room. The nearly transparent figure of a girl in Ravenclaw Robes. "Hello Harry," she said somewhat cheerfully which surprised more than a few people. "Not getting into trouble again, are you?"

"Hello Myrtle," Harry replied. "Yes, no and maybe."

"An odd answer."

"Perhaps. Just taking this lot down the hole."

"You must not like them very much, then. It must be horrible down there."

"Was a bit creepy," Harry admitted. "And there was the monster last time, but it's dead now."

"Dead?"

"I killed it."

"Oh. I suppose that's why you left me. You're still alive." She sounded disappointed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Myrtle."

"Oh I'm not disappointed. Death isn't all that much fun, you know. Still, it would be nice to have a friend once in a while."

"She seems nice enough," Astoria said.

"When she's in a good mood she is," Hermione responded.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm moody," Myrtle huffed. "I was being teased at the time. Olive Hornsby was making fun of my glasses and it was my time of the month. Can you imagine? Perpetual monthlies?"

"Without the blood," Susan added.

"It's not as messy," Myrtle agreed, "but it's every bit as miserable."

"Do we have to talk about this?" Ron asked in a disgusted tone.

Myrtle let out a whimper and then a moan and flew off to dive head first into one of the toilets.

"Really have a way with the girls, don't you Weasley?" Tracy Davis said. Ron merely shrugged in reply.

"So where is the entrance?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Just over here," Harry said as he walked over to a sink. He hissed at it and the sink seemed to transform and disappear leaving a large hole in the floor where it had been.

"That is? You just say open and it does?" Neville asked. "Not much of a password."

"Except you have to say it in Parseltongue," Harry replied. "Right now you and I are the only ones who can open it."

"So, what do we do now?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Rather obvious, don't you think?" Ron said as he walked up to the hole and jumped in before anyone could say anything.

"It's safe enough," Harry added again before anyone could say anything. "Bit of a ride, though."

"Hey Harry!" Ron's voice called from below. "Looks like they cleaned up down here. I didn't even get covered with slime this time."

"Right, who's next?"

"I'll go," McGonagall replied.

"Professor McGonagall's next," Harry called down into the hole.

"Right then," Ron's voice replied as McGonagall leapt into the void.

"I figure ten second intervals or so should do," Harry commented. "That'll give the person at the bottom time to get up and out of the way of the next person. Who's next?"

It actually took several minutes for everyone to drop through the hole. After all, even in the Wizarding World jumping into a dark and seemingly bottomless pit is not something most people would consider doing and the fact that intellectually they knew it would be okay did not change that psychology. Some jumped in although most took their time, sat on the edge and with a lot of encouragement both from the ones still remaining and their friends down below eventually slid into the hole. Some laughed all the way down, some screamed and some were silent. Finally, all that was left was Harry and he simply jumped in.

Professor McGonagall was one of the ones waiting for him at the bottom. The pipe or tunnel or whatever the hole was emptied into a rather small space where another masonry tunnel headed off to join with a natural cave. The space was not large enough for all of them particularly if people were coming down the pipe so it appeared that Ron had moved some of them off into the cave.

"Mr. Potter, I seriously doubt Salazar Slytherin jumped down that hole to access his Chamber," McGonagall said. "As exhilarating as the drop was, I am forced to wonder how we can get back out were it not for elves. Surely there must have been a more civilized way to access this place?"

"Sorry Professor, wouldn't know," Harry said sheepishly. "Didn't really bother to explore the last couple of times. The first time I was down here it was a little intense to say the least and the last time was only to see if the elves could pop in and out without difficulty. Let's move off into the cave so those who chose a less exciting way of getting down here can join us."

Harry led her through the tunnel to the natural cave which was lit with Lumos charms from several wands. He called for Dobby who arrived almost as soon as he stopped saying the Elf's name and within a much shorter period of time the rest of their party was there as were about twenty elves who had volunteered to deal with the basilisk.

"I was expecting something a little more dramatic, to be honest," James Potter said after a few moments looking around. "Not much of a Chamber."

"This isn't the Chamber," Harry said. "It is what it appears to be: a cave. There's a stone door several meters in that direction that opens into the chamber."

"So what's this place for then?" Sirius asked.

"It allows access to a large pipe that goes up into the school," Harry said. "That pipe was how I got down here and how the basilisk got up there. Professor McGonagall suggested there might be another way up and I wouldn't be surprised if there was, but I didn't bother looking for it. Might do so now but not because we need to find it. It would be good to know about it 'though. Right then, this way and stick together."

They walked deeper into the cave. Harry was amazed at the things he noticed as they moved on, things he had not noticed before. Mostly it was the strange architecture of the cave which, thanks to Hermione had names although he was at a loss to remember which was which. One of them described columns of rock that grew up from the ground as lime was deposited from dripping water and the other described the pointy things growing down from the roof of the cave, again caused by lime deposits from dripping water. He had not noticed them before. He wondered if that was due to the fact that he only had one lit wand or whether it was because he was so focuses about what he was trying to do and so terrified about what was awaiting him up ahead. They came to one thing he did remember, a shed skin from the basilisk which drew gasps from just about everyone except Harry.

"That's one big snake," a voice said.

"Anyone know anything 'bout snake skins?" Harry asked.

"Why do you ask?" his mother asked in reply.

"Just wondered if they shrink."

"A little, but not much," a voice replied. Harry saw that it was Peter Parker.

"Are you saying the thing is larger that this?" a voice asked.

"'Bout twice as big," Harry said as if that were an everyday thing.

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed. "Twice as big?"

"Think so. We'll see for certain soon enough," Harry replied.

"I was somewhat doubtful," Sirius voice said. "Thought you might be exaggerating, but even if it's this big…"

"I can see now why you're not into pranks," his father said. "Life's been a little too serious for you."

"Not true," Sirius said. "I was, after all, detained until recently."

"I meant Harry, Siruis. A little too real then."

"Guess you could say that," Harry agreed. "The entrance is just a little further this way."

"I'm surprised it's so clean," Hermione offered. "With all the dripping, you'd think it would be covered in deposits – unless it's very recent of course."

"Even shed skin from those things is magical," Peter / Nicholas offered. "It's probably the reason why it's not covered in muck. Although the shed skin isn't nearly as magical or as valuable as the true hide of the basilisk which is practically worth its weight in gold. How much was the estimate?"

"'Bout a million sight unseen," Harry replied.

"Fair guess it's more than that," Peter / Nicholas said. "I doubt there's been a basilisk even the size of this skin in memory living or otherwise. You say the one in the Chamber's even larger."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Then again, I was a little keyed up at the time what with that thing trying to kill me and all. Maybe it just seemed bigger."

"The skin is plenty big enough if you ask me," Lily said. "No twelve year old should have to face such a monster much less my son!"

"I do have that nutter Voldemort after me," Harry said. "Truth is a basilisk is easier to deal with – once it's blinded of course."

"And how did you blind a thing like this?" Tracey asked.

"If he were Malfoy all he'd have to do is bare it all," Daphne said. "I know I'd go blind if I saw that."

"Okay, that's an image I don't need," Ron complained.

"He's not Malfoy," Hermione and a few others said.

"Truth is I didn't blind it. I had the help of a phoenix for that bit and the bit where it bit me … the basilisk I mean, not the phoenix. All I did was shove a sword in its mouth and through its skull."

"The basilisk bit you?" Lily cried in alarm.

"And the phoenix tears fixed it up pretty quick," Harry said. "And yes, I know it's not like one can expect a phoenix to gift you tears all the time. But it did and I was good as new."

"They're healing tears, Harry, not curing tears," Lily said. "You might be healed, but I'd be surprised if you're as good as new."

"Where did you get the sword?" James asked. "I'm pretty sure it's not on your list of school supplied and swords weren't standard issue when we were in school."

"The phoenix brought the Sorting Hat and Griffindor's Sword was in it or appeared in it or something," Harry shrugged. "I just shoved the thing down it's throat and it snuffed it, although I think I drove it through its brain to be honest."

"He makes it sound like it's an everyday sort of thing, you know?" Sirius said. "The 'all I did was give it a ham sandwich' sort of thing."

"Nah," Ron said. "More like the 'what else was I supposed to do? Ask it for a game of chess?' sort of thing. He doesn't say much 'bout those sorts of adventures really."

"Neither do you," Ginny said. "Not really, anyway."

"Aside from the troll, I was never really there at the end, was I? Got knocked out playing McGonagall's chess game First Year and was cut off when that ponce Lockheart nearly dropped the entire cave on top of us a couple months ago."

"He was trying to obliviate us at the time," Harry commented.

"Yeah. Everyone at school knew my old wand was dodgy – 'cept him, of course."

"What were you doing with a dodgy wand at school?" Lily asked.

"It wasn't dodgy at first," Ron replied. "Worked well enough once I figured out what to do – not always as easily said as done and no comments Hermione! Anyway, I kind of almost broke it at the beginning of last year…"

"And you didn't get a new one right off?"

"Wasn't about to tell Mum about the wand then, was I? I already had a record howler from her for crashing my Dad's flying car into the Whomping Willow. That's how I broke the wand in the first place."

"You crashed into the Whomping Willow?" Remus asked.

"Not on purpose," Ron replied. "Thing just went all dodgy all of a sudden and I tried to get it to stop but it didn't work and my wand nearly snapped in two. You'd think a tree that can move like that would dodge."

"A flying car? Where'd you get the flying car?" Lily asked.

"Was my Dad's. We used it earlier that summer to get Harry away from his relatives and as we couldn't get onto Platform 9 ¾ that year, Harry and I flew it to school."

"You flew it, Ron," Harry countered. "I was just along for the lift."

"Turns out the flying part's easy enough. Landing 'though…"

"You crashed it into the Whomping Willow?" Sirius asked this time. "Must've done a number on that tree."

"Actually, I think the tree did more of a number on the car, to be honest."

"What was that about a Troll?" James asked. The truth was unless it came up in conversation, Harry had not told them much detail about his adventures at school.

"Oh that. Not much really," Ron said. "We think Professor Quirrell let it in. He was possessed by You-Know-Who at the time, you know. Did it as a diversion of some kind. Anyway, we were all sent back to our dormitories – it was during the Halloween Feast, you know. Harry remembered that Hermione was off somewhere and didn't know 'bout the Troll so he went off after her and I went along. Locked the smelly bugger in a girls' loo and thought that was it … 'til we heard Hermione scream. She was in there, you know. So we rush in and Harry jumps on the thing's back and jams his wand up its nose…"

"It's not like I knew a whole lot of useful spells at the time," Harry admitted. "But it kept the troll from having another go at Hermione."

"…and I managed to do the Levitation Charm Flitwick had taught us that morning. Couldn't get the feather to jiggle at all then. But I was able to levitate that thing's club for a bit. Dropped it on the thing's head and knocked it out."

"What made you think to do that?" Flitwick asked.

"Harry said it," Ron replied. "It's not like I knew a lot of useful spells. The thing was trying to have a go at Harry and he told me to do something and it was the first thing that popped into my head."

"I believe I said something similar then. You're lucky it worked," McGonagall said.

"As I recall, you were having difficulty with that spell," Flitwick added.

"Wasn't really thinking 'bout it at the time," Ron shrugged. "It seems I do better when I'm not thinking 'bout it. Pity I can't not think about it all the time."

"You know," Sirius said, "you father and the lot of us thought we had adventures when we were here. You've been here what? Two years? It makes our time seem quite pedestrian."

"I'd rather have pedestrian, thank you," Harry said. "Nearly snuffing it a couple or so times a term isn't a lot of fun, you know."

"Let's move on before there's another one," Neville suggested.

They soon reached a stone door that seemed carved into the wall of the cave. It was closed and covered with reliefs of snakes.

"This is the entrance to the chamber proper," Harry said.

"What's with the snakes?" Parvati asked.

"It seems Slytherin had a thing about them. He's got whole columns of them inside, not to mention that basilisk."

"Did you close it?" Ron asked.

"Don't think so," Harry admitted. "Maybe it closes with magic or something."

"Doesn't seem to have a handle," Neville noted. "How do you get in?"

"Same way I opened the sink up top."

"Really? That simple?" With that Neville hissed something at the door and the snakes seemed to move for a bit before the door opened outward. "Guess it was that simple," Neville commented. To everyone's surprise except Harry, there was light coming from the Chamber.

They entered and the Chamber was indeed lit by what looked like torches in sconces on every other column. As Harry had said, the columns had a very obvious snake motif, basically a coil of intertwined serpents stretching to the ceiling, their heads forming a capital of sorts. There were two rows of these odd columns on either side of a wide area not unlike the nave in a cathedral extending into the distance. At this point, no one could see the basilisk.

"Creepy," Ron commented.

"Shadows are moving," someone else said.

"It's the flames from the torches," Hermione said. "They don't burn steady like candles so the shadows move."

"Almost snake like," Tracy added.

"Probably the idea," Harry agreed.

"Who lit these torches?" Astoria asked.

"No idea. They were lit the last time I was down here as well. I wonder why they haven't burnt out."

"Gubraithian Fire," Hermione said. "It's a magical, everlasting fire. If not that, it's probably something very similar."

"Where'd you hear 'bout that?" Ron asked.

"Read it in a book over the summer," Hermione replied.

"So where's this basilisk?" Sirius asked.

"At the far end," Harry replied. "It's near the statue of the ugly head."

"The what?" several voiced asked.

"There's a huge, ugly, bearded head at the far end of this place. It's mouth can open. That's where the basilisk was kept apparently. This way." He led them down the open area.

"Reminds me of a church," Sally-Anne said, "or a temple of some sort."

"Git probably worshiped himself," Ron offered.

"Or hoped others would worship him in time," Neville added. "Didn't work out that way."

"I think Tom Riddle did," Harry said.

"Who?" several voices asked.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Harry replied.

"He was Head Boy back in the forties," Ron added. "Got an award for Special Services to the School back then. I know 'cause I cleaned the ruddy thing over and over again fall term last year during a detention with Filch."

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"Does it really matter?" Ron replied.

"So who's this Riddle character?" Susan asked.

"He was a student," Harry replied. "He made the diary that Malfoy Senior slipped to Ginny at Diagon Alley before the start of last year and it was that diary that caused her to open this chamber. His father was a Muggle. Don't know anything 'bout the mother although it seemed he didn't like his father all that much. Anyway, you rearrange the letters in his name and it says: 'I am Lord Voldemort.'"

"You're kidding," Tracey said. "The epitome of the Pureblood Supremacists was at best a Half Blood?"

"So it seems."

"What a bunch of hypocrisy!"

"Aside from themselves, no one ever said they were right about anything," Sirius added. "My parents were huge supporters. Then again, I'm convinced my mother was insane and my father had no backbone as far as I could see. Most of those who joined his cause were either Pureblood social outcasts, spineless wonders who wanted to feel important, wizards who could not get a job as the Village Idiot and psychopathic maniacs. It was hardly a reflection of our best and brightest. Don't get me wrong. They were a dangerous lot. They believed they were in the right and because of that could do whatever they wanted. Give them leave to cast unforgivables and you have a real problem."

"There it is," Harry said. Everyone stopped and looked. They could now see the statue of the "ugly head" at the far end of the Chamber. At its base was a large, black, snake like object. There were more than a few gasps and a couple of whimpers.

"Bloody hell, Mate," Ron exclaimed, "it's huge!"

"You faced that a couple of months ago?" James asked.

"It was blind," Harry said trying to down play the whole thing.

"It could've crushed you just as easily," his mother said.

"Thing must weigh more than a ton," Remus added.

"And I thought you were exaggerating when you said it was about sixty feet long," Sirius began.

"Seventy-two and change," Peter / Nicholas said. "Measuring Charm," he added with a shrug. "A little over four-and-a-half across the middle. I'd put it at closer to three or four tons."

"Doesn't really look dead," Neville commented. "It's not decayed at all."

"It's the magic," Peter / Nicholas said. "Until the magic fades completely, natural decay is not possible. Same's true with dragons. You said the Goblins estimated a million?"

"Something like that."

"If they only give you a million for this, you're being robbed. Then again, maybe not."

"Okay, why do you say that?" Lily asked.

"Well, these beasties are quite rare and never this big. If the Goblins tried to sell it quickly, they'd drive the prices for this sort of stuff way down."

"My understanding is they intend not to do that," Harry said.

"It'll keep them in basilisk stuff for decades and maybe longer if they try to keep from depressing the market. But that's their business, I suppose. Is that million firm?"

"Haven't signed the paperwork or anything like that," Harry said. "Why?"

"I'd try to get more. The hide alone is at least that much. It comes in four layers, you know. Each layer is at least as good and useful as dragonhide. But the outer most 'live' layer – that's the one that's not just about to be shed – it's even better. You can temper it."

"Um … what's that mean?"

"Harden it magically. It can be tempered to be almost like steel but flexible like leather. It's been used in some types of armor in the past, but never a full suit 'cause there was never enough of a basilisk to make a full suit. This one? Several suits at least. Use an inner layer for an undergarment and you're looking at the best magical armor ever made. Each such set would be worth a fortune on its own. Then there's the other bits. The fangs have their uses, although ones that big are probably wasted on potion ingredients. You could make some terrifying daggers with them. The venom is expensive stuff and this one probably has quite a bit of that. The blood may have uses as well assuming it didn't bleed out…"

"Don't see any on the ground."

"There was a lot of water in here," Harry said. "It might've washed away."

"We'll see once we get to the task," Peter / Nicholas said. "The meat's no use to us, but Goblins consider it a delicacy. They'll pay through the nose for that. We'll need some sharp knives … very big ones …"

"What for?" Ron asked.

"To cut it up."

"Won't a cutting charm do the trick?"

"Thing's resistant to most all magic. To butcher it, you can't use spells and if the magic has faded to the point where spells will work, then it's not worth nearly as much. Knives work."

"You ever butcher a basilisk?" James asked.

"Been around nearly seven hundred years, haven't I? I've had quite a few jobs over the centuries. Spent thirty years as a magical skinner back in the Sixteenth Century and carved up a couple of these beasties – although they were mere hatchlings compared to this monster. Also know how to temper the outer skin, but I can assure you I don't think anyone has ever done one of this scale before. You'd better get at least a million for it, Harry, and probably more. I'd recommend dropping the goblins a note and setting a price for the bits now. Don't mention exactly how much there is here but get them to commit to buy it by the pound or cup or square foot depending on what we're talking about. Set the price and then unload it on them. Otherwise, they'll try and get it for a steal. While Goblins are generally honest, they are businessmen and will try and cut the best deal they can. I also recommend we keep a fair bit of the outer skin and one of the inner layers. As I said, makes wonderful armor and the more we keep for our own use, the less can fall into the wrong hands. Two layers of this beastie will be quite the haul as it is."

Harry was silent for a moment. The truth was, he really did not need the money. His plan was to keep anyone else from getting their hands on this thing and using it for their own purposes. Still, there was a part of him that did not want to be a pushover. He seemed to get on with the Goblins but he knew this was because he had been a sharp dealer. True, they were intermediaries and not really the other side of the transactions. But he had learned that if you appeared weak to them they would take advantage. "Makes sense. Should I give them an estimate?"

"Be vague. Get them to commit to the price they'll pay. If they think it's anywhere near this large…"

"I told them it was pretty big."

"And they probably think you were exaggerating. They won't give you a million sight unseen and will try not to give you anywhere near that amount for the whole thing. But if they commit to a fair price for the bits and pieces – and they probably will in the end – you could easily clear that and a lot more. They won't like it one bit, but they will respect it. You'll be a player in their eyes."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Means they won't think they can walk all over you like they think they can with most wizards … and usually do, by the way," Flitwick said. "You really killed this thing?"

Harry nodded.

"Too young," Lily said. She had been mumbling over and over and now spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Young or not, the Goblins will see him as a Warrior of the highest order and a keen businessman," Flitwick said. "They revere both in their culture although it is exceedingly rare that one is truly both."

"Why did it have to be Harry?" Lily asked. "He's too young to have to do this."

"'Cause my sister'd be dead if we did nothing," Ron said. "No one else had a clue about what this was or where to find it, it seemed."

"What about Dumbledore?" Lily asked. "I don't trust him with a lot of things, but he is Headmaster and…"

"And he was sacked at the time," Harry said. "When this thing petrified Hermione and that Clearwater girl, Malfoy Senior got the rest of the Board of Governors to give him the sack. He came back when Ginny was implicated for some reason."

"Not that it matters," Ron said. "You need to speak Parsletongue to get down here, right? Pretty sure Dumbledore can't. We didn't know Neville was one too so it was Harry or nobody and my sister'd be dead were it not for Harry. That coward Lockheart was more than willing to let that happen, you know."

"Mrs. Potter," McGonagall said, "as ashamed as I am to admit it, we were at a loss as to what was going on. If Dumbledore knew we were dealing with a basilisk, he kept it to himself and he seemed genuinely surprised when he learned that. After all, the students who had been attacked had been petrified, not killed and petrification is not associated with these things at all…"

"We figured it had to do with the fact that not one of the victims truly looked it in the eye – aside from Myrtle up there in the bathroom and she did that fifty years ago when Riddle opened this Chamber up," Harry explained. "All of them only saw a reflection or caught the gaze through something. Filtch's cat saw it reflected in standing water in the corridor that night. Colin saw it through his camera lens. Justin had a ghost between it and him and Hermione and that Clearwater girl saw it in a mirror Hermione was using to look around corners. No one truly looked it in the eye. Come to think of it, I might've only been petrified had it not been blinded."

"Why do you say that?" McGonagall asked.

"There's not much difference between glasses and a camera lens, is there? Of course, I'm not about to test that idea."

"Makes our adventures look pedestrian," James said after a pause.

"Doesn't look like an adventure, mate," Sirius said. "This is truly the stuff of nighmares."

Ron snorted. "No. That was earlier. This is just a huge scary snake."

"What's worse?"

"A forest full of spiders – huge ones – bigger than a dog ones."

"Okay, what're you on about?"

"Acromantulas," Harry said. "Hagrid suggested there was an answer of sorts to this puzzle in the Forest. Told Ron and me to follow the spiders which we'd seen fleeing the school."

"We did all right. That was a nightmare!" Ron said. "Hagrid had this pet one once when he was at school. He let it go into the Forest. It's still there! The thing's huge! Size of my dad's car at least! Bloody thing had hundreds of children and was more than willing to let them have a feed … on us! Don't like spiders – especially big ones. Then again, I always thought bigger than my thumb was a huge one…," he concluded with a shudder.

"We're dealing with them," Luna said. "When we first met with House Longbottom it came up. Padma knew about these insects called Ardites that keep Acromantulas from getting out of hand in their native range. It turns out the Ardites like to lay their eggs on large Acromantulas and when their young hatch, they burrow into the spiders and eat them. We got some and released them into the forest over the part where the Acromantulas live. When the Ardite eggs hatch, it will be a plague on those creepies."

"So they'll be gone?"

"The big ones will be in time," Padma replied. "Little ones will still be around, but they're not as dangerous. Once they get big enough to be dangerous to more than just other insects or mice or such, they'll attract Ardites."

"Definitely make our adventures seem pedestrian," Sirius said.

"To be honest, I wish my adventures were only that," Harry sighed. "Something seems to think otherwise."

"Not to seem greedy, but what's my cut again?" Ron asked after a long silence.

"There's a mood changer," James said.

"You're thinking about money?" Hermione asked incredulous.

"Hey! It beats thinking about giant spiders and nearly snuffing it each year!"

"It all depends on how much we get, Ron," Harry said. "You get four sevenths of four tenths of whatever the total is."

"Not much help."

"That's 228,571 Galleons if we get a million even."

"Bloody hell!"

"'Course, most of it will probably be in a trust 'til you're seventeen."

"Way to spoil the dream, mate."

"But that'll generate 20,571 per year in interest which you can spend as you wish…"

"Dream's back on. Never knew I'd ever see that kind of money. How'd you figure that out?"

Harry shrugged. "I knew you'd ask. Did the maths last night just in case."

"Hey guys? Over here!" Neville's voice called out. Harry followed the voice for it seemed that Neville and a couple of his girls had wandered off.

"What're you going here?" Harry asked.

"Well, I saw the dead snake and you did say you never had a chance to explore. I found something."

"What?"

"Stairs going up."

**SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9****th**** 1993**

Harry had sent out a letter to Gringots that weekend asking for their offers. He asked for their offering price for each pound of meat, ounce of venom, cup of blood, cubic inch of tooth, square foot of skin by layer and so on. He was told not to take their offer as final and to counter offer at a higher rate and negotiate to a price somewhere in the middle. The Goblins would respect that. It was not as if he'd be in a position to sell for a time as it would take time to butcher the snake using only knives. He was told to figure that it might be two weeks before he could truly complete the sale for even a first shipment of snake bits. The butchering was only part of the preparation. If the elves also performed the preservation and initial preparation, the bits were worth even more and Harry agreed to do that as well. But a week later, as letters moved back and forth regarding the price, he had two other things on his mind. The first was Quidditch.

Slytherin had decided to play after all. Malfoy, on the other hand, still claimed to be too hurt and had not and the team took to the pitch without their Nimbus 2001's. They still lost. They found someone to play Seeker but their replacement was about as useless as Malfoy had been. The only reason it was a match at all was because the weather was terrible. Harry had that sense of déjà vu about the weather. Something told him it would be pouring rain and cold and dark and no fun at all and he was not disappointed.

The Slytherin team played on lesser brooms and were almost evenly matched based upon brooms. Harry's Nimbus 2000 was still the best broom on the Pitch although that was of little use if he could not find the Snitch and until Hermione thought to place the Impervious Charm on his glasses (and he had another sense of déjà vu), he could barely see the end of his broom. Still, seeing clearly through his glasses did not mean he could see clearly through the rain so it was a long time before he even caught a glimpse of the Snitch. Gryffindor had a comfortable lead by then despite Slytherin's attempts at "unsportsmanlike conduct." It turned out their usual brute tactics did not work nearly as well in driving rain and high winds so most of their efforts were useless. They did a good job keeping Wood away from the goals when they had the Quaffle but not one of them thought about using a sticking charm so they dropped it as often as not and soon refused to pass at all lest their teammate drop it as well.

The game was long and miserable. Sirius was in the stands as were Harry's parents and Hermione's for that matter. In fact, all of the families of House Potter and Longbottom with access trunks were there for a time – until it seemed that Gryffindor had an insurmountable lead (310-90) and they decided that getting out of the weather was a better idea. Only Sirius and Harry's parents stayed to the end when Harry finally caught the Snitch after almost four hours of misery. In fact, when the match finally ended there were few left in the stands to see it the weather was that bad (and the game that one sided). Ron and Ginny wound up playing the final hour and more. Wood was soaked through and shivering so bad that he was sent off to the Hospital Wing and Ginny played allowing the other three Chasers chances to get out of the rain for a bit, dry off and warm up again.

"Wasn't as good as Wood," Ron said in the common room after the match drinking hot chocolate. "Still, it was brilliant. Had a few good saves. Let's see … thirty-three saves for eleven allows in that mess out there? Not too bad. You were brilliant, Gin. Ten goals and nine assists?"

"Might've been more. Couldn't see a thing half the time," Ginny said. "It also helped that by the time I took the pitch that lot was knackered."

"You both did well," Angelina Johnson said who stepped in as "Captain" when Wood was ordered off the Pitch. "Real well considering the conditions, it was your first Match and it was against Slytherin."

"And the best bit is Wood's still laid up in the Hospital Wing," Fred added.

"Otherwise, we'd be getting a play-by-play recounting of the match…"

"Wherein our illustrious leader and Captain…"

"Would point out every mistake we made…"

"Regardless of the score."

"But it was a blow out!" Ron complained. "It was 480 to 210 before Harry caught the Snitch!"

"He'd find something we might've done better," Katie said. "He always does. Guess that's why he's the Captain."

"Worse this year, I fear," Alicia added. "We should've won the Cup the last two years but Harry was in Hospital two years ago for our last match and you know it was cancelled last year. Wood's obsessed with winning the Cup. But Angelina's right. We can tell him not to worry too much 'cause we've got two strong Reserves."

"A 270 point advantage from one game? That should count for something," Ron said.

"Wood doesn't want to worry about points," Angelina said. "We win the next two matches and points don't matter at all and he wants to win those matches."

"He's a bit obsessed," Alicia said.

"Look," Ron said, "I'm not saying we can't win those matches or whatever. I'm just saying we did well."

"We did. But Wood wants more than just doing well, he wants the Cup."

"And we're just letting you know he's gonna point out whatever it is we didn't do as well as we could've or should've," Katie said. "He always has."

"What's to point out?" Ginny asked. "The weather was horrid. No one could play well in it and we clearly played better than they did."

"He'll find something to harp on us about," Harry said speaking for the first time. "Don't get me wrong. Wood's a good guy and a good Captain and most the time if he says you didn't do something right, you didn't. There might even be a good reason why you couldn't. Even catching the Snitch doesn't spare me. I didn't see it this time or that and he did. I missed his cue to me to where it was. I was moving too little or too much. He just wants the best from us and we do try to deliver but it can be a little annoying at the time."

"Especially seeing that we've never lost with Harry at Seeker – when he played of course," Katie said, "and we've never trailed in points after the first five minutes of play … not with our line and Wood before the hoops. We had a hundred-twenty point advantage in the one game we did lose when that Donaldson caught the Snitch year before last. Our plan was to get an insurmountable lead and we almost had. He got lucky. We know it, he knows it, Wood knows it. Still, we did hear about it from Wood afterwards even though we all knew our replacement at Seeker was all mouth and no ability."

"You make it sound miserable," Ron said.

"Well, it's different than watching a Match, that's for sure," Fred said.

"It's the price we gladly pay," George said.

"For Hogwarts Quidditch greatness," Fred added.

"Which would be ours but for bad luck," Alicia finished for them.

Ron nodded. "Thought for certain Malfoy wouldn't have the stones to skive off after that meeting week before last," he said hoping to change the subject.

"We'll never know for certain," George said.

"Oh? Didn't see him on the pitch, did I?"

"Couldn't," George said. "He's in the Hospital Wing."

"Claiming his arm's still maimed, no doubt."

"Um … broken, more like," Fred said.

"It was only a scratch!"

"Ah… That prior injury was."

"Not the new one," George added

"New one?" Harry, Ron and Ginny asked in unison.

"Yeah. Happened this morning. He said some rather rude things about what he wanted to do to Harry's Daphne."

"Most unfortunate a couple of our valiant Fifth Years overheard."

"They decided he really needed a lesson…"

"So they gave him one…"

"And hit him in the family tackle…"

"With a mild bludgeoning hex."

"Considering what he was suggesting, a prudent move."

"What did he say to Daphne?" Harry asked angrily.

"Nothing," George said.

"She wasn't around."

"Then why…?"

"'Cause we don't like snakes talking that way 'bout a fine addition to Gryffindor such as Daphne."

"Or about our Seeker and good friend's lovely wife," Fred added.

"Little ponce needs to learn she's off limits."

"Little ponce needs to learn you say or think the wrong thing and you can expect consequences."

"You broke his arm?" Ginny gasped.

"Technically," Fred began.

"It was one of the steps he bounced into," George added.

"One of many on that staircase he fell down…"

"After one of us…"

"And we won't say which one…"

"Hexed him in the family tackle."

"Of course, if he had been smart…"

"Which is asking more from him than can be expected…"

"And had waited several minutes…"

"Before trying to walk down those stairs…"

"He might not've fallen in the first place."

"Of course, the lot of them seem to be thick that way," George said.

"Yep. The bloke he was talking to was just as dumb."

"But he bounced better…"

"Banged up but not broken."

"Had to hex him too for encouraging the ponce."

"You guys didn't get into trouble, did you?" Ginny asked.

"No one saw us."

"Not even the two idiots."

"I'm allowed to enjoy that, aren't I?" Ron asked. "Maybe even gloat a bit?"

"Leave our names out of it," Fred said.

"And enjoy it to your heart's content, little bro."

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993**

Anna Fitzhugh was a first year Hufflepuff. She had grown up mostly in the Muggle world – or at least that's what she said to her peers. Her mother was a witch which she had learned only recently when she received her Hogwarts letter. She had attended Muggle Infants and Primary school in London and had grown up in that world except for the fact that her mother would not allow her not to believe in magic. She had been skeptical about magic and fairytales when she grew older and her mother did tell her that they were made up … to a point. Needless to say, she and her mother had a long talk once she got her letter from the odd owl.

She asked why she was not told this before and was told about the Statute of Secrecy and how long ago witches and wizards around most of the world – or at least Europe and the Middle East – chose to hide all truth about magic from the rest of humanity. This was mostly for their own protection. She learned that while their gift could be wonderful, there were Muggles who feared it and refused to understand it. It probably was not as bad as it once had been and as compared to a lot of places in Europe, England had not been that bad. But there were far more Muggles than there had ever been witches and wizards and over time they grew to be powerful in their own ways and not just by virtue of numbers. Add the fear, religious issues and other things to the mix and there certainly was a time when there were powerful Muggles who wanted to end magic. And so magic chose to hide away for their own protection.

She asked about why, if they were magical, they were living as if they were not. Weren't there other witches and wizards out there? Did they hide from each other as well? Why would they have their own school and then live as if magic did not exist? It was then her mother told her about a terrible civil war in the magical world. She was born to non-magical parents and grew up as a non-magical child as well up to the day she got aboard the train that took her to a magical school in Scotland. It had seemed very exciting at the time. But it had been at the height of this terrible war and she had gone into hiding in part because her husband, Anna's father, had fought in that war and had made enemies. Most witches and wizards could not function outside of their world unless they had grown up in the Muggle world so, oddly, it was easy to hide from them simply by crossing over into the Muggle World and living as a non-magical would. She had chosen to do this because Anna's father was important in that world. He was their equivalent of a Peer of the Realm, or at least what a Peer once had been. This meant his daughter was important as well since she was all that was left of that line and Anna's mother preferred to keep that aspect of that world at bay as long as possible.

Anna had been told that her mother had lost her father for as long as she could remember. Her mother never said exactly how this had happened, only that it had. Anna learned it was best not to ask. It did not make her mother angry to ask. But her mother never answered beyond saying it really was not important how he came to be lost to her, just that he was. It was clear to Anna from an early age that losing her father had made her mother sad and it sometimes hurt to remember the times before he had become lost. It was also clear to Anna later that her mother still loved the man who had become lost. This was a story from her life before Hogwarts she had yet to share with her classmates if for no other reason than that she did not really know all that much about her father.

None of this entered her mind that morning when she sat down at her House table with her friends for breakfast. None of it entered her mind at all when one of the Prefects handed her a note from her Head of House telling her she was to go to the Transfiguration Classroom immediately following her breakfast. The truth was, she had no idea why Professor McGonagall would want to see her or why Professor Sprout seemed insistent upon it. As far as she knew she had not done anything wrong and she was not aware of students being asked to see the Deputy Headmistress just for a friendly cup of tea. In fact, she was not aware of any other students – aside from Gryffindors – being called in for a chat with the Transfiguration Professor. Needless to say, she was worried about what this was about. But she was not about to try and avoid the request figuring that would be even more trouble than it was worth.

Nervously, she entered the classroom. There she saw Professor McGonagall and her own head of House Professor Sprout and the last person she expected to see…

"Mum?" she asked.

"Ah," Professor Sprout said, "I see you got my note! And I am pleased I did not have to release the hounds to bring you here."

"Professor?" she asked.

"An expression," she replied. "You would be amazed at the reluctance some students have to attend such a summons."

"Um … I suppose. Wh-what's going on? I haven't done anything!"

Professor Sprout laughed. "No, no, Miss Fitzhugh. So far as we know you have not. Then again…"

"Pomona," McGonagall said.

"You're right, of course Minerva," she replied. "No dear, there is nothing wrong and you were not called here for something you may have done or may have seen. Your mother asked for this meeting and … well, certain aspects of her request require Professor McGonagall's assistance although not truly in her official capacity…"

"This is a family matter," her mother said.

"Family?" Anna asked. "Is … is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing at all. Your father has returned and we are going to see him."

"But … but I thought he died!"

"And why would you think that?"

"You said he was lost at the end of the War and we couldn't see him!"

"I always said that, didn't I?"

Anna nodded. "I thought it meant he was dead," she said meekly.

"It didn't. It's hard to explain quickly, but had he died I would've known about it. Had he died, I would've died as well. There is a magic between us which binds our lives and magic together such that we cannot live without the other. Back then, I thought it meant something like cannot live apart. That magic can mean that, you know. But we were old enough where it didn't work like that so as long as he lived, I would live and the same worked the other way as well. So I knew he was alive."

"But you said he was lost! Did he leave us?"

"No. That I can assure you. Or at least he did not intend to leave us or me – he did not know about you when he became lost to me. He was in a place where I could not follow and from where he could not leave…"

"Sounds like death to me."

"Some would say it is a death of sorts. He probably would having been through it. But he was alive and he has left that place and returned and wants to meet the daughter he never knew he had…"

"Um…," she stopped. She looked at her mother for a clue as to what to expect. She wondered what this meant to her mother. The man had been gone for her entire life, after all. Her mother looked happy, quite possibly happier than Anna had ever remembered now that she thought about it. "Um … where was he all this time?"

"He was in prison…"

"But you told me he was a good man! How could he be when he was in prison all this time?" Anna protested.

"He committed no crime," her mother began.

"Then why was he in prison?"

"That is complicated…"

"And why is he out?"

"Well, as for the 'out' part, he left…"

"Left? You don't just leave prison, do you? They have to let you go!"

"He left," her mother said. "He left because he felt he must."

"But how? Oh. He was in a Muggle prison, wasn't he?"

"No. He was in Azkaban."

"But … Are you telling me my father is Sirius Black?"

"He is indeed, Little One. I take it you've heard about that?"

"I … I was at his trial. A bunch of us First Years were there. There were a bunch of us who rode to school with Harry Potter and his friends and we were invited to wherever it is that he lives to see the trial. That was my father?"

"He is your father, dear. That has not and never will change."

"And he's come back to you?"

Her mother nodded.

"And wants to see me? Why?"

"That is a silly question, don't you think?" her mother replied. "You're his daughter and I'm his wife and we were supposed to be a family. He missed twelve years of our lives…"

"I'm not even twelve!"

"I was pregnant with you when he was lost to us, dear."

"Oh."

"So, since you've been there, you know where we're going."

"Going? But what about school? Oh. That's another silly question, isn't it?"

"Had you not been there before, it would not be," McGonagall replied. "But now you know why you are here and not in Madam Sprout's office. The access is in Gryffindor tower and I am to take you and your mother there where you'll be granted access to the Potter Estates to spend time with your father…"

"How long? Or is that a silly question too."

"You'll be back at school by dinner," McGonagall said. "But you'll be away for a week or so your time. I would suggest that if there's anything you need or feel you should bring with you during your visit you should tell one of the elves you'll meet. They'll bring it along. Now, if you will all follow me, we shall head to where you can access the Estate."


	44. Chapter 44: The Source

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Okay, I'll give you two. But I might be more than seven to ten days away from a third. With two, I'm only nine completed chapters ahead of the rest of you…

**CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: "THE SOURCE"**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993**

A bell sounded through the Manor indicating that Time Compression had been activated. Of course, it also meant that all of the expected guests had arrived and were somewhere on the estate. They were going to have a week under Time Compression mainly to allow for Sirius to spend time with his lost family. As such, the Estate had more than a handful of guests in residence and the Time Compression activated once Harry learned the last had arrived who, as it turned out, were Sirius's family. They had arrived via one of the older access trunks, specifically one that connected to the Cottage in the Valley. Harry was not there. He was at the Manor and although he was to meet his previously unknown cousin later, for now he was at home with his wives. The Time Compression had been coordinated with one at House Longbottom just as it had been during the Manor Court although now it was solely for the purpose of allowing the Greengrass family to visit both estates. Not that Harry and the others would not visit House Longbottom or vice versa for they probably would.

Anna Fitzhugh stepped out of the small room at the bottom of the ladder into a trunk and into a large lounge of some kind. It had furnishings and seemed to be set up to accommodate several groups of people. The ceilings were low and had wooden beams. Although it was a large space, it seemed 'homey' in a way. Before her and her mother stood an elf. Until her train ride to Hogwarts in that magically expanded rail compartment she had never seen an elf before and, even though she knew Hogwarts had loads of them, aside from that rail carriage and her trip to see the Manor Court about a month ago she had never seen one at school.

"Good morning Lady Black, Miss Anna," the Elf said. "Welcome to the Mountain Chalet."

"Lady Black?" Anna and her mother asked.

"Indeed," the elf said.

"I've never been called that," her mother began.

"You are the wife of Sirius Black, are you not?"

She nodded.

"Naturally, until he claimed his lordship this past summer, you could not have been called that properly. But once he did, you became Lady Black although I can't say which of his other 'estates' apply. You do know he is Earl of Hangleton and Falthsome. That's two Earldoms, not one with an 'and' in the title and he's Baron Savoy. It means you're either a baroness, a countess or both."

"Oh my!"

"You didn't know?" the Elf and Anna asked.

"We never talked much about his family," Connie said. "I knew his Grandfather was Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black which is nobility in the Wizarding World and basically what that meant to him and ultimately for Anna. But this is news. When we were together before I lost him he was sure he had been cut out of all that. When he came back it never really came up."

"One of the many things I've always loved about you," a male voice said. Anna looked and saw its owner. It was a tall man with dark hair. She had seen him before at the trial. But at that time he was just the man at the trial, not her father and for some reason now it seemed as if she was seeing him for the first time. She had no idea what to say to him. It seemed to her the feeling was somewhat mutual as he now seemed tongue tied as he looked at her. She could swear there were tears in his eyes.

"Siri?" her mother said after a pause. "This is our Anna."

He smiled. Anna thought he had a pleasant smile. If he had smiled during the trial, it had not been like this.

"You're my father?" she asked and then mentally kicked herself. All her life she wondered what it would be like to have one and what hers was really like and those were her first words to him?

"So it seems," he said nervously.

"Oh?"

"Not a very good introduction," he said and she nodded. "Then again, I don't think there's a bit in any book on etiquette about meeting your eleven-year-old daughter whom you wanted but never knew about for the first time. Somehow 'Hello, I'm your Dad' doesn't cut it."

She didn't know why that seemed funny, but it did and she laughed.

"I was at your trial, you know," Anna said after what seemed to her like an awkward pause.

"Oh?"

"You probably didn't see me 'cause I was in the back."

Sirius nodded. "There were a lot of people there. Many I'd never met before. I saw a lot of Hogwarts students there but…"

"You didn't even know I existed," she finished.

"Sorry. But no, I didn't."

"Guess that makes us even in a way."

"Oh?"

"Mum always said she lost you before I was born. When I was older I thought that meant you died. So you didn't know I existed and while I knew I had a Daddy, I thought he was dead. I … I thought you were dead."

"In a way, I guess I was," Sirius said. "Wasn't much good to you or your mother when I was there, was I? It was as if I was dead in a way."

Anna could only nod in agreement.

"Shall we sit down?" he suggested. There were plenty of places to sit. He led them to one by a large window that looked out across a small meadow to the woods and mountains beyond. The leaves on the trees were a kaleidoscope of yellows, reds and browns although in the distance on the mountain sides they were still green and probably would remain that way. There was snow visible in the higher places.

"This is very pretty," Anna said. "Where are we?"

Sirius laughed at the question. After a moment he stopped. "Sorry," he said. "I guess that question is sort of an inside joke here, although it lacks a punch line. We're at the Potter Estate."

"But they're mountains," Anna protested. "There weren't any mountains at the village where the trial was and where I was staying. There were some away in the distance but…"

"And that's where we are, in those distant mountains."

"All of this is the Potter estate?"

Sirius nodded.

"I thought it was huge before."

"It is rather … excessive. I'm told it's right 'round five hundred square miles."

"What?" Anna and her mother asked.

"A bit much, if you ask me," Sirius said.

"How can they have all that land and keep it hidden from Muggles?" Connie asked.

"They don't have to hide it," Sirius said. "Muggles can never find it."

"Don't be daft, Siri. There's not a square meter of this planet they haven't found and mapped if not from the ground then from the air or space."

"Which assumes this is part of that Earth," Sirius said with a mischievous grin. When they looked confused he went on. "No one really knows where this place is. I know that seems off, but it's true. They can tell you where it's not. It's not part of the Outside World as far as they know. You could search the Earth with the best stuff the Muggles have and the best magic we have to find hidden or unknown places and never find this place. It's…"

"An alternate reality?" Anna offered.

"Something like that. It exists because of some kind of magic and don't ask what kind. The wizard who invented it won't say. Not that I've asked. Got one of these places a couple of days ago, though it won't be ready for about a month. I didn't get it from the wizard who made it but from someone who sells it for him and the seller has no idea how this works. He can help you set it up, but he has no idea about how it works at all."

"Set it up?" Anna asked.

"We opened the door from my trunk and walked into a flat world of grey. Everything was grey: the ground, the sky, everything. It was featureless as far as the eye could see. Oh, you could tell the ground from the sky, but there was nothing to see really. No plants, no hills, not even a slight rise in the ground. It was, as the Seller said, a blank matrix. It was a world you could make into almost anything or any place you wanted within reason. I was keyed into it somehow and asked to imagine the world I wanted and after I blinked it seemed as if I was standing in it. Don't know how long I saw it or whether it was more than just my imagination or whatever. It changed here and there as I seemed to think of something else or when I seemed not to be pleased with this or that. It was like that for a while, seeming to change with every breath until the changes became fewer and further in between and then stopped altogether. Apparently, it ended with something as near to what I could want as possible and when it did, it was all grey, flat and featureless again."

"And this place was like that?"

"I can only imagine that it was," Sirius said.

"And what's your place like?"

"That's the odd bit," Sirius smiled. "I can't remember. Maybe that's kind of how it works or something. Maybe it takes the ideas from your head and when it does that they're gone until you see your ideas become a new reality. Sorry. All I can say is I thought it was nice and peaceful and I hope you and your mother like it."

"So this is real and yet it's not?" Anna asked.

Sirius smiled. "Something like that. Our best guess is that it is either in the trunk you came through or, more likely, the trunk is merely a connection between the Outside reality and this one. Whether this one existed before the trunk was made is another question we can't answer."

"That's so cool!"

"And how much did it set you back?" Connie asked.

"You wound me, Dear," Sirius said in mock pain. "Do you see me as a spendthrift?"

"You weren't one before," she replied softly. "But who knows what that place did to you."

"If you must know, it put a small dent in what I expect to receive from the Ministry for my unfortunate stay at that place. But it would've barely scratched the Black fortune. Would've cost a fortune and more to buy in the real world. Don't know how much land is – developed or otherwise. Never shopped for it, you know. But I doubt it's less than a Galleon an acre…"

"A Galleon?" Anna asked. "That's it?"

"Less than a Galleon," Sirius said. "Well, the unimproved matrix is less than one at least. If you want plants and stuff, it's a little more than that, but not much for some reason. I think my total bill will come to one, one and three per acre."

"One Galleon, one Sickle and Three Knuts," Anna said somewhat proudly. "Mum taught be 'bout Wizarding money this summer before my first trip to Diagon Alley that's about seven Pounds, right?"

"I suppose," Sirius said. "To be honest, I haven't checked the current exchange rate."

"It's hard to believe land – even alternate reality land or whatever – could be so inexpensive," Connie commented. "There's got to be a catch."

"A small one," Sirius replied.

"Okay," she said cautiously, "so what's the catch then?"

"Well, regardless of how much land you think you need, you have to buy the lot."

"I don't understand," Anna said.

"If I thought I only needed let's say twenty acres of land, I'd still have to buy all the land available in the matrix. For all the land it's one, one and six with plants and stuff. For twenty acres? It would be one thousand, seven hundred and fifty Galleons per acre."

"That's a huge difference," Anna commented.

"It is. As such, it's silly not to use it all. An acre of farmland can make more than a Galleon a year. And it's more certain here than the real world since the climate is controlled. As long as there is water – and don't ask me how it gets water but it does – there can be no drought and as long as you don't bring it in no blight or insects to ruin the crops. Naturally, the more land you plant in crops, the more crops you can sell and the sooner the place will pay for itself."

"Do all witches and wizards own such places?" Anna asked.

"Not hardly," Sirius said. "Between myself and my Cousins Harry and Neville Longbottom, we own most if not all of these places ever made; certainly all the ones that were ever sold in Britain. For all I know, the maker may have sold some on the Continent, but I didn't ask. What matters is that I own one now. Harry owns eight and I'm told Neville owns six. I was told there are six others out there and no one's bought them yet."

"Why not?"

"First off, while they seem cheap, they are expensive. The basic matrix costs 35,000. Figure another five to eight thousand to outfit it and furnish a residence. Secondly, you need a fair few House Elves to really make a go of it."

"How many?"

"It depends on how you use the land. A full on farm requires the most. My plan requires about two hundred or so for it to work, not including the House Staff which also depends on the size of the House."

"And how do you get elves?"

"If you don't already have them, and unless you're Harry Potter, you pay for them or rather you pay their family to release them to your employ. House Elves are not cheap. Last I checked – and it was before your mother lost me – it was between a four hundred and fifty and six hundred a head depending upon their training.

"So, you buy Elves?" Anna asked somewhat shocked.

"I suppose that's one way to see it," Sirius said. "Elves are not people. They do not work for money. For them, food, houseroom and magic are all they require or truly want. I suppose you could pay them, but they would only accept such payment in addition to living with their family. Few families, however, have enough work for a lot of Elves and Elves do have children given a chance. Their Wizarding Family is expected to either provide for such young Elves or find them another family in need of their service. Still, since the Wizarding Family did support the young Elves and may have supported their training, they can by custom expect to be compensated for doing so and for losing the future services. Humans understand such transactions. You can see the problem, though. Under such circumstances, a human might view an Elf as property and treat it as such. Humans are more likely to mistreat mere property."

"So, you're going to buy the Elves?" Connie asked.

"House Black has a large number of young, surplus Elves. It seems it was one of my family's businesses although we seem to have far more than we could either use or sell. Most of the Elves will come from House Black. Still, I may have to acquire a few experienced hands, but House Black has a large surplus of basically trained Elves."

"Basically trained?"

Sirius nodded. "All young Elves receive a basic education of sort from their Elf families. With it they have the basic skills to perform the tasks that could be expected of them in a house or on an estate: cooking, cleaning, gardening and such. There are more specialized skills that require longer apprenticeships. Turns out, House Black has those Elves available as well. What takes years and years is training an elf to act as a supervisor of sorts. Those are the ones I'll need to bring on from outside but fortunately I'll only be seeking a handful of those."

"What if they can't find someone for their young Elves?" Anna asked.

"Most then wind up at Hogwarts or some other similar places that can provide them work and magic. Well, aside from the ones raised in my ancestors' care."

"Oh?"

"House Black … well, for the last several generations before me it was not a nice lot. I'm what you might call the 'white sheep' of the family."

"Don't you mean 'black sheep'?"

"Well, a Black Black isn't much of an outlier. Moreover, my ancestors were Dark as well, or at least leaned that way whereas I turned out to lean towards the Light, as it were."

"What did the Dark Blacks do with their young elves? They didn't kill then, did they?"

"No. Dark or not, House Black was a business and you don't destroy valuable inventory. But, it doesn't pay to flood the market either since that drives prices down. So, 'surplus' was placed in stasis until it could be sold, even if that was years and years. I have no intention of playing that game, mind you. For me, I'll just get another trunk for them to work in. That's the way Harry's family's done it recently."

"And how did Harry Potter get his? I mean he has a lot and I've heard he only got this estate this past summer," Anna added.

"He put the word out he was in need of some elves and a small hoard of them showed up. Well, his Head Elf put out the word. And he kind of stole his Head Elf from its former employer. Actually, he kind of stole a lot of elves."

"Kind of stole?"

"How much do you know about House Elves?" Sirius asked.

"We never had one," Anna said. "Didn't even know 'bout them 'til the train ride. There was an elf of Harry's named Dobby tending the snack counter in our compartment. He was nice, but he spoke funny. I met some elves here during my stay for the trial. It seemed they ran and took care of the hotel place my friends and I were at and, of course, there's that whole village of them too. But that's 'bout it."

Sirius gave her a basic lesson about what House Elves were. He first explained their life cycle. As children elves, they got their magic through their parents and their parents' magical bond. At as adolescent elves, they are old enough to begin to work but they do not yet need a permanent bond. Sometime after they are about twenty or so, they needed to be magically bonded either to a wizarding family or a very magical place or they would waste away and die. They also needed to work for similar reasons.

Sirius explained that there were different "forms" of Elf bonds. One, such as the one most if not all of the Potter Elves had was to the wizarding family. But the Potter situation was not common for it few families had anywhere near the number of elves that Harry had. Growing up, Sirius's immediate family had only one Elf and they were considered "comfortable." House Potter had over two thousand elves. Outside of a situation like House Potter, the Elf was bond not to the family as a whole but to an individual within the family. In the case of Sirius's parents, Sirius believed the Elf, while a Black Elf, was specifically bonded to his mother based upon the way he remembered it behaved, although there was only one way to know that for sure. He had learned that his mother had died and were the Elf bonded to her rather than to House Black, it would have passed on as well without that bond. But as Sirius had not been to his parents' house since well before his incarceration, there was no way to test his theory.

"So, Harry didn't really steal Dobby, did he?" Anna said after Sirius finished telling her about Elves and their bonds.

"Oh?" Sirius replied prompting her.

"Dobby wanted out of that family," Anna said. "Wizards, especially cruel ones, don't cast bonded elves out at a whim, right? So, Dobby tried to make himself hated to a point where he might be cast out then he gave Harry clues on how to help him get cast out so when the opportunity came along, it was an easy thing to do, right?"

"I suppose it was something like that," Sirius said.

"I mean," Anna continued, "Dobby wanted out even if it meant he might die from not having the bond. A mistake like what that man did would break such a bond, right? I still can't think he would want to die, though."

"A bond of sorts would have formed regardless," Sirius said. "In Dobby's mind, Harry rescued him and for an un-bonded Elf that creates a bond that can sustain it. It's not as powerful as the one between an elf and its wizarding family – the one he now has with House Potter – but it's more than enough. I'm sure Dobby knew that as well. He's quite cunning. Then again, most Elves are given a chance and the need to be so."

Anna thought about that for a moment before changing the topic. "You're an Earl?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. "Don't expect an invite to visit the Muggle Queen," he chuckled. "The Black family titles are very old and are not recognized as valid in this age. The most recent Black titles were attainted centuries ago."

"Attainted?"

"The then Earl Black did something to offend the then Muggle King, specifically he backed a rival contender for the throne and when the rival failed, the King took away his titles and any lands he had that were not protected by a much older treaty between the Muggles and our world. Our world sees such titles as permanent in a way and that attainder is not recognized – although our world's view on such things could not do anything about the lands my ancestor lost. So in our world I am an Earl. All that really means is that I hold an Earl's votes in the Wizengamot which is nothing to sneeze at to be sure, but it probably less than being an Earl in the Muggle World."

"You won't see yourself mentioned in the Muggle Society pages," her mother added. "Well, not for being the daughter of your father at least."

"But when that comes to light in our world it could happen," Sirius said. "Were it up to me, that won't happen for some years. I had to put up with such rubbish when I was in school and I don't think anyone should have to."

"At school the only place where your ancestry really matters is in Slytherin House," Anna said.

"For the most part," Sirius nodded. "But for the Daily Prophet and its legions of prurient readers of the Society columns, who's dating who and such is important and people from 'notable' families are of interest even if it is silly."

"Is that why Mum never told me much about your family?" Anna asked. "I mean, she told me about you … I guess … but not about your family."

Sirius looked at his wife, although not with any sort of disappointment. "To be honest," he said to Anna, "I never really told her much about them other than that I did not like my parents at all and, in the end, left them without a second thought."

"I did tell you some things, although not directly and Mr. Smith … you remember Mr. Smith, right?" Connie asked her daughter.

Anna nodded. "He taught me about magical society and stuff when I was younger although I didn't know that was what he was on about at the time as he never said it was magic stuff," she explained to Sirius. "Can't say I was a good student. I mean, Mum and I did live in a Muggle neighborhood and I had Muggle friends so none of that seemed important to me at the time."

"His real name," Connie said, "was Lord Arcturus Black, your great-grandfather and your father's grandfather."

"The old man came around to see her?" Sirius asked.

"Not often or regular like," Connie nodded, "but he did. It seems he wanted to be sure of her."

"Okay, what does that mean?"

"Your Grandfather was not pleased with the way his family had turned out, it seems. The fact that they fought on both sides in the War was particularly disturbing. While as you know he does not hold Muggle Borns in high esteem, he did not support the other side's views on them either."

"The radicals were too crazy," Sirius said nodding, "the Moderates too accommodating, the Liberals too worshipful of their leader and the Traditionalists too divided and too obsessed with their family trees to be of any use to anyone. He said there was a time that it was not so. He blamed his grandfather for polarizing everything."

"Mr. Smith said a lot of that Pureblood stuff is rubbish," Anna said after a pause. "He didn't think it wise to … to only have families that way. I was younger then so he didn't explain what that meant but I now know he was talking about … about marrying relatives and such. We should be mindful of our history and traditions, but not to the point of self-destruction, he said. He said his own family had all but destroyed itself 'cause it was too fixed on a past that never had been. He said there're families even today who set things up so that their children marry whatever the 'right sort' it. He said their idea of the 'right sort' is based on the history of that family, not whether the bride or groom is worth a knut as a person or a witch or wizard. But he admitted that when he was young he thought he believed differently. His father arranged the marriage of his son to a cousin and he did nothing to stop it – and he could have – and he said that was easily the biggest mistake he made in his life and it was a wonder that any of their children grew up to be even slightly admirable."

"He was talking about you, Sirius. He was proud of you when you turned your back on the rest of House Black, although disappointed that he was part of what you saw as the problem."

"He never gave me reason to really think otherwise," Sirius said.

"He knew that. He was planning to let you see the real Lord Black when you were older and no longer living with that mother of yours but by then it was too late. Not long before he died, he told me he hoped that his efforts for me and our daughter made up for that. My only regret was that I could not tell Anna that he was her great-grandfather while he was still with us."

"Why was the secrecy necessary?" Anna asked. "I mean no one seems to have known about your marriage except you two and I guess … my great-grandfather and it's still that way. And no one knows who my father is except us, right?"

"There are a few others now," Sirius said, "those who call this land or whatever their home know the truth, but you need remember that until I regained my freedom and your mother, even I was unaware of you, Anna. I was taken away before your mother knew for certain and certainly before she could tell me I was to become a father. I can't say why it was secret for all of those years before. As for your mother and I and our marriage? At the time I went away it was a secret. Neither of us was ashamed, you must know. But the war was such that the marriage – were it to be known – would have placed your mother's life in danger and I was not about to do that to her if it could be helped. I didn't tell my friends 'cause I was certain one of them was a traitor. I didn't know which one. I wasn't about to take that chance. Aside from the war, it did not matter much or so I thought. I went away thinking I had been disowned and the fact that I married your mother would not change that. Then again, the last thing I wanted to be was what I was born to be. I was born to one day be Lord Black and for as long as I can remember I never wanted that."

"Why? What was wrong with your family?"

"They were supporters of the Pureblood Supremacy – at least those whom my parents allowed me to associate with were. I thought it was rubbish when I was little and still do. As I grew older, I saw just how vile those people really were and wanted nothing to do with them. They were also the worst sort of hypocrites. Their beliefs so often contradicted themselves that only a true believer could not see the flaws – or a true idiot and many of them were hardly shining examples of intellect or ability. Most of the supporters were, if anything, living proof that their ideas were dead wrong. My family – House Black – fell into three groups I suppose: there were those who openly supported and championed the Pureblood movement and supported if not joined the Death Eaters in the war such as my parents and those they considered respectable; there were those who openly opposed that faction who were disowned or, if not, were certainly not on any mailing lists; and I suppose there were those whom no one knew where they stood. That being said, my parents would clamor for disowning any member of the family who was not clearly in the Pureblood camp – those who married beneath their status regardless of any other considerations included – unless they happened to be rich or hold a fair few votes in the Wizengamot, in which case they remained acceptable. It made no sense to me that one Black could marry a Muggleborn or Half-Blood of 'low birth' and be anathema while another could do the same and remain acceptable simply because they married into wealth or power or both. Seems to me, you can't condemn one without condemning both. Their ideas of acceptable was so riddled with exceptions that it was a sick joke. And yet, the one thing which in my opinion should have been an exception was not."

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"Your mother," Sirius said, "my wife." He turned to Connie. "Have you told her about our bond?"

"Not really. No," Connie replied.

"Until just this morning, I still thought my Daddy was lost," Anna added. "I thought that meant you were…," she could not finish her statement.

"What do you know about magical bonds – and I don't mean House Elves?" Sirius asked.

"You mean like what we've been told happened with the Potters and Longbottoms?" Anna asked. She saw a surprised look on her father's face. "Well," she blushed, "we weren't exactly told outright. Our first day of classes it was announced that Harry Potter was married to four girls and Neville was married to five and if we wanted any details, we could consult references in the Library. I don't know how many did, but a fair few of us girls did. Had to wait for my turn – my friends and I, I should say – 'cause there was a queue of sorts. We figured the only way Harry or that Neville boy could've married – and in such a way that their wives are still in school – was there was compatible magic involved. The law allows that, but what I read didn't say much about it. Couldn't find and haven't heard of a book that talks about that much – at least not one here at school. Some think there might be one in Ravenclaw as they're said to have some rare books, but the Claws deny it and seemed put out enough by not knowing that I believe them."

Sirius and Connie then told her the details about their bonding: the compatible magic, when and how a bond formed, how sharing such compatible magic did not mean the couple would ever bond.

"You can't form a bond with someone you don't like or can't see as a romantic partner," her mother had said. "Some writers suggest the compatible magic might make it easier for a couple to be attracted to each other and compatible for each other, but others suggest otherwise and just as no two people are alike, no two bonds are alike. The bonds you've met – the Potters and Longbottoms – formed very early, as soon as they were all old enough and well before they reached magical, physical and emotional maturity so one can say they will move through puberty bonded and together. Your father and I bonded the summer after I finished school and three years after he did. We were both magically and physically mature. We did not grow into adults together so our bond is different in that way."

"I suppose I can see that sort of," Anna said. "But what has this to do with Purebloods?"

"The Pureblood Supremacists would want to believe that such a bond, given how powerful it is, should be restricted to Purebloods," Sirius said. "The truth is the bond is not. It is random. Of the bonded couples we know of, there are no bonds strictly between Purebloods. One bondmate may be, but the other one is not."

"The bond, by its nature, is akin to marriage and is treated that way from the moment it begins to form," Connie added. "Bonded couples will mate and have children as in more than one. Thus, in every case we are aware of, all of those children would be Half-bloods."

"Naturally, such a thing would be unthinkable to a Pureblood Supremacist," Sirius added. "That they could be 'forced' to marry a social inferior or their child could be is anathema to them. I know, for example, that my parents knew I shared compatible magic with your mother. They were advised of that fact within days of your mother's birth. They never told me of that and did all they could to see to it that the bond could never happen. They tried to condition me to be a good, little Pureblood Supremacist such that the mere thought of a relationship with a Muggle Born such as your mother would be unthinkable to me. In that, they failed miserably. The more they tried, the more I rebelled against the idea until I literally ran out on them forever. Naturally, it did not help their cause one whit given their choice of my ideal bride…"

"Their choice?" Anna asked.

Sirius nodded. "My parents were 'proper' Purebloods. As such, far be it for them not to have chosen my bride when I was very young. In their circle arranged marriages were the rule and not the exception. I knew who she was. All the more reason for me to turn my back on my parents and their expectations. The girl – if you could call it that as she was four years older than me – put the ugh in 'ugly' and had a vile personality to match. At least my mother was objectively good looking but her personality… No woman ever known has the looks to overcome that vicious personality. But I really shouldn't speak ill of the dead, even if that is being kind to them."

"Who?" Anna asked. "The girl or your mother?"

"Mother died while I was away on my extended stay at that island resort. My betrothed joined the Death Eaters when I was still in school and was killed as such before they could get me hitched and I scampered on them and they did me the great favor of disowning me before they could get around to arranging a replacement bride. All of this was years before your mother and I finally got together and bonded. Did much better on my own, if I do say so myself."

Anna nodded, thinking for a moment. "But if you and Mum had compatible magic, why did you wait so long to … you know?" she finished with a blush. "Your parents knew…"

"No reason to think they didn't," Sirius agreed. "But they were not about to encourage any relationship with someone they felt was beneath contempt; or I should say my Mother was not about to. To be honest, I don't really know what my father thought about such things. My mother was as much a Pureblood Supremacist as one could be without actually becoming a Death Eater. My father never disagreed with a word she said – not in my presence at any rate. If he had an opinion of his own, I am unaware of it. So, seeing as she believed that no proper Pureblood would ever consider associating with a Muggle Born, she was not about to even suggest the possibility. Pity I couldn't make our marriage known given the times. It would've probably killed her. Sorry. My mother and misery are synonyms. For as long as I can remember, I always did or at least wanted to do the opposite of what she wanted me to do and always desired to be the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted me to be a Death Eater, so I became a Hit Wizard tasked with killing her champions. My younger brother Regulus made her proud and became one and was dead within a year and as our side didn't kill him … Let's just say that with Death Eaters as friends and associates, one did not need a mortal enemy."

"You really didn't like your family, did you?" Anna observed.

"Hated my mother," Sirius nodded. "Then again, I can't think of a single person who liked her including her own family. I had no respect for my father. I did like my brother 'til he chose his fate. I was kept in the dark about your mother 'cause she was not acceptable to them. It is the hypocrisy I mentioned earlier. The Pureblood Supremacists believe that they are powerful magically and their Pureblood children will be as well. Nothing I've seen supports that idea. They either are or, more likely, are not. The truth is something very different."

"Oh?"

"The opposite is more accurate," Sirius continued. "Since my trial and exoneration, I've been able to access the family estate and read through the journals of my ancestors – more accurately those that predated my Great-great grandfather. His Grandfather and Great-grandfather conducted a series of observations that, had they been accepted and published, would've put paid to much of the Pureblood Supremacy nonsense. One of the movement's attractive ideas was the notion that Pureblood and magical power were related as in a Pureblood child was born magically more gifted than any other magical child. My ancestors found at best no evidence in support of that notion and at worst evidence that suggested the opposite was in fact the case."

Sirius then described his ancestors' theory which was developed by his eight times Great-grandfather through his four times Great-grandfathers and later suppressed by his two time Great-grandfather. The researchers had discovered a means to estimate something called magical potential. This was not how magically powerful a person was; rather it was a quantification as to their maximum potential for magical power and ability. Few would ever attain their full magical potential just as few every reached their full potential physically or intellectually or, if they had, sustained it. But no one could ever exceed their magical potential at least not naturally.

"Now here's the thing they uncovered in their decades and decades of observation," Sirius continued. "In almost all cases, no child has a higher magical potential than their more powerful parent. My ancestors believed it was always less, even if the difference was too small to measure with their methods. So…," he paused for a long moment.

"But if that's the case," Anna said, "magic would fade away! If each generation is less magical than the one before, in time it wouldn't be magical at all!"

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Idiopathic Squib Syndrome," Connie nodded. She then explained that while there were curses and diseases that might cause a witch to have a Squib child – one born without expressible magic – those causes were known and rare enough (and in the case of curses, very illegal). But there were far more Squibs born than curses or illness could explain. Oddly, all such cases were born to Pureblood lines. To her knowledge, there was no cases of a Half-Blood Squib that could not be explained by an illegal curse or an illness. "So," she concluded, "it seems it will fade away over generations."

"My observant ancestors used a term called the Source or Awakening. Source is better although the other term is the more common situation. They learned that those 'of the Source' were generally more magically powerful than those removed from it. The Source is when magic awakens in a person such that it can be passed on to their children."

"Muggleborns!" Anna said.

"The obvious Source," Sirius nodded. "Something must have happened to preserve magic given that it will diminish otherwise. That something is the constant influx of new magic through Muggleborns. Roughly one third of all witches and wizards are 'of the Awakening,' as my ancestors put it. Source magic is powerful in more than the obvious way. Muggleborn do have a markedly higher magical potential than those born more distant from their Source and, for the first two or three generations thereafter, the magic does not diminish measurably and can, in fact, strengthen if the children take mates more powerful than themselves. But, even before they are removed enough from the Source to be considered a Pureblood in our custom, they cross the line as it were and their magic will diminish with each subsequent generation thereafter removed from a Source ancestor."

"But if that's the case, then all that rubbish about Purebloods is just that: rubbish! Why isn't this known?"

"You mean aside from the fact that it would ruin everything Pureblood Supremacists want to believe?" Sirius replied. "Worse than telling them there's no such thing as Father Christmas, I suppose."

"According to Lord Arcturus," Connie interjected, "the Elder Blacks' research was never published. They were not yet ready to publish as they felt it needed to be rationally and 'scientifically' unassailable and they were not there yet. They knew that many would never accept their findings, but enough would if it could withstand learned, intellectual scrutiny and they needed more evidence. What was interesting to Lord Arcturus and to me when he told me and allowed me to read copies of the Elders' notes, was that the Elder Blacks were trying to prove the magical supremacy of Purebloods over the rest of us, not prove the fallacy of that belief. All of their empirical evidence contradicted their theory and they became convinced in their new theory of Source magic. They then spent decades trying to disprove their new theory as well as any and all published basis for the pro-Pureblood theories. They died before they could publish and the later generations did not continue the research."

"My four times Great-grandfather was the last to pursue that research – at least within House Black," Sirius said. "I can't say there haven't been others out there who either continued it or studied it independent of my ancestors. It seems rather obvious to me that it should be looked into. But, unless it has been published in some form since I went off on my extended holiday, nothing seems to have come of it at least here. I'm certain any such findings would have been suppressed and their publication prohibited, at least here in Britain. Then again, I wish I could say I was surprised that nothing seems to have come of it."

"Oh?" Anna asked.

"House Black has been a leader within the Traditionalists for ages," Sirius said. "The Traditionalists at best are not keen on Muggleborns and at worst include the Supremacist movement. Thus for the Leadership to produce a theory that does anything more than marginalize the importance of Muggleborns…," he finished with a shrug.

"There's no telling," her mother said. "The last researcher died a long time ago. Lord Arcturus told me that for ages House Black had more than its fair share of researchers in all kinds of fields, although he did point out that they were more interested in coming up with something new than its potential uses or implications. Their journals are filled with spells that are … disturbing to say the least along with ones that are not. Many have accused them of being Dark and, perhaps, a fair few of them may have been. But they were far more interested in knowledge for knowledge's sake than whether it fit into a Light box or Dark box and, according to Lord Arcturus, a lot of the 'more interesting' knowledge and discoveries would be seen as Dark these days. But it's been some time since House Black's been active that way. Your four times Great-Grandfather had no interest in research of any kind even going so far as to try and have it outlawed when he attained his House Seat. He felt further research was a waste of effort as – in his opinion – there was nothing new to learn or discover. His son, Phineas Nigelus, was even less interested in research. Oh, he did become a Potions Master, but Lord Arcturus was convinced that was only so he could become a Professor at Hogwarts so he could pursue his real interests."

"Which were?" Anna asked noting the look of disgust on her mother's face.

"Begetting children out of wedlock," Connie replied. "His first child, a daughter, was born the summer after his Fourth Year at Hogwarts to a 'girl of low birth' who was a year behind him at school."

"You mean a Muggleborn?"

"Don't know," Connie said. "Back then, 'low birth' did not necessarily mean that. His journals used that term for anyone who was not from an influential or very old and respected magical family as was custom back then. Odds are she was not Muggleborn as he was in Slytherin and seduced a girl from his own House. Seduced several, in fact. He kept a string of 'low birth' Slytherin mistresses for the rest of his life who bore him more than one child all of whom he got pregnant while they were in school. But he also made it a point to impregnate at least one new witch a year and those who he did not keep as a long term mistress were almost always Muggleborns and with the exception of a couple of years before he became a professor, he succeeded in doing so. Not including his wife, with whom he had five children and who was the only woman he did not impregnate while she was still at Hogwarts, he had about hundred and fifteen children by eighty-seven different mothers, all of whom had to drop out of Hogwarts because of their pregnancies. He had more than that if one counts his other liaisons over the years, but he never kept track of them all."

"How did he get away with it? How could it have happened at all? I mean magical birth control's been around for ages, right?"

"There are potions that can counteract the potions you take," Connie said.

"Some of which he's believed to have invented," Sirius added. "As for how he could get away with it? He was in the line of succession to head and Ancient and Noble House and later its Head. There was not much one could do unless they were similarly situated. Muggleborns had no recourse. Their parents have no rights in our world at all and neither do they on their own – not 'til they are of age."

"And many if not most of his conquests were underage," Connie added. "According to Lord Arcturus, it was not as if many of the faculty or Headmasters of that time would take an interest in such things. They considered Muggleborns to be from promiscuous stock so underage pregnancies were almost expected. Phineas Black made it pretty much a self fulfilling prophecy. Likewise, non-Muggleborns of low birth would be seen as trying to get something out of the situation so they too were ignored. Of course, it did not help matters a whit for the last dozen years of his life seeing as he was Headmaster. By then his predations were a well known secret in the older families and Wizengamot, but few seemed to care. It did not help the victims that the Wizengamot was not about to risk the young women of their families by opposing him and passing laws to make his behavior illegal. Lord Arcturus believed he used potions to bed the girls and get them pregnant and was adept at it. For Wizengamot families, they had no way of knowing whether he would do the same to their girls if they stood against him and were not about to take such a risk. They did not want their girls to be the mother of the next Fitzblack."

"Fitzblack?" Sirius and Anna asked.

"Agnes Fitzblack was born in 1862 and Lord Arcturus believes she was the first child of his Grandfather Phineas Nigelus Black. There was no girl at Hogwarts by that name at that time and nothing in the Journals clearly identifies the mother. But Phineas Black did brag about begetting Agnes. Agnes gave birth to Magda Fitzblack in 1876 who was born the same day Phineas Black married his only legal wife and was also his daughter."

"He slept with his own daughter?" Anna asked in shock.

Connie nodded. "And when Magda's daughter came to Hogwarts, he slept with her as well and her daughter. The last Fitzblack, his daughter, granddaughter, Great-granddaughter and Great-great granddaughter was born in 1918 and the only reason there were no others was that she was killed a few days after she was born in a bombing raid in the Great Muggle War of the time. (A/N1)"

"That's so wrong! Why'd he do that?" Anna asked.

"Aside from the fact that he could?" her mother replied. "According to Lord Arcturus, his journals said he wanted to see if anything interesting came of it. Don't ask what that means 'cause apparently he never explained it. Lord Arcturus suspects he was experimenting somehow, maybe trying to disprove the Source Magic theory of his ancestors, but as he was probably insane, who can say?"

"Back then it would be considered eccentric," Sirius added. "Rich people from proper families are eccentric, not insane. But it was not what they would consider rational behavior. He was ultimately shot to death by the Muggle father of one of his victims. Some think his magical enemies put the man up to it."

"Why? 'Cause he was a Muggle?"

"No," Connie answered. "Lord Arcturus said that aside from his acknowledged mistresses and the Fitzblacks, none of his conquests were ever named nor did any identify him as the father of their child. Lord Arcturus was all but certain that he used some form of memory charm on them at some point so that they had no idea who it was who fathered their child. His journals were clear that he had gotten a student pregnant and she gave birth and such, but that was all. Lord Arcturus identified several probable 'cousins' based on school records and such but there's no way to be certain that they are truly his progeny. (A/N2)"

"It's disgusting to think I'm descended from that!" Anna said.

"How do you think I felt growing up?" Sirius said. "The more I learned, the more disgusted I became and the more I loathed my parents. My mother would've worshiped the ground he walked on had he lived long enough. She was born a couple months after he was gunned down. Growing up, all I heard was about how great a man he was: visionary Headmaster of Hogwarts, astute politician, father of the Pureblood Supremacists, inspiration for patriots – which meant Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Made me sick to hear it and that was before I learned anything about his Hogwarts children."

"We began by saying the Pureblood Supremacist movement is hypocrisy," Connie continued. "Well, it's worse than that. Before Phineas Black, there were Purebloods. Most were not intentional. People generally didn't marry that way on purpose. While arranged marriages were common back then, they were not about being Purebloods. You arranged marriages to advance your family and their interests and back then, if you could not marry into a politically advantageous family, you sought an economically advantageous one. Rich Muggleborns were deemed very desirable. Still, there was a fringe element that misread its history and believed blood status was more important than anything. They often married within their own families because those were the only ones whose ancestry was not in question in their minds. Phineas Nigelus changed that and made that way of thinking almost popular and his reasons had nothing to do with blood purity."

"Okay, what's that mean?" Anna asked.

"He was as indifferent as most people in his station in society to blood status, or at least that's what his writings reveal early on," Connie said. "Back then – and this is 120 years ago or so – the upper tier of our society, while it might not have had a favorable opinion of Muggle Borns, was not on about being or trying to become Purebloods. As I said, most married into families that would either benefit them personally or benefit their family and one could not pass on an advantageous marriage on such a meaningless thing as blood status. The truth is, back then had the Muggle Queen Victoria sought a marriage for one of her numerous children with a witch or wizard, there were few families in our world that would have balked. Too much could've been gained by such a match to be concerned about the blood status of the Bride and Bridegroom.

"True, Phineas Nigelus Black did marry a 'Pureblood' girl. She only just qualified as she had some Muggleborn Great-Great grandparents. Not that it could've mattered to Phineas seeing as his mother was a third generation witch and his father's mother a second generation witch."

"What?" Sirius asked. "Are you …? But that means …?"

"Phineas Nigelus Black, the father of modern day Pureblood Supremacy was not one himself," Connie said. "Lord Arcturus reconstructed that information years later. The two witches I mentioned were born overseas, thus there's no record of their families here in Britain and at that time there was no requirement to record such things. His mother was from America, from a very wealthy family and one that wanted their daughter to marry into magical nobility for some reason (A/N 3). His Grandmother was from an Italian family, one that had very lucrative trade connections throughout southern Europe. There were not many – if any – Pureblood families in Britain at the time who could come close in providing such incentives to marry their daughters. Such things as blood status were just not discussed back then. If that was your family had to offer, you had nothing to offer."

"But…?" Sirius began.

"Lord Arcturus found it amusing that House Black changed its motto to Tejours Pur soon after Phineas Nigelus Black became Head of House. Before then, it was something else. There was a large library off the study in Black Manor that was off limits to everyone in the family. As a child, Lord Arcturus thought it contained secret family magics and such. What it contained was all 'evidence' that House Black was not as Pureblooded as it pretended to be and had not supported or advocated for Purebloods until recently. It was only after becoming Lord Black that Phineas Black proclaimed his beliefs of the superiority of 'Pureblood.' That was a year after his first legitimate son was born and, Lord Arcturus believes, that all of that Pureblood rubbish Phineas spouted was nothing more than a way to both gain political advantages and, more importantly, ensure his legitimate descendants would not marry into his far more numerous illegitimate ones for some time. His legitimate children would, after all, attend Hogwarts with not less than forty-one half brothers and sisters. It would not do for them to intermingle and, if his legitimate children grew up 'properly' with disdain for their lessers, then seeing as all of his bastards were not and could not be their equals in terms of blood status, the risks of an unfortunate romance would be avoided."

"Didn't seem to stop him from having a go with his illegitimate daughters," Anna said.

"Hence, one more reason why the Pureblood Supremacy is hypocrisy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N1: Yes, there were air raids on Britain in WWI. Compared to WWII, those raids were a minor affair, but at the time it was a huge deal. Like WWII, London was a target for several raids, the last by German bombers was in May of 1918 which left 17 people dead or so. The last was by a Zepplin (Air ship filled with hydrogen gas) in August. It was shot down (blown up) before it reached its target. Over 1,000 died in the air raids of 1915-1918. Again, as compared to WWII, this was not much. (Estimates are that ~ 67,000 died in Britain in WWII from German attacks over 40,000 in the Blitz of 1940-41.)

A/N2: Arcturus Black died in 1991. It was only in his final years that DNA testing was available in the Muggle world as a tool but it was not used for tracing ancestry. This was in part due to the cost of the tests which would have been prohibitive for more than a handful of samples. (For most people, one sample was too expensive to be worth it and you would need several to trace ancestry.) It was also because at that time no one was yet using it for more than criminal investigations and paternity cases.

A/N3: British nobility marrying wealthy, American girls was something of a 'fad' in the Victorian Era. Downton Abbey aside, Winston Churchill's mother was the daughter of a wealthy New York Real Estate speculator. His father was the third son of a Duke. (Duke of Marlborough). (Also in the list of nobility seeking rich American brides: the Duke of Wellington; the Duke of Marlborough – cousin of Churchill… Daughters came from American millionaires such as the Vanderbilts, Carrolls, Astors, and so on. They brought with them piles of something the British Aristocracy was short of: cash.)


	45. Chapter 45: The House of Black

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: THE HOUSE OF BLACK**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993**

For Harry, it would be a "quiet" first day. His parents and Sirius were up in the Valley with their guests, which included Professor Lupin. That group would be at the Manor for dinner later. Ginny was currently at the Lake House with her family aside from Percy who seemed uninterested in a week away from school. Hermione was off riding with her Mum while her dad and Mr. Greengrass were at one of the golf courses (Harry was surely going to be as well at least a couple of times during this Holiday). The rest of the Greengrass family was at House Longbottom for the day. Daphne would return for dinner as House Longbottom would also be under time compression and the portal connection would be usable. Hannah and her mother were also out riding. Only Luna was at the Manor (the Tennysons were most likely in the Chamber butchering the dead snake).

Harry walked out to the veranda where Luna said she would be reading a book and she was there in her preferred "green card" attire or rather the lack of any attire whatsoever. It was October in the Trunk as it was outside. Earlier in the week, Harry and the others were told that it had snowed the night before in the mountains, although there was no accumulation on the Valley floor. The "weather" in the Winter Gardens was that of Autumn and could be quite chilly thus Luna's attire would be entirely too little. But the Veranda and parts of the four newer trunks were tropical and did not experience autumn or winter so where it was tropical it was still warm enough for Luna to wear or not where what she wanted although she had learned to be mindful of the boundaries between Summer and Winter Gardens which were only now becoming obvious with the leaves turning. Earlier the only way to tell was a sudden, noticeable drop in temperature which she said could be a bit of a shock if you were not otherwise paying attention.

"Enjoying yourself?" Harry asked as he sat in a chair next to Luna.

"Oh yes!" she said not looking up from what looked like a letter she was reading. "The weather here is lovely."

"What's that?"

"Oh. It's a letter from Daddy. You know he couldn't be here this weekend because he's working on getting the next issue of The Quibbler out. He's expecting that he may need to double or triple circulation since this issue is the one with his stories 'bout the Manor Court and our situation here so he's really busy. Oh. An elf dropped this off for you," she added handing Harry an envelope.

Harry opened it and read it.

"Um…," Harry began.

"What is it Harry?"

"It's from my Mum."

"Odd. I mean she does live just down the road as it were and could just come over and talk."

"Think she wanted to put this in writing so I couldn't forget."

"Oh?"

"It's a revised estimate of her due date seeing as this Time Compression was not in the schedule we discussed after the Manor Court." With Harry having agreed to allow one day a week in Time Compression for the House Team to use his pitch, he added a second day for family with or without guests. But that new schedule did not include this added week for Sirius and his lost family.

"Really? When is she due now?"

"She's due in sixty-seven days as of right now. When we return to real time Outside, it will be sixty days which if we continue with the current planned Time Compressions means she's now due on December 4th – which is a Saturday by the way. It really adds up doesn't it – these Time Compressions I mean. She was only about two months along when I revived her and that's less than three months ago Outside."

"August was a very long month, Harry," Luna chuckled. "Hermione figured it was a little over a hundred days long."

"Really? I didn't think we used that much time."

"You're forgetting we were also at the Longbottoms for thirty days."

"Oh yeah."

"September was pretty long as well," Luna said. "Not as long as August, but it does add up. Not that I mind and I'd say with the possible exception of your Mum no one has commented on it."

"She's the only one on any kind of clock," Harry began.

"We are too – us girls I mean. While our monthlies come on Outside time, they run on Total time. But that's not the same as being pregnant I should think. The Bond seems to be on Outside time I should think seeing as we have had over eight months together."

"Eight months? Really?"

Luna nodded. "We bonded June 21st which in Outside time was a hundred and twelve days ago. But Inside time included it was two hundred and forty-four days ago…"

"How do you…?"

"I've been keeping track. I think most of us are. We're thinking 'bout bonding or marriage anniversaries and…"

"What?"

"You have heard of anniversaries, haven't you?"

"Um … yeah, sort of. I haven't been thinking 'bout them."

"To be honest, neither have I. Not really. But at least some of the others have and the 'girl debate' between us now is should it be the calendar date of things or the three hundred sixty-five day date. Calendar is easy seeing as Hermione and I bonded with you June 21st and married you the 22nd and Daphne, Hannah and Ginny followed on the other days. But doing the anniversary thing might be difficult five days in a row for any number of reasons. Hermione suggests the 365 day date with her and I alternating every other 'year' or anniversary such that one of us celebrates our anniversary on our bonding date and the other on our wedding date. If we use Inside and Outside time, while it means we need to keep track of such things, it also means there'd be at least a few real days between anniversary dates which might be easier to schedule. Although, if we do that now, those dates would fall during the Spring Term so it might be difficult…"

Harry blinked. "Um … well, just so long as you all agree and let me know when, we'll work something out. After all, we have the Estate so if we're in school at the time I'm sure we can figure out ways to do it. It's not necessary to take you out to a fancy restaurant, is it?"

"Necessary? No. Nor practical all the time," Luna agreed. "I don't think anyone was thinking that. Alone time with you and a nice gift, I think that's what we were thinking about. A nice private dinner and such is what we were thinking about. Maybe a private picnic lunch and dinner? Just a nice day together to let us know you think we are each special."

"But you are. Each of you is, you know?"

"Even if a girl knows it's true, it doesn't mean she doesn't need or want to hear it or be shown it."

Harry decided not to complain or anything. "Just let me know what you want and when," he said. "And don't hint it."

"We've already figured that hints don't work so well, Harry," Luna said. "Daphne thinks it's a guy thing … not taking hints that is. She says her Dad's pretty pathetic that way and it's not 'cause he doesn't care. Of course, about some things we'll still hint. I think that's a girl thing. But we'll see to it you can't forget the important stuff."

"Um … just let me know when, I suppose."

"Don't worry. When we've decided we will. Anyway, this Inside / Outside calendar has other uses."

"Oh?"

"Well, we did get two harvests from the Winter Gardens for some things at least, right? Likewise our summer gardens seem to follow inside time as well."

"But the trees are only now losing their leaves."

"We think that part of them is tied either to Outside time or the Inside seasons. But when we more than doubled their summer, they flowered and bore fruit twice. We know, however, that animals are more tied to outside time. Don't know why. Neville might seeing as he's so knowledgeable about plants. But animals and humans respond to this differently. As I said, for us girls our monthlies are still tied to Outside time. They progress at Inside time – thankfully – but we think that's because they can only last so long. Aside from that our other cycles are on outside time and the same's true for all the animals here. Okay, not all. The baby ones grow and mature on Inside time and pregnancy progresses on Inside time. Hermione thinks it has to do with magical instability and at least some of your Grandfather's records she's consulted bear that out. This is important in a way."

"My mother's changing due date?"

"That's the immediate example. But babies and young children are magically unstable. That's certainly true for witches and wizards and we wonder whether it's true for Muggles as well. If magical instability is what ties you to Inside time rather than Outside time, that has other consequences."

"Oh?"

"It's hard to say what's truly 'normal' here," Luna began. "We use Time Compression frequently so that we do is our normal. But to what degree varies. Normal June was thirty days. Ours was sixty-five. Normal July was thirty-one days. Ours was thirty eight. Normal August was thirty-one days and ours was over a hundred – counting our stay with the Longbottoms. September has thirty days and ours had forty-three. October for us would've been thirty-nine days but will now be forty-six including Outside today's Time Compression. But so far it's clear that we get about an extra two weeks a month, assuming we do at least one seven day compression a month and maybe we will and maybe we won't. Without that extra week, our schedule still adds one week to every month.

"So, we have a magically unstable child as is normal. It will grow physically and magically based upon its total days, not outside days, until it becomes magically stable. When magically stable, it will age and grow based solely on Outside days, but it will learn as we have based upon total days. We've looked and can't say for certain when a child becomes magically stable except to say it's sometime before they're old enough to attend Hogwarts. Some sources suggest it's as early as five or six and others as late as nine or ten. Regardless, a child raised on this estate where Time Compression is used more than occasionally, will be 'older' than a child raised strictly outside, right?"

"I suppose," Harry nodded.

"So when should that child start Hogwarts?" Luna asked somewhat rhetorically. "Should we send them off to school beginning with the fall term after their eleventh outside birthday or should we send them off beginning the fall term after they have lived at least 4,000 days – actually 4,018 days?"

"I hadn't thought about that."

"If we average an extra two weeks each month, a child raised here will reach their 4018th day when they're seven-and-a-half years old in Outside Time. They would be sixteen or older if they started based on their total time."

"Sixteen?"

Luna nodded. "If they started Hogwarts eleven years after their Outside Birthday – eleven Outside years – they would be intellectually and magically the same as sixteen and that assumes they start when they're 4,018 days old and not later. After all, Ginny was 4,038 days old when she started. You were 4,049. I was 4,383. If I had spent my whole life under our time compression, I might've been close to 6,600 days old when I started or eighteen years old in my time. I think I would've stuck out as a Firstie in that case."

"A bit," Harry agreed. "But we're not using Time Compression to that degree…"

"We've used it more and we've used it less," Luna replied. "If we stick to our typical schedule and rarely if ever have more than two extra days per week, they still will be only eight-and-a-half by the time they are at least as old as necessary to start school and would be fourteen if we waited. Even if it was only one extra day a week, if we waited until their eleventh Outside birthday, they would be older than Ginny is now before starting. And we know they need to start school around that time for a variety of reasons. So, it's something we need to take into account and Hogwarts should as well. If they won't, we will need to start their wand training much earlier than 'normal,' right?"

"Are you saying we shouldn't use Time Compression?"

"No Harry. It has no effect on us as far as we've seen or read – aside from giving us more time that is. The effects are on magical instability stuff like pregnancy and very young children, right? We just have to be aware of that."

Harry nodded. "Well, we can hope that by the time we have to worry about children we no longer need the extra time…"

"That's true enough for us, but what about others?"

"It doesn't seem to bother the elves," Harry began.

"I was thinking of your unborn brother or sister, Harry. You're not going to ask your parents to move, are you?"

"Not if they don't want to," Harry said.

"So, your little brother or sister will be subjected to the effects of Time Compression. They won't know the difference, but it means they'll mature earlier magically in Outside Time and we need to be aware of that."

Harry nodded. "My Mum knows this?"

"I'd be surprised if she hasn't figured this out for herself," Luna answered. "But I haven't spoken to her about it. Maybe one of the others…"

"Does this affect us at all? I mean are we older or something?"

"We have had more time to learn than would be the case, so in that sense we are older, Harry. According to Madam Pomfrey we are not physically older than we should be. We girls are not more developed than we would've been. That would've been noticed if not by us then by the other girls for certain. Magically? I don't know. It's possible we are and possible we're not."

"Oh?"

"Well, we were nowhere near magical maturity before the summer but aside from Ginny, we girls were all past bonding age. Even with the Time Compression, we did not have nearly enough new time to reach magical maturity and there's no real way to tell whether we're 'older' as it were until we reach magical maturity. If we reach it by around 6,300 of our days and much earlier than should be the case Outside, we'll know it had an effect but we think it won't work that way."

"Why not?"

"Two reasons. First, you, Hermione and I are not yet fully bonded. For us it's been eight months since bonding."

"Madam Pomfrey said our ages might make it take longer."

"And it could also be tied to real days just as our monthlies are so by that measure it's only been a little over three months. Our bonding is no closer than it would've been otherwise. That and Ginny's no closer to her bonding age than she would be without Time Compression."

"But she wouldn't be, would she?" Harry asked. "Even without Time Compression, that's tied to the number of Summer Solstices right?"

"And the number of monthlies," Luna agreed.

"But she'll have those by then. She's had her third already."

"True. But don't forget that we girls can enter 'mentorship' anytime after we reach our real bonding age and not the legal one. We have to enter it soon after our legal one. Our real bonding age is after our sixth monthly. The boys' real bonding age is after their twelfth summer solstice which happened to you before we used Time Compression together so for now we can't tell if there's a difference. If Ginny hits her real bonding age without regard to her monthlies, we'll then know Inside Time counts. But it's still too early to tell even with Inside Time."

"And how will we know that?"

"In many cases you don't. Not really anyway. There are some girls who suddenly get very, very randy – even more so than when we first begin to enter magical puberty. But most girls wouldn't notice. It's one of the reasons we see Madam Pomfrey every month. Once we reach the age where we begin needing intimacy, it's best not to put it off more than a few months. Basically, if you reach that age before the end of April, you're assigned to a mentor regardless of when your twelfth solstice occurs. In Ginny's case now, she's seeing Madam Pomfrey every thirty of our days or so just to be safe so if she reaches that point sooner than expected, say in the next month or so, we'll know there's a connection between that and Time Compression. In reality, it won't make that much difference except that she'll enter mentorship and Hermione may change the rules regarding her later intimacy with you."

"And the rest of you?"

"Daphne and Hannah are on their Outside time schedules. Once we begin our monthlies we all see Madam Pomfrey every month while at school. Hermione and I are on Ginny's schedule – every thirty of our days or so."

"Why?"

"That way she can check on the progression of our bonds with you."

"She hasn't seen me … yet."

"It seems it's much easier to examine the bonds in girls than boys. Don't ask me why."

"And … um … where are we?"

"As of our last check, we're about where she'd expect us to be at this time."

"Is that with or without Time Compression?"

"She thinks without. She's not certain 'cause we're so young and because there's two bonds at work and not just one so we may be where we are because of all the Time Compression. The important thing is she hasn't seen any reason for concern."

"So Time Compression may or may not be having an effect on us?"

"That's right, Harry. We just don't know and can't know right now, it seems. The more important change is if that changes when we – or more importantly when you reach magical maturity. If that happens much sooner than expected, we'll know that magical maturation is not tied to Outside Time."

Harry nodded. "Whether that – magical maturity that is – is important depends on whether I've got to face Voldemort. Until that becomes a necessity, it's not immediately important. Even then, I've got a lot I think I need to learn and I won't see myself as ready until I've learned it regardless."

"If you're otherwise not ready, being magically mature would help."

"True. The fact I've faced him helps. But the more prepared I am the better. So the real concern with this Time Compression for now is my mother and my brother or sister."

Luna nodded. "We need it to help plan and prepare. But it's known effects will be more important to them than to us as far as we know."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, this Pureblood stuff is all a bunch of rubbish an ancestor of mine made up so he could rape teenage girls?" Anna asked.

"That's one way to look at it," Sirius replied.

"Not an accurate one," Connie said. "Lord Arcturus was not about to condone his Grandfather's activities – he too found them loathsome – but there's no evidence of illegality unfortunately. Your ancestor was very charismatic and a looker apparently. Back then, so long as the girl had achieved her bonding age, she could choose to sleep with a wizard. Given that all of the girls who slept with Phineas Black did so for a year or more, there's no reason to believe they were forced to nor were there any allegations that he had forced them into his bed. He altered their memories only after they were pregnant which was always when he was about to move on and a dozen or more of the girls became his mistresses for the rest of his life. What he did was wrong on many levels, but given that his conquests were from the lower tiers in our society and they all benefited from his attentions certainly while they were in school – most became adept at potions and found good employment when they finished – what he did was extreme but not illegal at that time. It is now. Once he was dead it was made illegal.

"His specific activities with young women aside, he did not invent Pureblood Supremacy out of whole cloth. It had existed for centuries. As I may have said earlier, it was a fringe belief. What he did was make it more palatable, popular and mainstream."

"And more dangerous," Sirius added. "Before, it was a belief system that attracted only a small number, maybe a few score at any time and they all were Purebloods and destitute, victims of generations of waste who had nothing but their blood to be proud of and who loathed everything about the rest of us. They blamed their rotten lives on Muggle influences, even though it was more often the ineptitude of their own ancestors, and found evidence of that stuff in everything including education so that if they had children, those children would not be sent to school lest they be subjected to corrupting ideas. Such children would have to marry into a like minded line, which often meant close relatives since it's not like those Purebloods socialized – after all being sociable risked being exposed to Muggle influences. End result, the Old Believers were ignorant, destitute and often inbred; little more than beggars and thieves.

"Phineas was less on about Muggle corruptions. His idea was that Pureblood was an ideal that all should aspire to, if not for themselves then for their descendants. They were super-wizards and as such it was their destiny to rule. Having covered up the dirty secrets of his foreign born ancestors, it was easy for him to say this seeing as he was already in the ruling class. His heirs were already destined to hold a hereditary seat in the Wizengamot. He and his heirs had nothing at stake, assuming their less than Pureblood ancestry never came to light. As a 'Pureblood', and therefore being better than those he considered more base, they existed to serve people like him, which meant they should be honored if they or their daughters were called to his bed.

"His excuses aside, it was palatable to some. Many of the families with hereditary seats were either Purebloods or would be with a generation or two of selective breeding, which they were already doing by marrying their children for influence or money. Those old families without money or influence suddenly became popular in a way as their unmarried members were now marketable for an arranged marriage simply 'cause they were so many generations removed from their Muggle ancestors. Newer families, ones that were all Muggle within the last six generations but were technically Purebloods, became marketable when before they could only be considered relevant in old society if they were filthy rich and many were anything but that. People began to see Blood status as an attraction when it had never mattered before. While arranged marriages existed before, they became the norm for most older families."

"And all the time," Connie said, "what they were doing was weakening their magic with each selectively bred generation. Phineas Black's ancestors believed that and while they did not marry Muggle Borns, they married close to them. They knew that if you wanted to sustain or strengthen the magic in the family, a Muggle Born spouse was ideal. But they also lived in a society where family influences mattered. There were not a lot of rich Muggle Borns to marry. Give them a generation or two and they might well be wealthy, but our laws practically ensure they do not bring 'old' money into our world."

"Muggle Borns can't be rich?" Anna asked. "That doesn't seem fair."

"They can't bring an inheritance from their world into ours," Sirius said. "It cuts both ways as a Squib can't bring a magical inheritance into the Muggle world. There was a series of treaties about it."

"Haven't been taught about those," Anna said. "Binns is all on about the Statute of Secrecy and Goblin wars and such."

"As far as I recall, the Treaties of Separation were not covered when I was in school. Most of his course is about magical developments like who invented the self-stirring cauldron and Goblin Wars which always went surprisingly well for the Goblins and not politics and certainly not about our prior relations with the Muggle World given the Statute of Secrecy. But there are older agreements still in effect and the Treaties of Separation are among them. It was a series of treaties between the Wizengamot of Greater Britannia and the varies Muggle sovereigns at the time: England, Scotland and various principalities in Wales and Ireland. Basically, it says that what's magical is magical and what's Muggle is Muggle. It divided lands and estates into Magical and Muggle and they were to remain that for all time. It does not prevent a magical from renting Muggle lands or Muggles from renting magical land, but I can't buy Muggle land and they can't buy my land. It also means a Muggle Estate does not become magical even if the sole heir to that estate is a witch or wizard. So, a Muggle Born from a wealthy family leaves their wealth at the door, as it were."

"Is that 'cause we don't get on with the Muggles?"

"It had nothing to do with that and that was never much of an issue here."

"But there was something I read about burning witches…"

"They did that on the Continent," Sirius nodded. "Did it for a bit in Scotland too, until the witches hunters were rounded up and hung by other Muggles. For the most part, there was never much of an issue about magic here. There were a few Muggles who tried to make it one, but most never bothered with it and those who did were more likely to hang than any real witch or wizard."

"But Nearly Headless Nick," Anna exclaimed. "He was beheaded!"

"Not for being a wizard," Sirius said.

"But I heard he said it was 'cause he hexed a Muggle by accident!"

"He was beheaded," Sirius nodded. "The Muggles only did that for one reason: treason! In the case of Sir Nicholas, he openly supported a pretender to the throne of England, or so King Henry VII claimed. A fair few lost their heads for similar reasons early in that butcher's reign, never mind the fact he led a coup against another king. The truth is being a witch or wizard was never really a crime. There was a brief period when there were laws against it, but in practice it wasn't much of a deal at all. Just about every trial of a witch or wizard in England aside from those involving clergy members were not so much about the magic itself as the means or intent of the magic. Necromancy was a crime since it involved violations of the dead which was a crime all by itself. Otherwise, in practice magic was a tool used in a crime and not the crime itself. In other words, had the alleged witch or wizard done the same thing without magic, they still would've been punished or executed under the law. Unlike the continent, many of those accused were acquitted and a false accusation of witchcraft was also a criminal offense. Burning a witch was contrary to law and custom. For capital offenses less than treason, a person was hanged. The truly bad times for England were in the mid-17th Century when England was controlled by a religious fanatic and not a King.

"Still, it was a farce in many ways. Back in those days, most women were considered the responsibility of the males in their families: fathers, husband and guardians and such. Only nuns and old widows were considered independent. Unless the woman was independent, the family could be held responsible for her crimes. She might hang, but they could lose their lands or freedom. But, if she were also accused of using magic the family was in the clear so it was often used that way: hang the witch and spare her family. Then there were the independent women who were accused on occasion by a distant claimant to her estate to get her out of the picture so they could inherit. The hysteria over on the Continent never made it into England. Then again, it wasn't an English idea and the English were by nature suspicious of anything that was foreign – especially if it was French.

"King Edward IV married a witch and it was hardly a secret! Not exactly a bunch of witch hunting zealots if they look the other way when their King marries one even though she was a commoner which they also chose to overlook. She was accused of it formally, but that was when the King's brother was King and trying to suppress dissent for his usurpation of the crown and she was not executed. Throughout most of Britain and most of its history, if the Muggles executed a witch or wizard, it was almost always for a crime that had nothing to do with magic alone: treason, murder, and such."

"A king married a witch?" Anna asked.

"He did," Sirius said. "And she wasn't a Muggle Born, that much is certain. Nor was her mother, apparently."

"How do we know?"

"The woman did not attend Hogwarts," Sirius replied. "Back then it was the only such school in the British Isles or at least on this one and the only other option was in France and we were not getting on with them at all in either world. The only group of children that are required to attend magical schools are the Muggle Borns. Older lines may opt out of it, although the vast majority who do hire tutors. Even back then, Muggle Borns had to attend school. She did not but she was a witch so that meant she was not Muggle Born."

"Doesn't that mean there was a wizard king or something?"

"No. The Treaty of Separation made it clear that no wizard could ever be king. One of her daughters married a future king, but it seems she was magically barren meaning while she could have children they would not be magical at all."

"But how…?"

"It's not known for certain," Connie replied. "Most likely, the mother or her daughters contracted Symonian Pox which while generally not life threatening will leave a witch magically barren or, if not truly barren, her daughters would be if she was untreated and that was a hundred years or more before the affliction was even understood, much less treatable."

"But the boys were killed, weren't they?"

"That's what the Muggles were meant to believe. They believe the two boys – the older one was barely twelve – were locked up in the Tower of London and later killed by someone and there's a long list of ideas as to who did it and why, although most blame their Uncle who took the throne. The truth was they were given a choice: impovershment or Hogwarts. They could not become King or even remain in the line of succession due to the treaty. Their mother, upon being advised that they could never become King, chose to have them exiled into our world. To avoid publicizing the truth, the Muggles made it public that the King and Queen were never really married, thus the boys were illegitimate and could not be in line for the throne. The boys were sent off to Hogwarts after their father died and the other girls – those who lived long enough as one died young – they were married into the Muggle nobility aside from one who became a nun. But those who were married off were either magically barren or not magical or otherwise their children would never in the line of succession as they were by then deemed illegitimate. Nearly Headless Nick was executed for trying to set one of the boys on the throne, except he actually backed an imposter as the boys had renounced their claims by then. But don't tell Nick that. To this day he's convinced he backed the right person."

"So if being magical was not a real problem back then, why this treaty that made them different?"

"That was about taxes," Sirius said. "Before the Treaty, if you lived on a magical estate you paid taxes to both the Wizengamot and the Muggles. The Treaty divided things up. If you live or work on 'treaty lands,' you only pay taxes to the Wizarding government. If you live or work on Muggle lands, you pay taxes to them. It's somewhat more complicated than that, but essentially that's what it was about. If you live in the magical world, you answer to their laws and pay their taxes and if you live in the muggle world, you answer to their laws and pay their taxes."

"What if you live in both?"

"Then both can tax you but only for the bits that can be taxed in their world. Keeping the bits separate is a profitable line of work for our solicitors. Many choose our world because taxes are lower, but some choose the Muggle one 'cause you can potentially make more money there and some choose both. House Black has investments in the Muggle World and they make us more money for less than on this side. We have to pay their taxes on that money but the Ministry can't tax it. It's complicated but a good accountant can tell who can tax what. Gringotts is very good at that. But that's also one of the reasons why Phineas Black's ideas became popular. He also was saying that we should be able to make money anywhere we want and not have to pay taxes to Muggles or abide by their laws. Which brings us back to the hypocrisy of all of that rubbish."

"But what do Muggles and taxes have to do with it?" Anna asked.

"The Supremacists want to be able to ignore the Muggles at the very least and some believe they should rule over them. Naturally, this means they want to get their money as well. This assumes that they can do either. There are a thousand or more Muggles for every witch and wizard and about ten times that for every Pureblood. Even with magic it would be impossible to ignore them much less rule over them. Throw in their technology and it becomes suicide. If we were to try, they would destroy us and yet you listen to the Supremacists and you'd think it would be the other way around. One-on-one, they may have a point because one-on-one there's a chance that we could succeed. That assumes we have a wand and know how to use it in a fight and they're unarmed. If they have a gun and know how to use it, then we cannot win if they see us coming unless we're really lucky. They can kill us before we could get close enough to do anything. But that's one-on-one and there's a lot more of them than there are of us. They have more Muggle Aurors than we have people and that's not including their army whose job it is to fight wars and kill their enemies and which is about as large as their police forces if not larger. All of that lot are trained to use guns and have access to them if needed and that lot outnumbers all of us by four-to-one or more. If it came to a war between us, we would've lost a thousand years ago, much less today. Yet the Death Eaters truly believed it otherwise despite the fact that not a single one of them ever survived an encounter with an armed Muggle.

"The Pureblood Supremacy types believe Purebloods are inherently more powerful than other witches and wizards which again is patently false. On average, if you're talking about magical potential that distinction belongs to Muggle Borns and to magically bonded couples and their children. In a magical bond such as the one between your mother and I, our children are no less powerful than we are and more likely are more so. Without a magical bond to enhance the parents' magic, each generation is less magical than the one before even if it's only to a very small degree. If they keep marrying away from source magic, each generation will be weaker than the last until, in time, they lose their magical ability.

"Before the Supremacy became popular, a lot of magical parents arranged marriages for their children. But those arrangements were not based on bloodlines alone. The families gained something from the arrangements and if those benefits could come from marrying a Muggle Born or their child, then that would be done. True, the benefits tended to be found in the older lines which had been magical for generations even if they were by no means Pureblood. After all, a new line won't have a seat on the Wizengamot and may not have money or business interests to make their children highly marketable. But if the child was a prodigy at school that was also a 'selling' point. Since my ancestor started pushing that Pureblood nonsense, blood status has become important enough on its own. Whatever you may think of arranged marriages, when they were based upon potential gains in reputation, magical abilities, economics, business or politics there was a sense to them. When you throw those tangible gains away to maintain a fictional sense of superiority, the whole thing becomes truly pointless.

"Sorry," Sirius finished somewhat sheepishly. "Went off on a bit of a lecture there."

"I don't mind," Anna said. "It was far more interesting than sitting in class listening to Binns. But, does this mean we Blacks – I am a Black, right? – does this mean we're like them?"

"Nature versus nurture," Connie said.

"Excuse me?" Anna asked.

"It's an argument of sorts that was popular amongst the Muggles who studied child development and such when I was young. It might still be one. It asks the question: are we who we are largely because of our genetic ancestry or is it because of how we are raised? There are arguments in favor of both, evidence in favor of one or the other, and evidence that suggests it's neither of them."

"That Muggle theory aside," Sirius said, "there are those who believe that as a Black we must be dark or dark inclined. But if you look at the family in its entirety, that thought falls far from the mark. Phineas Black did not hesitate to disown his descendants who did not believe every word he said. His son Sirius was as likely to do so as not, although not as vicious to his kin as his father had been. Grandfather seemed to be far less inclined to do that to what was left, but he still disowned my Uncle Alphard after Uncle Alphard loaned me money and paid my Hogwarts tuition when I ran out on my parents."

"That was the excuse but not the reason why Alphard Black and his line were disowned," Connie said. "Lord Arcturus was many things and not all of them admirable. But he was never a follower and never a Pureblood Supremacists. He believed a Black should follow the Lord Black or no one at all. A true Black would do what was best for his family even if that put him at odds with House Black or the rest of society. Far too many had chosen to follow others. Alphard chose to follow another and, worse, had pledged to that other to use his influence with his sister – your mother – to ensure the other was financed liberally."

"I never would have tagged him as a follower of Voldemort," Sirius began.

"You'd be wrong to do so," Connie said. "His leader was Albus Dumbledore."

"What? But that's…"

"The last person you'd expect a true Black to follow," Connie nodded. "Alphard chose to follow the one person who would destroy House Black given a chance. That was the real reason he was disowned although Lord Arcturus being the devious man that he was, was not about to tip his hand and let other know what he knew. Alphard loaned you money. Lord Arcturus would've done so himself had you gone to him, but you did not and that gave him a plausible excuse to get rid of that threat to House Black."

"Um … I did join Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix," Sirius began. "Yet Grandfather seemed to overlook that."

"He knew and it was different," Connie replied. "You joined his organization, but you did not take an oath of fealty to him and him alone, did you? You did not offer your family fortune without condition, did you?"

"No. I did not."

"Like a Death Eater, your Uncle vowed away his heritage to support a threat to House Black without conditions. You chose sides and worked for the lesser of two evils. Your Grandfather could understand your lack of opportunities seeing as no one was really doing much about the Death Eaters at the time…"

"Not that the Order was much better," Sirius gumbled.

"… but your Grandfather noted you made no effort to pledge yourself or your family irrevocably to that man and his cause. You knew as well as any that House Black would never truly follow Dumbledore or that usurper either."

Sirius nodded.

"Then who does House Black follow?" Anna asked.

"It's an Ancient and Noble House," Sirius said. "We 'follow' no one. Our Head is expected to act in the best interests of the House and if that means we act alone, we do. There are times when one House or another might be better positioned to lead on that issue and our Heads would let them be. But just because we let them take the lead on one thing does not mean we would follow their lead in anything else. I take it you mean that Alphard was thinking of vassalage or something?"

"Vassalage?" Anna asked.

"Binding and absolute subordination of your or your House interests to another," Connie explained. "And that is what Lord Arcturus believed was happening. One must admit, Sirius, your father would do whatever your mother wanted and she was not politically astute and could easily be led astray by one who was."

"I never paid her much attention," Sirius confessed.

"Lord Arcturus did. She was, after all, married to his heir and mother of his heir apparent. He would never have agreed to that match and not just because she was her husband's second cousin. He considered her family weak willed and too easily swayed by others. He had reason to believe that Alphard had all but promised House Black to Dumbledore in time, but did not have enough proof to disinherit the traitor. His defying his sister's wishes regarding you allowed Lord Arcturus to deal with the situation without revealing his real suspicions. He was unable to confirm those suspicions until after you were thrown into Azkaban."

"So what happened to confirm his suspicions?" Sirius asked. "Not that I doubt what he believed, but I can't see how Uncle Alphard could've been a threat to House Black. Not while Grandfather lived, at any rate."

"That would assume Dumbledore expected immediate returns," Connie agreed. "It seems he looked at the long term. Lord Arcturus would not be around forever, after all. About all Alphard could do before then was get money from your parents' trust and funnel it to Dumbledore. Lord Arcturus felt this would've been fairly easy. Alphard was not an obvious Blood Traitor and could easily have duped your mother into believing the money was going to the Death Eaters or for their support when in reality it was filling Dumbledore's coffers. And it may have worked. But he bit the hand that was feeding him, so to speak, when he loaned you that money which was one thing you mother would not overlook.

"But Dumbledore played his hand when you wound up in Azkaban. Lord Arcturus demanded that you get a trial and Dumbledore made it clear that you would get one, provided House Black swore vassalage. Naturally, he did so in a way that would be all but impossible to prove and don't ask me how 'cause I never really understood it. Still…"

"The old man seemed to go out of his way to prevent my recent trial and exoneration," Sirius nodded. "He came perilously close to pushing too hard and losing his position. He had House Potter under his thumb or so he thought. But with Harry's emancipation and my release that was slipping away. House Potter was a major thorn in his side before and he rightly fears it will be again. So Dumbeldore went after my House as well?"

"It was vulnerable. You were the only clear heir left seeing as your father and younger brother were already dead. With you in prison and therefore unable to assume your role as Head of House once Lord Arcturus passed away House Black would all but cease to exist and so long as you remained there without being stripped of your ancestral privileges no one else could step in and claim it. Dumbledore gave what he saw as two options: vassalage or incapacitation. Of course, Dumbledore knew nothing about me or Anna. But Lord Arcturus did by then. Anna was his 'secret weapon.' It was why he spent as much time with us as he did and why he insisted I keep this secret until either you where exonerated with your independence intact or Anna here came of age such that she could assume the Black seat as Regent in your stead."

"Secret weapon? What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"Dumbledore's schemes for House Black assume that he knows and can control its future," Connie said. "He knows about your father, of course, and saw to it your father remained in prison. He knew who was next in line after your father but that changed the moment you were born which he knows nothing about. Since he knows nothing about you, and you are the true heir right now, his plans are worthless. Naturally, Lord Arcturus wanted to keep Dumbledore in the dark as long as possible and preferably until you were safely out of that man's school."

"And now? I mean before there was that prison thing. Now that Daddy's out, will it remain secret? Does it have to?"

Sirius wanted to answer, but after hearing his daughter call him 'Daddy' for the first time he found he could not.

"That is among the things your father and I need to talk about. There are reasons to keep it secret longer, or at least known to a small few and possibly protected by magic even then."

"You mean like that Fido Charm they told us about on the train?"

"Fido Charm?" the two adults asked.

"Well, it sounded like that. It hides a secret in magic and only that person who's hiding the secret can tell it."

"Fidelius Charm," Sirius said with a chuckle. "And that's what it does."

"And that's what I mean," Connie added. "So yes, that's an option. After all, while Dumbledore's plan for your father is scuppered and he can't take action against you without getting in serious trouble, he's not the only one to worry about."

"Oh?" Anna asked.

"There's probably one family out there who would not be happy that their boy has no chance at being Lord Black," Connie said.

"Not Harry," Sirius said. "I doubt he'd want it. Especially as it would mean another wife in the future."

"There's your Cousin Draco Malfoy."

"The Frog Spawn? I can assure you that line was effectively cut out in Grandfather's Will and while I could reinstate it, I see no reason to leave House Black to a French upstart! Let Lucius try! His wife may be my first cousin, but that's on my mother's side. And he's not related at all. I would've killed her sister had that Death Eater crossed my path during the War. I won't lose sleep were I to ruin her husband or her or her brat if they even thought of messing with the succession! Maybe I should just disown her and be done with that mess."

"Even without Dumbledore and the … Frog Spawn? … were it to get out that Anna is your heir, there'd be the inevitable marriage offers."

"I'm not about to barter my daughter like a bushel of corn! The rest of the Pureblood idiots may sell their children off into marriage, more power to them. But I won't do that to mine! Don't tell me Grandfather did."

"He didn't. He was forced into a marriage as were his children and those were arranged by his father and they were married off before he could become Lord Black and put a stop to it. He had no use for such arrangements. In his mind, they only worked as designed if they would've worked had there been no marriage contract involved at all. Those things were entered into to forge a political or economic alliance yet invariably in the end each family acts in what it sees as its own best interests and if that means something contrary to the alliance, then so much for that. He wanted nothing to do with that nonsense. He would've insisted on some kind of contract before she married but that would be to let the boy and his family know that she is Head of House and not the boy and the family can expect no boon for themselves."

"Good, and that other idea makes sense!" Sirius repied.

"So, I won't get married?" Anna asked.

"You're a bit young to be thinking about that, and that's not what I meant. You won't be told who you're to marry unlike your Grandfather and other ancestors and unlike me when I was your age. Fortunately, she died as I said earlier and I was able to meet your Mum and bond with her."

"Siri, she is a girl," Connie said. "It's a fair bet she thinks about marriage and husbands and such."

"Does she? Do I need to hear this?"

"I have. All the stories were about that."

"Obviously read different stories than I did at your age."

"Maybe, maybe not," Connie said. "Boys lose interest after the violent bits and killing of dragons or evil doers is over. Girls keep listening through the kissing bits and happily ever after. It's the same with Muggle cinema. Girls like 'relationship' stories and boys like pictures with things blowing up."

"Explosions are cool," Sirius agreed as his daughter rolled her eyes at the comment. "But my point remains that you're a bit young to get married or be thinking seriously about it. When that time comes – and hopefully that's not anytime soon – it will be your choice."

"And what if you don't like the boy or his family?" Connie asked with a sly grin.

"I'm sure I can so encumber the Estate that her husband couldn't buy a bog roll from a Black account without first going through a full application and review with a hoard of Gringotts' Accountants, especially for the time being."

"I don't understand," Anna said. "I mean I can figure out what encumber means, but what's about the time being?"

"Right now, you're our only child," Sirius said. "The future of House Black is on your shoulders entirely, at least until your mother and I change that – assuming we will…"

"That was my plan," Connie said.

"When?" Anna asked.

"We'll see. If it happens, it will happen when it happens and not before. You were saying Siri?"

"Right now, you're it Anna. Your children are this House's future for now, assuming they're Blacks."

"They wouldn't be?" Anna asked.

"It's a law and custom that doesn't make sense, if you ask me. But right now, because I have no son, everything passes to you in time. The titles, however, and the votes on the Wizengamot that go with those titles, cannot pass to your children unless they are born Blacks legally and not just by bloodline. That means they can have no interest in their father's family heritage, not even his last name. There's a contract he would have to agree to called a Line Continuation Contract. If he agrees to it, your children are Blacks in all respects and the oldest son becomes Lord Black of the Ancient and Noble House of Black in time and Earls of Hangleton and Falthsome and Baron Savoy. Otherwise, the property and such passes to you and to them, but the House Black seat will not pass on past you. A Line Continuation contract allows everything to pass to the next generation, but nothing can be inherited from the father – at least by the heir – not even the name. Often this is done by arranging the marriage, usually to a young man who stands to receive no inheritance from his own family. Where he stands to inherit, even if it's not certain that he will but only that he could, the law allows him a second wife to carry on that separate estate; which I'm sure you would not want."

"Not really, no," Anna agreed. "I mean, I do know 'bout that sort of. House Potter and House Longbottom…"

"They are very unique circumstances," Sirius said. "So unique I'm not sure it's ever happened that way before. And you should know, it wasn't meant to happen. Certain things which they could not control had to happen for those marriages to happen and if those things never happened, neither of those boys could have had more than one wife. Without going into too much detail, so far as anyone knows, no one has had compatible magic with more than one other person before and those two boys had it with two witches. Their other contracts were conditioned on those bonds actually occurring, which is by no means certain as they could've not liked each other at all much less in a way that would trigger the bond. They had to want to be together, and that's never truly certain. There's nothing like that in your future, thank Merlin."

"Don't be so sure," Connie said.

"Oh?" Anna and Sirius asked.

"Later. I can't do that Fidelius Charm. Can you, Siri?"

"Never tried it."

"But there is someone here who can?"

"It seems Harry's wife Hermione's done it more than once."

"There's something I need to tell the both of you, but I don't want it getting out to the wrong people so until we can arrange that Charm, I'll say nothing more."


	46. Chapter 46: Quidditch

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Said it'd be 'bout two weeks. And no, I'm only posting one.

**CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: QUIDDITCH**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993 (Day 1, Elswhere on the Estate)**

Magical Disconnect was one of several names for a certain potentially life-threatening condition. It was a condition and not a disease. One could neither catch it nor spread it and, as it was magical rather than physical in origin, it was not technically a disease which had physical origins, effects and where available cures. It was a condition unique to magical peoples as there was no record of any Muggle having suffered from it. It was a condition unique to witches; specifically witches between their bonding age and magical maturity. Short of attaining magical maturity, the only certain and absolute preventative a witch could find was pregnancy and for any number of reasons this was not a preferred option. Short of pregnancy, a witch could reduce her risks through sexual stimulation and intimacy and was all but compelled to do so practically from the onset of puberty. They called the compulsion to seek sexual gratification 'the urges' which was their body and magic's way of getting the witch to seek sexual satisfaction and the rush of magic and hormones such release produced which reduced the risk of Disconnect.

Magical Disconnect was not an absolutely accurate description of what would occur if there was a critical imbalance of the right magic and hormones but it was close. Through most of a magical person's life, their body and magic were synchronized. As an infant, it was not the case as each grew as it would. This period of instability lasted until the child was from five until nine years of age and varied within that range. This was the age where accidental magic was a common enough occurrence. Harry and his ladies had also learned that a child who was "magically unstable" aged in trunk time whereas a person who was magically stable aged in "outside" time. When a girl entered puberty, she remained magically stable as far as temporal magic was concerned but entered into a different period of potential instability. During her transition from girl to woman it was important that her magic and body mature in a degree of synchronization. If it did not, if there was a "disconnect" between physical and magical maturation; bad things happened.

A young witch who did not take care of her physical and magical needs was at risk of some form of disconnect, although "neglect disorder" was distinct from the far more severe "magical disconnect." A girl who suffered from neglect disorder was at risk for diminished magical potential, an adult form of magical instability that made their expressive magic unpredictable to some extent, and a risk of being magically barren to some degree meaning that there was a real risk that they would give birth to a Squib. For most young witches, these risks were more than enough to convince them to "take the cure."

"Magical Disconnect" was related but different. It was different because there was no known precaution. It was exceedingly rare but the most sexually relieved young witch was no less at risk than the most frustrated. If a witch underwent Magical Disconnect, the consequences were extreme unless treated quickly. The condition often resulted in loss of her magic and being rendered magically barren. But it also could result in physical sterility, insanity and in the most extreme cases: death. Healers had a fair idea about the cause of the condition. But Healing was not the science that Muggle medicine had become. A healer could tell you generally what might cause the condition but not why. What they knew was that acute physical, magical and emotional stress caused the condition to develop. They could not say what those stressors were for it had been observed that several young witches could suffer the same sorts of stresses and yet only one might suffer from disconnect. The most thorough examination of the disorder had come out of the last war where young witches were as exposed to the stresses as anyone seeing as the Death Eaters made no distinction between victims based upon age, gender or any factor other than whether you were one of them or not. There had been school aged girls who had been brutally raped who did not undergo Magical Disconnect and ones who were not harmed at all, but who had been threatened with harm who had. In other words, the Healers knew about the disorder, but could not say to any young witch what may or may not cause them to suffer it with any certainty.

Healers also knew of a cure, although they could not say how or why it worked. It was not a perfect cure. Often, the witch had to be under very powerful "mood altering" potions for the cure to even work because unless the witch accepted the cure, the cure could make things worse. There were less risky treatments. But those treatments failed far more often than they succeeded and the price of failure was often unacceptable. While no sane witch would want to take the "cure" on a whim, most would accept it as distasteful as it seemed rather than suffer the full consequences of Magical Disconnect.

For reasons unknown, the cure was sex. Not the kind of sexual stimulation and intimacy that girls engaged in to stabilize their magical growth during adolescence. Doing it yourself or with a girl did not have any notable effect when the girl was suffering from Magical Disconnect. The girl had to have sex with a post-bonding age boy or man (male). She could be on magical birth control, but there could be no physical barrier. Nor could any form of sexual encounter work. It had to be one that would otherwise risk conception even if potions prevented actual conception from occurring. No one knew why this was the case. Naturally this presented some problems for the sufferer. Most young witches, despite their other forms of sexual activity, were not inclined to let any boy do that with them. Moreover, if the Magical Disconnect was as a result of rape, there were obvious reasons why the sufferer might not be inclined to accept the cure particularly because it involved nearly non-stop and repeated intercourse over a period of hours. Physically, without potions, the cure was almost worse than the affliction. But potions prevented the potentially harmful effects of hours of nonstop copulation, at least for the girl. She had to be mounted again and again with little break for some reason and he had to climax within her again and again. Prior to the nineteenth century, this meant she had to have the "services" of more than one male to affect a cure. For the young witch, this could be almost as traumatic as the original cause of the condition if not more so, hence the use of mind altering potions to reduce that emotional risk. Then someone invented a potion that allowed a single male to recover in a matter of a few minutes. The Healers had long known that having a trusted male as at least part of the cure helped, but was physically impossible. Healers long believed that having that trusted male as the whole cure was even more effective than the multiple partner situation, but until a potion came along that allowed the witch's chosen trusted male to fulfill her needs, it had required the mind altering potions and many partners over hours to cure her.

Madam Pomfrey had been the Healer at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for almost thirty years. As Hogwarts was one of the six schools for magical studies in Greater Britannia, each with its own "resident" Healer and as the Healers at schools were for all intents and purposes the primary Healers for most all young people between the ages of eleven and eighteen, this made her one of the foremost practicing experts on magical maladies unique to magical adolescents and, therefore, one of that handful of Healers in Greater Britannia who dealt with Magical Disconnect as rare as that potentially life threatening disorder was. When she had entered her field, she had hoped she might help find new ways to help her teenaged charges particularly when it came to the rare but potentially devastating condition of Magical Disconnect. It was hardly a common occurrence with far fewer than one in a hundred witches ever succumbing to it during their at risk years. Still, it was said that the cure was as bad as the affliction or could be at least so anything that rendered the age old cure unnecessary would be of benefit.

One of the problems was that while the underlying cause was said to be known, it remained impossible to predict. While physical, magical and emotional stress combined to trigger the condition, no one had determined how much was necessary. It seemed to vary from person to person so that the onset seemed almost random. Ten witches could be subjected to the same degrees of this stress and maybe one would suffer for it. What seemed as an obvious at risk situation was not. Few rape victims ever entered Magical Disconnect. In Madam Pomfrey's tenure as school Healer, not one witch had suffered this condition as a result of a sexual assault outside of the worst of the War years where a small number of vile students were liberal in their use of Unforgivables on their victims, which among their other vile effects created an almost overwhelming degree of magical stress. That form of rape never gain 'popularity' as the perpetrators were all dead "from mysterious circumstances" within months. The truth was that the average young witch was more at risk of succumbing to Magical Disconnect taking her OWLs. Every couple of years or so some girl ignored what she was told and studied too hard, failed to take care of her needs and got sufficiently stressed for the condition to take hold. If Madam Pomfrey were to quantify such things, she would estimate that absent the use of an Unfogivable, Magical Disconnect arising from rape afflicted maybe one in a thousand of the assault victims while OWLs seemed to trigger the condition in about one percent of all young witches.

These numbers hardly required anticipatory measures beyond constantly reminding young witches to take care of themselves properly and admonish them whenever it appeared that they were not doing so. But there was one activity that placed a young witch at significant risk of the condition. As many as one if five such witches would suffer Magical Disconnect sometime between their Third and Seventh Year (between Bonding Age and magical maturity) and for that reason anticipatory measures were deemed necessary. What those measures were depended upon what House the Witch lived in. The one activity that placed a young witch at highest risk was playing Quidditch.

Madam Pomfrey was apt to add "for or against Slytherin" as the overwhelming majority of cases arose from a Slytherin match. But as Quidditch induced Magical Disconnect was not unique to Hogwarts Quidditch or Slytherin matches, as every school could report comparable numbers of occurrences, Madam Pomfrey could not blame it on Slythern alone. Quidditch was strenuous. It required physical strength to fly a broom as the game required and all brooms she was aware of drew upon the magical reserves of the rider to fly thus flying could also lead to magical exhaustion. Add to the physical and magical stress the emotional stress of the game and whatever other stresses a girl would be under as well and it was no wonder that the game had a higher number of victims of Magical Disconnect than any other identifiable situation. One would think that given such risks girls of an "at risk" age would not be allowed to play and that the women in their society would prefer that girls stay away from the game altogether. It was true there were some who felt this way (such as Ginny's Aunt Muriel), but they were a very small and wholly ignored minority. Madam Pomfrey was not a huge fan of the game, in no small part than the fact that it filled the beds in her hospital wing more than anything else at the school. She had long felt it would be apt to post a sign at the entrance to any Quidditch Pitch saying: "Abandon all reason ye who enter here!" Quidditch passion in the Wizarding World was certainly irrational in Madam Pomfrey's opinion and might well descend into the realm of a societal insanity. But, it was not for her to decide the sports mania of choice. Girls wanted to play Quidditch, or at least some did. Most either knew the risks going in or accepted them upon joining a team and those who could not accept that were not allowed to play even if they were more of a natural talent than one Harry Potter.

When a girl made the Quidditch Team at a tryout on the Pitch, her membership was not yet certain. Following the successful tryout, she had a meeting with the Captain, her Head of House and Madam Pomfrey where she learned of the risks she faced as an adolescent witch playing this sport and the conditions Madam Pomfrey and her House imposed for her participation. Those conditions varied from House to House in the details, but not in the specifics. By joining a team, a girl who had surpassed her Bonding Age but had not reached her Magical Maturity was at a significantly increased risk for developing Magical Disconnect. It was the one activity where the risk was foreseeable and for which preparations were possible. A girls was safe until she hit her bonding age and, it seemed, reasonably safe for another year. After that, all bets were off and there was a real chance she would have to undergo "the cure" at some point. Thus, a condition for joining the team was knowing what that meant and accepting it in the manner prescribed even if it never came to that.

For Katie Bell, that meeting had happened the evening after she tried out for the team two years ago. Madam Pomfrey had told her of the risk and that the cure was not something most girls would desire. Gryffindor policy, McGonagall explained, depended upon the girl's age. As a Second Year – as Katie was at the time – there was no worry so the policy did not apply. As a Third Year, it would depend upon when she attained bonding age. Once she was a year beyond her bonding age she had a choice: agree to accept the terms in regards to the cure or leave the team. The terms – or term as there was only one condition or choice short of leaving the team – was to accept what Gryffindor called a Quidditch Partner. That was another boy on the team who would be called upon to provide the cure if it proved necessary. They did not have to do anything together until then and it did not mean they had to date or anything like that (although it often worked out that way.) But they had to get along for she would not be allowed to change her mind about her partner once it was accepted. If either of them did balk at the arrangement, they both would be off the team. Katie knew that beginning this year she would need a Quidditch Partner.

She assumed it would be Harry Potter. They had started on the team together, after all. She liked to think they were friends and although he was somewhat withdrawn and quiet, he was a nice boy. The truth was in her mind there were not a lot of boys who met the critical requirements (not due to finish school before she would and of bonding age when she would need the Partner) whom she could see herself with that way even if it were for "medicinal reasons." The truth was the whole team assumed Harry would be there for Katie if she ever suffered from Disconnect. Fred and Alicia were together that way as were George and Angelina. Oliver had never "partnered up" as it had never been necessary. He was available for Katie in the very unlikely event that she needed someone the previous year but it was understood that Harry was to be her true Partner. Of course, no one bothered to tell Harry this at all. That sort of thing was just not talked about at all unless it was between the partners themselves. Besides, Harry was not yet of Bonding Age and until he was he was useless as a partner. They had planned to tell him about this sort of thing the first weekend after the year began.

Then he showed up very married. On the one hand, one could not see a problem with him liking girls that way nor about having more than one girlfriend. But there was a general rule that the Team did not interfere with betrothals and a marriage was more than just a betrothal. Add to it Katie not wanting to interfere and so much for even thinking about asking Harry to be her Partner if the need ever arose. But it certainly left Katie with a potential problem. The way things had been set up on their team was so that the girl would know who it was that would help her if she ever underwent disconnect. She did not have to be his girlfriend, although that often became the case as it had for four of her teammates. But she would know the boy and it was hoped trust him and Katie did trust Harry. Now it might be any boy willing to do his part and far too many who might be willing were ones she wanted little or nothing to do with.

Her fear was they would have to bring another boy on the team to be her partner. Her nightmare was that it would be Cormac McLaggen, the self proclaimed master of Quidditch (although she had cleaned the pitch with him during tryouts two years earlier) and biggest jerk in her entire House. He was after her the best Quidditch Player they knew about from those try outs. Fortunately, no one wanted him on the team. He had so politely volunteered to be Seeker when Harry was laid up in Hospital for their final match a little over a year ago and they decided they'd rather play without one than let him wear the House colors. Now they needed another player and one who would be available for the rest of her time at Hogwarts. McLaggen was an obvious choice in that he played and was in her year, but no one even suggested that.

There had been a meeting of the returning members of the Gryffindor team the week after the return to school. Harry had not been asked to attend. Oliver explained that he believed Harry would have done the honorable and chivalrous thing and volunteered to help Katie if needed and he was not about to give Harry that option if it could be helped. The last thing he needed was four angry witches with their sights set on him. But as Harry could not serve as Katie's Partner should she need that, someone else was needed.

On the one hand the team needed no new players. All seven players had returned and all seven had played together for two years making the Gryffindor side the most experienced as a team at the school. It made no sense to bring in a new player from the standpoint of the game. Oliver had never had a reserve player on the team in his previous two years as a coach; neither had there been a reserve player at any point while he had been on the team. The thought had crossed his mind, he admitted. After all, there had been that one game when Harry was injured and there was no back-up. The plan for that game against Ravenclaw was to try and run up the score to such a point that it would no longer matter if Ravenclaw caught the snitch. It had nearly worked. Gryffindor lost by only twenty points and may well have won had the Ravenclaw Seeker not caught the Snitch when he did. The reason there was no reserve that year (Harry and Katie's first on the team) was a lack of any real talent at the tryouts aside from Katie and arguably McLaggen, but not even Wood was willing to take McLaggen on.

Now, with Katie old enough to be at risk for Disconnect and the only true "spare" boy being married many times over, a new player was deemed necessary. It might have played out differently in one of the other Houses. This particular Quidditch thing was not known outside of the teams, although it was certainly suspected. How the teams dealt with the condition was not discussed outside of the teams themselves. The easy solution was for Katie to leave the team and to hold tryouts for her replacement. That was not going to happen. No one wanted Katie to leave even if it might be best for her; especially not Katie. That meant a boy had to join the team which further meant a reserve player for it was doubtful there were any players trained enough to start. Furthermore, the boy could not be in Sixth or Seventh Year. As the new player was to be Katie's partner, he had to be available and on the team for the next three seasons at least. The Fifth Year could also be ruled out as all their skilled fliers were already on the team. Lee Jordan was not bad, but he preferred commentating to playing. Second Year was also out. Most of the boys met the maturity requirement in that they had passed their Bonding Age the summer before, but Wood had scouted them during flying lessons and while there was a girl who showed promise, the boys may as well have never heard of brooms or Quidditch and he really did not want to waste the team's time teaching people to fly. Besides, Katie felt the idea of being paired with a Second Year that way was creepy. Fourth Year was also ruled out if for no other reason than no one wanted McLaggen on the team. Katie could not stand the self absorbed prat and that sealed it as she had to at least like her partner even if they would never become a true couple.

That left Third Year. Harry was out due to his new situation. They certainly were not trying to replace him as Seeker. The truth was there was no one in his league at the school that they knew of and it was unlikely anyone would be at his level. The new player needed to have no illusions about ever playing Seeker for Gryffindor. His role would be as a Reserve and as Partner for Katie. Any other ambitions would be counterproductive. Oliver saw the new player as being a Keeper and was not interested in other abilities. After all, Keeper was the only position that would be open within the next three seasons as he was set to finish school at the end of this season. Moreover, whomever they selected had no real shot at ever being the team Captain. Next season, that would fall to one of the four Fifth Years. The next opening would be two years later and most likely it would fall to Harry and that was because he would have two seasons as Captain, which along with seniority on the team was something McGonagall always sought. She was exceedingly reluctant to ignore seniority or to replace Captains every year. What that meant was that whoever was selected, they could not hope to be Captain as they would not have two years remaining when Harry finished. Oliver added that this ruled out McLaggen as he was certain to covet a position more glamorous than Keeper and the Captain's position was more glamorous. So who would it be then?

Actually, it proved an easy choice. Neville might well have been a good partner, but he was married many times over like Harry and he could not fly a broom. Seamus Finnegan claimed he was a fair flier, although no one on the team had seen him fly outside of First Year flying lessons and for whatever reason he had not opted to continue with them Spring Term. Dean Thomas had and looked to be marginally competent. But Katie trusted neither of those two boys and that left Ron Weasley. His older brothers often teased the boy, but in the context of the Team they were surprisingly supportive. They said he might be a little rough around the edges, but he could fly and was a fair Keeper in their games back home and a year as a Reserve might well make him a more than adequate replacement for Wood next season. Katie was concerned with Quidditch potential as much as the others. But she was the one who would have to trust him as a Partner and she knew that could be a complicated relationship. It always was best between a serious boyfriend and girlfriend, but you could not pick a couple and hope they would also benefit the team as players. Partners had to get along and if they did not become a couple, they had to remain friends regardless of their relationships outside of the team. To the surprise of Fred and George Weasley, Katie was of the opinion that their annoying little brother might be the best fit for her not named Harry Potter.

"_Ickle Ronniekins?" one of the twins asked. After two years Katie could only tell them apart consistently when they were undressed. George had a birthmark on his bum that Fred did not. The Quidditch locker room, she had learned, was very co-educational. The only place for privacy was in the stall for the toilet. "You're joking, right?"_

"_What made you pick him?" Alicia asked. "Granted, he's not a total git like McLaggen and not becoming one like Finnegan, still… He does say the wrong things."_

"_His problem is he is honest," Katie said. "I'm not saying he can't lie. But one must admit those wrong things he says are usually right if they are rude and when he's wrong it's only 'cause he's not aware of all of the facts. He says what he honestly believes. He hides nothing about that, which means what you see is what you get with him and what I see isn't all that bad a person. Besides, you say he can play."_

"_You must admit, Fred," the other twin said, "you did lose a fiver to me when Harry's secret love life became public."_

"_I still think someone told him 'bout the bet," Fred complained. "I was so sure he'd be in a snit over that whenever it happened."_

"_He's not that good a faker," George said. "I think he's not upset at all. Then again, Harry's love life is hardly usual."_

"_The reason he's not upset is thick as he may seem, he's not stupid," Angelina interjected. "I heard that bit. Your brother knows enough to know that Harry had to marry this summer and is smart enough to know that he – Ron – isn't ready for that."_

"_He feels sorry for Harry in a way, although he'd never say that to Harry unless Harry asked," Katie said. "He talks to me, you know," she added when the others looked at her questioningly. "Might be another reason why I'm okay with Ron. He's talked to me about some things practically since he came here. At first, I think it was because I was on the Team, I wasn't tight with either of his brothers, I was only a year ahead of him, and I'd talk Quidditch with him and not lose interest like most people. Later, he'd talk about other stuff, usually when he was in a snit about something involving Hermione or Harry or both. I think this could work – Quidditch Partner, I mean – although he does have at least some boyfriend potential."_

"_Not particularly thoughtful, that one," Alicia observed._

"_That's why I said some potential," Katie said. "I can accept him as a Partner if he's on the Team."_

"_Now we just need a way to check him out without calling for a tryout," Oliver said._

"_He's good enough for a Reserve," George said. "Can't say he's ready to start, but he can stand as a Reserve right now."_

"_You know I can't just take your word for it, Tweedledee," Oliver said. He called them Tweedledee and Tweedledum after a couple of lookalike characters in a muggle story because he also had trouble telling them apart. "McLaggen and others would claim you lot put me up to it."_

"_Too true," Fred said._

"_Maybe so," Oliver admitted, "but I'd rather say I saw him play and saw no reason to look any further – and be telling the truth about it, mostly. Otherwise McLaggen might force a tryout the way he did two years ago when Katie beat him out." Which was what happened. Katie had made the team fair and square and with their then "secret" Seeker, McLaggen had complained to McGonagall about favoritism. Fortunately, Katie was the better flyer and McGonagall had put Harry on the team herself, but it had not shut that berk's mouth._

Harry had solved that problem not long afterwards. He invited many of his fellow Gryffidors to his Estate for the trial but had his girls sound them out beforehand. Those who did not seem at all interested were not invited and that included one Cormac McLaggen. Harry set most of them up at the Valley Lodge by the Quidditch Pitch, where McGonagall stayed as well and had made his guest brooms available. Wood arranged a "pick-up" game the evening after the first day of trial and each evening afterwards. Naturally, Ron Weasley was all for that. They were not surprised when Ginny had asked to play as well, although no one thought much would come of that. Ron proved to be the best Keeper on the Pitch aside from Wood and was no slouch as a Chaser. Ginny had Wood drooling almost from the start, and not because she was a good looking girl. She was clearly the best player out there who was not already on the team and Wood was not about to pass on her. When he learned that evening that she was betrothed to Harry and would become his fifth wife the next summer, the deal was done and the two youngest Weasleys were on the team. Ron was set to take over the Keeper position from Wood next season and for now would practice at that position, but he would also get time in as a backup Chaser. Ginny proved so skilled a flyer that she was the first Reserve at Chaser and was training as a Seeker as well in case Harry got injured again.

_Ginny paled slightly and Ron looked almost green and not with envy. It was the morning after the trial and McGonagall had called the team together for a meeting at the Pitch locker room at the Estate. With her was Madam Pomfrey who had explained Magical Disconnect to the new members. Ginny knew of this already but it was obvious to Katie that Ron did not. He paled when Madam Pomfrey had described the Cure and looked at his sister and then Harry and then…_

"_You want me to do that?" he exclaimed._

"_Many boys your age would jump at the opportunity," Madam Pomfrey said sourly._

"_They don't have sisters," Ron protested. "Either that, or they don't care about 'em!"_

"_Why thank you Ron," Ginny said._

"_Shut it," Ron growled. "It you think I'm going to cure Ginny you're…"_

"_Don't be silly, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said. "While you could Cure her and while our society might not take issue with that, we would not ask either you or your brothers to do so. I'm sure her betrothed would be more than willing to fulfill that function should that time ever come. Remember, it is rare enough. Most girls who play never suffer it. Partners is merely a precautionary measure. Still, we would not ask you to help your sister unless there truly was no one else of your gender available." _

"_You'll be asked to serve as Miss Bell's partner," McGonagall added._

"_Oh … um," Ron began as his face changed from pale to red so fast it amazed the others, "I … um … I guess that makes sense."_

"_Such enthusiasm," one of the twins said._

"_At least he did not run and hide," Alicia said. _

"_Unlike two other Weasley boys we know," Angelina added._

"_We did not!" the twins protested._

"_Fine," Alicia said. "But once you learned you were to be our Partners, the two of you were out the door so fast it was as if you were running from Filch. We didn't see the two of you for weeks."_

"_Outside of classes and practice," Angelina added. "They never showed up for meals and turned red every time they saw either of us looking at them."_

"_It was better than a prank," Alicia agreed. "Of course, we thought they'd come around sooner. After all, everyone has to eat."_

"_We didn't know they'd found a way into the kitchens," Angelina added. "They finally came around several weeks later after Oliver told them they were being sillier than normal."_

"_Not running away," Ron mumbled._

"_What's that?" Ginny asked._

"_I'm not running away, okay? Katie's my friend, you know. She's always been willing to talk to me and stuff. More so this year what with Harry and you and the others being off and stuff. This is … well, I … it's a bit more than I bargained for. Didn't think playing Quidditch could mean… But at least it's Katie. It'd be different if she wasn't already a friend, I guess. Still…"_

Of course, to the extent that anything was academic to Ron Weasley, this notion of being a Quidditch Partner was just that. Naturally, as with any boy around his age he thought about girls and sex, but there was a huge difference between thinking about it and actually doing it not in the least of which being you did not need a willing girl to just think about it. He did not envision this Partner thing as being a short cut to doing it. Madam Pomfrey had made it clear that the odds of his having to do it with Katie because of that condition were only slightly better than the odds of his beloved Chudley Cannons breaking even on the season and maybe as long a shot as the odds on the Cannons contending. Still, it was nice to know she had picked him as someone she would be willing to ask for help in that way. But she was a year older. Older girls usually did not do that with younger boys, did they? Besides, he was uncertain about the girlfriend thing. Maybe after that basilisk was sold and he got his cut he might rethink it. Girls, it seemed, liked to have stuff bought for them and it was not like his allowance allowed for a lot of that. So, for Ron this Quidditch Partnership was nothing more than fantasy material really.

His eyes opened. He was in a bed, that much was certain and in a room as opposed to a dream he just had where he was not. But it was not his dorm room at Hogwarts which was confusing, nor his room at the Burrow which was even more confusing. That and as warm and soft as the bed was, something was off. As his senses slowly became more alert, he felt skin under his left hand and quickly processed that it could not be his. He turned his head to his left slightly and saw what looked like light, brown hair and then processed there was a weight upon him that usually wasn't there. Then he remembered.

"Bloody hell!" he muttered and then gasped hoping he did not wake something – or someone – up.

He heard something between a hum and a contented, restful sigh. It was in his ear practically and certainly not his own even if he sort of felt that way. He felt something soft moving up his chest under the sheet that covered him and … A hand soon found its way out from under the cover and again, it was not his own. It was very … he could not think of the word for it beyond it was nice and he liked it. Suddenly, the hand and warm, soft weight seemed to fly off of him. He turned his head to his left and saw a very surprised Katie Bell staring at him and holding the sheet up to her neck, covering her almost completely. After a moment, the face relaxed.

"Sorry," she said. "I forgot."

"It's okay," Ron said. "Took me a moment too."

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No."

"Have you been up long?"

"Not really. A few minutes at most. Good morning."

She snorted a bit and then smiled at him for the first time. "I'd be surprised if it's still 'morning.' But good morning too."

"We … um …," Ron blushed.

"I do remember that much," Katie replied blushing as well. "It was Magical Disconnect after all and that's the way to fix it."

"Um… it … it worked?"

"I … I think so," Katie said with a blush. "I mean … well, I am pretty sore but I don't feel … you know."

"Yeah. Feels like I've been through the wringer from a nightmare Wood practice too," Ron said. "And I think it's broken."

"What's broken?"

"IT! My thingie!" Katie giggled. "Here I am in bed with a pretty and naked girl and not a twitch! Pomfrey did say that would happen. Didn't say it'd get better."

"I'm sure if there was a risk of it not getting better she'd've said something," Katie said.

"I guess."

"Besides, from what little I remember we did it a lot last night – assuming it was last night. It was all kinda fuzzy, you know? I mean, I do remember bits and stuff but…"

"Oh," Ron said disappointed. "Um … okay, I guess."

"What's that about?" Katie asked. "Oh! I get it. You're disappointed 'cause you think I don't remember that? Or is it 'cause you think that I think it wasn't memorable?"

Ron just looked at her unsure of how to respond.

"I do remember that and it was wonderful. Not the first time. Then again, it rarely is the first time or so I've been told although it wasn't bad either. But it was wonderful in the end – and several times before the end. Still…"

"Still?"

"Well, as I said it was all kinda fuzzy. I remember when it started. I was up in my dorm at the time. It's hard to describe except I don't think I've ever felt so randy, so desperate for that sort of thing. One of my roommates must've stunned me. It was rather embarrassing what I was doing and don't ask 'cause I'm not ready to talk about that yet. The next thing I remember I was in the common room and Madam Pomfrey said I was undergoing Magical Disconnect and told someone to find you and bring you there kicking and screaming if they had to and then forcing a few nasty potions down my throat. Then it's all black for a bit and I'm in a big, soft bed … this one, I guess, and you're being told to get on with it and you did and I so wanted you to do so and we did over and over and all. Not the way I imagined my first time would be, you know."

"Sorry 'bout that, but it was my first time too!" Ron protested. "Not like I knew what I was doing."

Katie giggled softly. "That's not what I meant, Ron. Given the circumstances – and the fact we were both swimming in potions – that bit was fine. No regrets there at all. Still, it would've been nice if we had kissed first…"

"Um … didn't think to…"

"The potions seemed to have," Katie began. "Well, they don't make it all that romantic. But, I still think I picked a perfect Quidditch Partner. Still, I think it's only proper that you kiss me properly."

"Wh-what?" Ron chocked as she shifted over so that she was mostly atop him, her face inches from his own.

"We did do it, right?" she asked. She was too close for Ron to see the mischievous grin on her face or at least to recognize it for what it was. "Seeing as we did IT, I think it's only fair that you kiss me."

"Um…," Ron started. The truth was he was not opposed to the idea, he had just never done that before and was even more surprised that such a pretty girl … and older one as well … would even want to do it. Before he could think at all, her lips were against his. Before he could even think about protesting or think of anything really, he was kissing her back. He had to admit it was very nice. He had no idea how long they were going that before it finally broke and he thought it fortunate he thought to breathe through his nose. Then again, she was doing so which was what gave him the idea.

"Wow," they said in unison.

"See?" Katie giggled, "that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"N-no. It's not hard at all. I think it's broken."

"I'm sure it's fine. Just a little knackered. I know I still am. So what're your memories of last night – and don't say 'doing it' as I remember that bit quite clearly."

"Um… Okay. Percy woke me up. Don't know when. Told me McGonagall wanted to see me in the Common Room and didn't say for what. Wondered what kind of trouble I was in…"

"Why would you think that you were in trouble?"

"Why else would McGonagall want to see you in the middle of the night?"

"Bit paranoid, are we?" she teased.

"Well, you be best mate with Harry for a couple of years. Aside from that car bit, I wouldn't call either of us trouble makers. Fred and George look for it. We don't. But we always seem to get into it anyway.

"So, I get downstairs and still have no idea what I did. I don't see Harry and then I remember he sleeps at that Manor of his so I doubt McGonagall can just go in and wake him whenever she wants. Then I see you."

"Me? I don't remember that."

Ron shrugged. "Didn't look like you would. I'd've thought you were stunned or potioned or something if you weren't shaking the way you were. Pomfrey was there too. She told me you were having that Disconnect thing and that I had to do the Partner bit. Good thing I knew in advance, or maybe not. 'Cause I was your Partner, I couldn't run and hide even if I was tempted."

"Were you tempted?"

"I'm thirteen! I might _think _about stuff like that, but I haven't done it and the idea of doing it was scary even if the older blokes think it's brilliant. So, she told me what was going to happen and that they were taking us somewhere where we could do it and recover in peace, as she said and they brought us here."

"Where's here?"

"Harry's place. We're in one of his guest rooms I was told. That's what the elf said at least. Pomfrey then gave me some potions. One was so that I could keep doing it without wearing it out, although it seems that didn't work too well. Another was tied to you, she said. I would keep wanting to do it over and over until you were fixed. The last made me really, really randy and would keep me that way so long as I wanted to be that way, which was until you were fixed although we might've done it twice after. I was told to get naked, although she said something else. Then she woke you up, got you to drink your potions, vanished your … well, what you were wearing and told us to get to it, although she said something different. Sorry 'bout not kissing you."

Katie smile and kissed him again. "That's okay," she said when it broke. "You've made up for it. You're a good kisser, you know?"

"I am?" Ron asked in surprise. "I … well, never did that before either."

"I have. Not with a boy…"

"You snogged a girl?"

"Madam Pomfrey did tell you what we girls do."

"She didn't say snogging. She said you … you know … and after bonding age you didn't always do it alone. You did it with other girls."

"We do it _to_ other girls. That means we snog and do a lot of things that boys can do to us. Things that don't require your broken bit."

"Really?" Ron asked in surprise. "Is it weird? I … I couldn't do that with a bloke, you know."

"It serves a necessary purpose," Katie said. "You get used to it, but I think most girls would prefer a boy if they could find one who would … would see to her needs before worrying 'bout his. Most boys don't do that, or so I've been told. You did last night…"

"Didn't have much of a choice not to with those potions," Ron said.

"I think you'd've tried to without them … at least with me."

"It was fun getting you to do that," Ron admitted.

"Like to do it again?"

"Yeah. But I can't. It's…"

"Didn't mean now. Later, when it's better?"

"Yeah." With that, Katie began kissing him again. "Sorry," she said without being serious about the apology, "I can't help it. You're so kissable!" Ron blushed furiously at the compliment, but made no effort to stop her from continuing.

"Good afternoon," a voice said. The two broke apart, looked up and saw Madam Pomfrey and then struggled to cover themselves. "If you must know," she said, "neither of you have anything I haven't seen before nor are you doing anything I would disapprove of under the circumstances."

"What if we were … you know?" Ron asked.

"I would either assume you were still working on the Cure or that you enjoyed last night and have an amazing ability to recover. The fact is, based upon something that I think happened last night, I may be encouraging you two to do that once you've both recovered and can do that."

"Something happened?" Katie asked.

"What?" Ron added.

"Just a quick test to be sure," Madam Pomfrey said drawing her wand. "If it happened, it happened and if it didn't you don't need to know." She cast her spell. Neither of them saw what it did or if it did anything. She then wrote something down and smiled at them, surprising them both as she was not known to smile much at all. The only adult who smiled less might have been the librarian Madam Pince; unless one counted Professor Snape as his was more a sneer than a smile. "I stopped by earlier this morning," Madam Pomfrey continued, "but you two were asleep in each other's arms. It was really sweet."

"Didn't need to hear that," Ron grumbled.

"Something wrong?" Katie asked.

"I am a bloke! I don't like 'cute' and the only 'sweet' I want to be told about is dessert."

"Be that as it may, Mr. Weasley, it was which is a good thing under the circumstances. As you both were still recovering from last night, I did not wake you. Besides, I did have other patients to see."

"Somebody get hexed at breakfast?" Katie asked.

"Breakfast?" Ron said in a slight panic. "We missed breakfast?"

"She did say 'Good Afternoon' Ron."

"Oh … yeah. We miss lunch too?"

"You will be served a large meal when I'm done with you," Madam Pomfrey said. "And I expect you two to eat all of it. You both need it to aid in your recovery. And no, Miss Bell, no one hexed anyone before, at or after breakfast – or lunch for that matter."

"We missed lunch?" Ron asked in horror.

"Only if you feel it's not lunch if it's not served in the Great Hall, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said. "You are on Harry's estate, I hope you recall."

"Oh yeah," Ron relaxed. "Room service. I forgot. Um…why here?"

"A few reasons. First off, it's private here. Most often we set a couple like you up in the Hospital Wing, which is hardly private even with a screen. As I was scheduled to examine some patients here this weekend and as Mr. Potter is your friend, this made more sense."

"Harry's okay?" The two asked.

"Mr. Potter and his ladies are fine, as were those who I was asked to examine. A couple of weeks and Mr. Potter will set a record for his longest time out of my Hospital Wing; a record I hope he breaks."

Ron snorted. "Aside from that dragon, I managed to avoid spending night there."

"Dragon, Mr. Weasley?"

"Um…fine! First year when my arm was all green and swollen? Hagrid hatched a dragon in his hut and it bit me."

"Is he crazy?" Katie asked. "His hut's made of wood."

"That's what we told him. Bloody miracle it didn't burn down. We finally convinced him to lose the dragon after I wrote to my brother Charlie and Charlie agreed to take it to a reserve for those things in Romania where he works - and the dragon apparently was too large for the hut – and it had taken a liking to Hagrid's bed and there was no room for Hagrid in it. Harry and Hermione got rid of it but got caught. That was the night they and Neville lost all those points."

"Really? I'm surprised I never heard of that," Katie said.

"They only told me 'bout it later and I don't think they told anyone else. Hermione was furious with all those lost points. Harry never says much of anything 'bout his adventures; 'cept to Hermione or me. Neville would never say anything about it and I saw no reason to either. Course if Lavender heard about it, the whole school would know. You're not going to tell McGonagall 'bout that, are you?" Ron added turning to Madam Pomfrey.

"I knew about the dragon, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said. "While I'd like to think I would've figured it out on my own, Hagrid told me right off."

"And you didn't…"

"I would only have told the staff if your condition was a threat to other students. Dragon bites are not contagious and I learned the information in the course of your treatment. My oath as a Healer prevents me from revealing such information to anyone other than the patient."

"You didn't even tell my Mum?"

"I think that should be obvious seeing as your brothers tend to get Howlers for their antics, as did you once I recall."

"She wasn't happy about when I knicked Dad's car," Ron nodded. "I'm certain she would've sent one about a dragon."

"Ordinarily, I do not have the authority to inform parents," Madam Pomfrey said. "Moreover, my oath as a Healer prevents it given that much of what I treat would not ingratiate a parent to their child. I am expected to advise your Head of House about such things and as they act with the authority of a parent while you're here at school, they can decide whether or not your parents need to be notified. The exceptions to that practice is when the patient has a condition that requires transfer to St. Mungo's or where the patient has a condition that will not resolve before the end of term. For example, I did not inform some parents of last year's petrifications. I had to inform the parents of Mr. Creavey and Mr. Finch-Fletchly as they each missed a Holiday period as a result. As Miss Granger and Miss Clearwater would be revived without missing a Holiday, it was up to their Heads of House whether the parents were to be informed and no, I do not know if they were. That being said, ordinarily when a witch suffers from Magical Disconnect, I do not inform her parents if she is stabilized before any permanent harm is done – as is the case with Miss Bell. Likewise, I do not reveal the name of her Partner."

"Why do I think something is out of the ordinary for Ron and me?" Katie asked almost rhetorically. "I'm not pregnant, am I?"

Ron paled.

"There's no reason to believe so or that it was possible. You were given an extra dose of the contraceptive prior to … your evening with Mr. Weasley. Moreover, our magical examinations could not detect such a state for several weeks afterwards in any event. You need not worry about that. The potion has never failed when properly made and I can assure you the ones you take here are properly made. I can't say the same about the store bought ones. But that's neither here nor there."

"So what is happening?" Katie asked. "I take it you have informed our parents?"

"Mr. Weasley's, yes," Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Miss Bell while you're parents are magical such that I don't need to see them in person to explain what has occurred, I regret that they are apparently out of town or were when I tried to contact them. They will be informed by letter with Monday's post."

"Why?" Ron asked. "You said normally you would not and you only would if it was something … lasting I guess."

"Oh, your situation is lasting," Madam Pomfrey chuckled. "A lifetime of lasting in fact. You two are bonding."

Katie just stared. "Bonding?" Ron asked. "You mean like Harry, Hermione and Luna and Neville, Sally-Anne and Padma?"

"Different kind of bond actually," Madam Pomfrey said. "The preconditions for their bonds occurred at birth. Yours occurred during the Cure last night. The end result is similar in many ways and different in others. For example, one of the tests I performed was a measure of your magical maturity. Each of you was tested at the start of the year during your required visit and today's test was compared against it. The two of you are about a year closer to magical maturity than you were a few weeks ago, which is unique to your kind of bond. In their case, the bonding will not accelerate their magical maturation at all.

"What happened was not compatible magic as your friends' situation is known. You did not share that from birth. While the preconditions for the bonds that your friends now share are exceptionally rare, once those conditions exists it does not take much for the bond to form. So with that kind of a bond, the formation of the bond is somewhat predictable. Yours is not. Even with the preconditions, it remains unpredictable. In your case, Miss Bell's Magical Disconnect created the precondition. It does not always happen to a girl suffering from that condition. In fact, Miss Bell's precondition is a rare side effect. What happened is that she became truly magically unstable…"

"But isn't that what Magical Disconnect is?" Katie protested.

"Indeed. The difference was the nature of the instability. In most cases, what you two did last night cures the instability. In rare cases, something else does but since there's no way to predict the something else, the most effective cure is what you two did."

"What's the something else?" Ron asked.

"At some point last night when the two of you climaxed together, that climax coincided with a cycle in her magic – it was changing this way and that – a point when her cycling magic nearly matched or – for lack of a better explanation – when it was compatible with yours. As that happened at climax, for reasons we don't fully understand her magic locked into yours; it became permanently compatible with yours and stabilized. For all we know, that might've happened the first time you had sex or the last or at any time in between. The Disconnect itself most likely resolved separately. This rarely happens even in cases of treating Magical Disconnect, but it can and in your cases did happen."

"So it is like Harry's bonds?" Ron asked.

"Much less likely to occur, but yes it is similar," Madam Pomfrey said. "In Mr. Potter's case, they had to see each other as potential romantic partners and take a step towards that through an act of intimacy and that does not mean sexual congress. In their case a kiss as more than just friends would start the process. Unlike the others, it was not necessary that you saw each other as romatic partners for the Bond to occur. In your case, it could only have happened at mutual climax while Miss Bells was magically unstable and even then it might not have happened at all. The two of you could have gone through the same things scores of times and never bonded. But you have and here we are."

"And where are we?" Katie asked.

"In the bonding stage as neither of you are magically mature. Then again, if you were, Miss Bell, it could never have happened. That being said while your bond has formed, it is not fully stable yet. That will take time. I can't say how long because it varies from couple to couple. Until it is fully stable, the two of you need to be physically intimate for about six hours every day…"

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed in shock. "I'm all knackered from last night! I got to do that every day? I'm not even certain if we were at it for that long! It's not like either of us were watching a clock!"

"Calm down, Mr. Weasley and you can breathe, Miss Bell. Physical intimacy merely means some form of intimacy. Holding hands counts. Touching each other even in a non-sexual way counts. Sleeping together even without sex counts. In fact, in a case such as yours or such as your friends', sharing a bed is the principal way to accomplish that as having sexual intercourse for that long every day for months on end is probably a physical impossibility and the potions I gave you last night to aid you in the Cure are not recommended for frequent use, enjoyable as it may have been. Whether you engage in more intimate acts is up to the two of you, but you will be sharing a bed for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, as you are already sexually intimate – and your friends have not been such with each other – I would also recommend continuing that intimacy at least a couple of times a week."

"Only twice?" Katie asked with a smirk.

"More is better, Miss Bell. Twice should do and there may be weeks when it may be all either of you are capable of for one reason or another."

"So, we're married then?" Ron asked after a pause.

"What?" Katie yelped.

"No, Mr. Weasley. Marriage is a legal state, not a magical one. There's paperwork to sign and forms to be observed before one can be married. Magically speaking, you are more married than most couples could ever hope to be. Legally speaking, your current situation is more than that of a betrothal yet not a marriage. Under our law, the age restrictions regarding marriage are waived, which means if the two of you so desire you could get married as early as next Saturday as it is a Hogsmeade Weekend and you can leave the grounds although arranging it so quickly would be difficult. Yes, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom married the day after they began to bond with their wives, but there were pre-existing agreements between the families. You two would have to fill out paperwork that they did not have to fill out and the paperwork would need to be prepared. I'm not saying whether you can or should marry right now. That is up to you. But as far as school is concerned, you are as if you're married and will be moved into the married student dorm once you leave here."

"Um," Katie said, "that sounds like we'll be here a while."

"Mr. Potter has activated his time compression. You will be here a week and return in time for lunch this afternoon. Speaking of which, I will leave you so that you may talk and eat and I do expect both of you to eat heartily." With that Madam Pomfrey left.

"Bloody hell!" Ron said.

"You're not upset about this, are you?" Katie asked.

"No. Not really. Are you?"

"Strangely enough no. I read this could happen which was why I was careful picking my Quidditch Partner. You did hear when she said that this could happen even if we didn't like each other."

Ron nodded. "We've been friends since my First Year."

"Not as close as you are to Harry and Hermione or I am to Leanne, but yes. And I have thought that you have 'boyfriend' potential."

"I was thinking of asking you that. Didn't think I'd ever get up the nerve. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, not that you have to ask now. It's why I picked you once it was clear Harry couldn't do it. Not saying I'd pick Harry over you, but he was already on the team and Ollie did have to find a way to avoid an open tryout to add you to the team. I wanted you, but there was no guarantee you'd make the team, was there? None of us could say if you could've beaten McLaggen in a tryout. I think you could've. But I wasn't willing to chance it. I'd quit before having to partner with that berk."

"So … you would've been with…"

"Better Harry than McLaggen or most of the others," Katie nodded. "He's nice enough. But you were the one I'd rather have. Maybe that's why this happened…"

"You're not upset?"

"No. Are you?"

"I'm glad it's you too, Katie. I mean, could you see me with someone like Lavender Brown?"

"You'd be bored with her in a matter of weeks," Katie said shaking her head. "But you'd probably still go with here 'cause you're too nice to just dump her."

"So … um … will you be my girlfriend then?"

"Yes. I already am, but I know what you're asking and the answer is yes."


	47. Chapter 47: Family Weasley

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I knew when I wrote it that last chapter would confuse, annoy or both. It is part of the subplot of unforeseeable consequences and my desire to make Ron less the impediment he became in cannon. Okay, there was a review that really ticked me off from someone clearly upset that I did not throw Ron under the creative bus. I know I've done that in other stories, but please! To always do that is so uncreative. I put this down for a bit in silent protest deciding not to tell said reviewer what I really thought about it. Then the Holidays hit and I was off to a tropical place and was not about to let computers or such things detract from that. Then I get back, read what I've written but not posted, found errors, repetitions and so on and so forth and then realized I totally forgot to write about Peter Pettigrew and … well, I'm still fixing all that but it's several chapters away from where we are today…

**CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: FAMILY WEASLEY**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993 (Day 5)**

Madam Pomfrey checked in on them again after they had eaten.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Katie asked. "Did we choose this somehow?"

"Few in your situation ask that question," the Healer replied.

"That's them," Ron said. "Not that I'm against this, but it's a good question. Did this happen against what we wanted? I mean, I like Katie. She's my friend. But we are young, don't you think?"

The Healer nodded. "It is said the heart wants what it wants regardless of what the head considers proper. In most cases, that's just a saying or perhaps a justification. In your case, it is closer to the truth than anything. The bond you now share just like the bonds of compatible magic your friends share cannot just happen even if magically it's possible. Your own desires are a factor even if you did not realize it at the time; even if you might be years away from realizing it and even if otherwise you might never have realized it. Understand?"

"So if we didn't like each other…?"

"If I didn't like you, Ron, you'd never've been my Quidditch Partner," Katie said. "If my choice was some berk like McLaggen as a Partner or no Quidditch, I'd've left the team altogether."

"The bond could not have happened at all if either of you did not truly like the other," Madam Pomfrey said. "You may be young, but deep down where it really matters this was your choice. Your magic may have trumped your brain, but your brain may have gotten there on its own in time or at least it could have if you had let it. All too often people fight such things, I suppose. The world might be a happier place if bonds such as yours were not the rare exception. The only real difference between you and your other bonded friends is your magic did not make it easier for you to make that choice. Their magical compatibility made them more open to the choice than they might've been otherwise, but that's it. They still had to make that choice just as you had to make that choice. There is no proof of the belief that bonds such as yours happen because the couple was best suited for each other to begin with. Then again, there's no proof to the contrary either."

"Why does it seem strange then?" Katie asked. "Not that I want different."

"Same here, to both," Ron added.

"That's a common question or should be, I suppose," Madam Pomfrey said. "I suppose it's because the vast majority of the people don't know they've made that choice until they are conscious of it and even then many never do anything about it. The two of you skipped that bit of self discovery and self doubt, as it were. But you also avoided much of the misery of being a teenager which is the not knowing if what you head says is true or if what your heart says is true and if what you want is realistic. Most people your age will pine for a person who has little real interest in them. They will make mistakes before they get it right, assuming they ever do and some surely do not ever. Because of your bond, you can rest assured that is not the case between you. You got lucky in one respect since the bond was by no means certain. But the very fact of that bond means you also got it right. Although telling each other it is so is still a good idea."

"So we're in love?" Katie asked. Ron seemed to choke.

"Not yet, perhaps," Madam Pomfrey said. "But that will come sooner rather than later. Oh, and before you ask, no it won't be perfect whatever that is. Not even magic can prevent either of you from ever getting on the other's nerves or prevent you from disagreeing about things. You don't lose your individuality or personality to the bond. But it does make it easier to get over yourselves and each other when that happens. So when you have your first disagreement remember that and remember your magic will help you make up and move forward."

Ron and Katie were moved to the "Island Resort" after they finished eating. It was what its name suggested. There was an Island in the Great Lake which was the largest lake on the Estate and the place where all the rivers and streams ended. It was in the Tropical Garden so the Island had tropical flowers and palm trees and such. There were four bungalows, each with a very open plan with a shaded veranda that opened onto the lake itself with a dock for a boat. From their bedroom and the veranda they could look out across a mile or so of water to the far side and in the distance they could see the Lake House where Ron's parent's and brothers (and, it turned out, Angelina and Alicia) were staying. Ron and Katie were the only ones on the island and it would remain that way until Time Compression ended unless one included the elves that took care of them. They could leave the island if they wanted to but no one else, not even Harry, could pop by for a visit. There was a note from Harry that told them not to do anything he wouldn't do or had not thought of doing and to feel free to wear whatever they wanted while they were on the island, or nothing at all.

In a way, and maybe it was the bond, they wanted to spend the entire time alone together. But they did talk about that and agreed that they should visit his family and Harry at least once. They made their minds up to do that their second day together, but it took them time to actually get around to doing so. They chose to cross the lake first and the staff arranged to do so by boat, which was something neither of them had experienced before. They both enjoyed the trip even if they were both a bit tentative at first.

"You must be Katie!" Molly Weasley exclaimed as she and Ron entered the lobby of the Lake House. "Oh, of course you are," she added almost to herself as she hugged Katie. Katie was taller than Molly Weasley and certainly thinner. "Arthur and I saw you play the other day … or I suppose yesterday. Harry, Ginny and the others seem to have this time stuff sorted out, but it still confuses me. Welcome! Welcome! Oh, listen to me! You'd think this was the Burrow and not one of Harry's guest places. Still, it's almost another home what with the time Arthur and I have spent here since returning from Egypt. Have a seat!"

Katie was too surprised to say anything and Ron was reluctant to. They took a seat together on the couch and Molly sat across from them.

"Madam Pomfrey told Arthur and I all about what happened the other day. I guess it is the other day to us isn't it? Anyway, we are so glad that you're okay and proud that Ron did the honorable thing and helped a friend. She also told us about the bonding that happened. While I think you're a little young for such… Well, our Ginny's betrothed and will be married soon so I guess I can't be upset besides it is a bond and those are rare and very special. Just promise that there'll be no grandchildren from you two in the near future and we'll leave it at that."

"We're a bit young for that, Mum!" Ron exclaimed.

"I'm glad you agree, then."

"Where is Dad, by the way?"

"Oh," Molly said less please. "It seems Mr. Potter, Mr. Greengrass and Mr. Granger are trying to introduce him to a Muggle game called golf or some such. They explained it to me. Makes no sense at all. I had so hoped he would be here when you two finally showed up."

"Um…"

"Not that I'm complaining. You two are bonding and I understand your need to be alone and intimate like that."

"Surprised," Ron began.

"What's that, Ronald?" Molly asked.

"Um… well, I thought…"

"We'd be upset? Why would we be upset?"

"Um … the way I had to help?"

"Ah. Well, there is that. But it's not like either of you were taking advantage, correct? You both had a choice and you chose to be Partners and that's what Partners do if the time comes, and your father and I are pleased that you two waited for the time to come instead of … well, that's not important now. There was no way either of you could've known that the Cure would cause a bond. They are rare, those bonds are. But as you and Katie are bonded, what you do in the privacy of your own room is really none of my business now, is it?"

They heard a snort and saw Ginny enter taking a seat next to her mother.

"What was that about, young lady?" Molly asked.

"You sure were not so understanding regarding the others," Ginny said.

"That's entirely different and you know it. Those four's behavior has been… Well, I'm sure Ron and Katie aren't here about that…"

"Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina decided what's good for their teammates is good for them too," Ginny said to Ron and Katie. "If you take my meaning. Mum walked in on two of them yesterday morning."

"I don't understand," Katie began.

"I do," Ron said. "Years of Weasley innuendo, you know? Fred, George and their partners Alicia and Angelina decided since we were … you know … they should as well."

Katie snorted. "And this is a surprise? They've been together that way since last fall."

"I can't help what goes on in that school," Molly said with a slightly disgusted tone. "I was young once too, you know, and know a fair bit about what young people do. But when I was your age there was a difference between what you did with your boyfriend at school and what you did at his home or at your home for that matter! Your father and I never crossed that line until after we were married."

"What line?"

"The shag line," Ginny giggled.

"That is such a crude term!" Molly protested.

"Dad's the one who said it," Ginny complained. "What Mum means is that what a boyfriend and girlfriend do with each other at school stays at school. They don't do it at their parent's home until they are properly married. At school they can get sweaty – Mum's term – in whatever broom closet they find, accepting of course the risk of losing points and detentions; but outside of school they are expected to act with discretion."

"Of course, the rule is different in your case," Molly said. "What the two of you do in your room even at the Burrow is your business. But, I expect you two to behave in the rest of the house."

"Um…," Ron began.

"Yes?" Molly asked.

"I just … well … I mean with our bond there's stuff … I never thought you'd…"

"I may be your mother, Ronald, but I was young once, remember? And you should realize that your father and I have done that before. We have seven children after all and they came the natural way."

"I don't need to hear that!" Ron protested.

"Most children do not," Molly agreed. "All evidence to the contrary, the thought of my parents doing that was always … disturbing."

"Exactly!" Ron and Ginny agreed in unison.

For a brief moment a wicked expression crossed the face of Molly Weasley. Ginny could not see it from where she was sitting. Ron could, but he missed it otherwise he might have paled at the thought of what might be behind it. Katie, however, did see it and saw it for what it was. She was beginning to think the more wicked side of the Weasley sense of humor came from this woman who, from what she had heard was mostly about propriety and proper decorum.

"It you must know, your father and I got together in our Fifth Year. Well, that's not true. In a way we'd been together since Third Year as friends. We did most of our Hogsmeade visits together. Fifth Year, we both made Prefect and I knew he liked me and he knew I liked him but he had been brought up to be a gentleman and I was tired of that. It was one thing when we were Third Years and still getting to know each other. It was another by then. I admit I goosed him a little."

"Goosed him?" Ron asked.

"We were on patrol and I told him I was thirsty – I was, but I could've waited. We stopped by the kitchens and had a glass of pumpkin juice and I slipped a potion into his. It was one of those mild 'love' potions they sell out of Teen Witch Weekly. It's all but useless unless the boy's really interested in you already and even then it merely breaks down his inhibitions. All I really expected was that he's snog me silly – he hadn't so much as kissed my cheek yet, you see – although I was certainly open for more than a snog if you know what I mean and I'm sure you do. Be careful of what you wish for, you may get it my Father had said."

"What's that mean?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I will admit I certainly let him know I had no limits," Molly said, "not for him, anyway. I lost my virginity right there and then."

"In the school kitchens?" Ginny asked in shock.

"Not sure I can eat school food anymore," Ron mumbled.

"It was … adventurous," Molly admitted. "A bed may have been nicer, but I have yet to hear of anyone else doing it there so… And I did enjoy it. Now you know one of my secrets, you three. Seeing as you two will have your own quarters when you get back, I think there's no need for such shenanigans."

"The kitchens?"

"We only did it there that one time. Mostly, we did it in the Prefects' Bath."

"The Prefects' Bath?" the three asked.

Molly nodded. "There's a special bath for Prefects. It has the largest tub you've ever seen. All of the school Prefects could use it and there'd still be loads of room, not that it happened that way. Even then, Slytherin and Gryffindor did not get along at all and we were never there when the Slytherin Prefects were. But, outside the Quidditch Locker Rooms it was the best place to do that. So, aside from that first time in the kitchens and a few other times here and there, we did it there. A fair few of the Prefects did and I suppose still do."

"I don't think we're here to talk about you and Mr. Weasley," Katie said.

"Of course not, dear," Molly nodded. "I just thought you should know that should either of you three feel the need to talk about such things and want a … well, an experienced opinion, I will oblige. After all…," and to everyone's surprise she began crying quietly.

"Mum?" Ginny asked.

"This has been a strange year," Molly said after gathering herself together. "Does Katie here know about you, Ginny?"

"I know she's betrothed to Harry, Mrs. Weasley," Katie said. "That's known to a fair few and everyone at school knows Harry's married to four other girls already…"

"Oh, there's more to it than that," Mrs. Weasley said almost in anger. "Ginny?"

Ginny then told Katie and Ron about the Contract and how Harry and his wives figured a way around it. Both were shocked to learn he had called in her Life Debt to bind her to him as a Concubine, although both were also pleased that he was going to marry her the next summer to end that bond.

"Of course," Ginny continued, "they came up with that idea before they knew anything about Sirius Black or Harry's parents."

"Harry's parents?" Katie asked. "What about Harry's parents?"

"They're alive," Ginny said.

"But…" she looked at Ron. "You never said anything…"

"Couldn't even if I wanted to, Katie," Ron said. "The Concubine thing, well I wasn't told 'bout that 'til now. That was also under that spell?" he asked Ginny who nodded in reply. "A lot of stuff is under the Fidelius Charm. Harry's marriages were. The truth about Sirius Black was. What happened to Ginny is, it seems. And the fact that Harry's parents are alive still is. Fair bet there's other stuff as well and if they think we need to know about it, they'll tell us. But that spell means we'll know, but can't tell anyone who doesn't know. We can't even talk about it off this Estate unless Ginny's around I think. More importantly, no magic known can force it from our minds."

"The bond I share with Harry protects me from that as well," Ginny said. "I can't reveal things unless Harry says I can and before you ask he has allowed me to share this with you. Hermione calls it a double blind protection. That I'm Secret Keeper is also a secret protected by a similar charm. So the secrets are protected by secrets and the people who know can't reveal the secrets on their own and can't be forced to do so at all. After what happened with that spell and Pettigrew and the Potters, we decided it should not be that easy with us and our secrets."

"But doesn't that change everything?" Katie asked. "I mean if Harry's parents are alive…?"

"It doesn't," Ginny said. "All of this happened before they were revived and until they were they were as if dead. Magically and legally they were dead. So when Harry had to deal with my contract, he did so as if they were dead and that deal is done. I will still be his wife. He still had to bind me to break the clause that would steal his birthrights. Had we learned about it after his parents were back, then they could've voided the contract. But maybe not. Harry's certain Dumbledore would've used me some way in any event and he didn't want to see that happen. So I think we would be where we are in any event. Not that I'm complaining. Being with Harry and the others has been … well, I couldn't ask for a better outcome even if it didn't happen the way I might have wanted it to."

"Fortunately, I don't have to worry 'bout such stuff," Ron said. "One wife or bondmate is more than enough, thank you."

"I agree," Katie said. "I wouldn't like to share. But are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Five older brothers, you know. And I'm nineteenth in the line of succession for Head of House Weasley. Dad's got two older brothers and they have six sons, five grandsons and seven granddaughters all born after Ginny, I should add. Before Ginny there hadn't been a Weasley daughter in ages, although I'm less certain about the girls' place in this. So I'm not carrying on a line and I'm pretty sure there's no Line Continuation out there either."

"Not unless someone erased that from our memory," Molly said. "But your father did check with the Ministry and there's none recorded so I think your safe from that. And, before you ask, there's no one out there with compatible magic either, aside from Katie here. Bell. I'm not familiar with that name," Molly added changing the topic.

"Dad's a Muggle Born," Katie said. "Mum's a Half-blood. Her father was Muggle Born as well and Gran's a Pureblood. She was disowned for running out on a proper Pureblood betrothal to marry a Muggle Born. One of her younger sisters went through with it and the other was also cast out of that family. In her case, Grand Aunt Eileen married a Muggle."

"What family was that?" Molly asked.

"The Ancient and Noble House of Black. My Great-great Grandfather Sirius and Great-granduncle Arcturus were Heads of House. I never met them. Then again, the older Sirius died more than twenty years before I was born. We don't associate with much of that line. Only Mum's sister and her family."

"So Sirius Black – the current one?"

"He's a cousin. Same degree of kinship as Theodore Nott's dad and Professor Snape."

"Snape?" Ron and Ginny said in unison.

"My Grandaunt Eileen's his mother. We had nothing to do with them. Gran hated the husband and not because he was a Muggle. He was a no account drunk and a violent man, according to Gran. She's certain he had something to do with his wife's death, although we'll never know seeing as the Death Eaters killed him during the War."

"Wouldn't surprise me a bit if Snape's the one who did it," Ron muttered. "He admitted he was one."

"Gran wouldn't be surprised either except that it happened when Snape was still at Hogwarts," Katie said. "But the Muggle in question wasn't much better than the Death Eaters according to Gran. Real nasty person. And before you ask, I don't think Snape knows we're related nor do I care. Bad enough I have to put up with him in Potions. Certainly don't want to see him at all over the Hols."

"There's an image I'd rather not have," Ron agreed.

"So what do your parents do?" Molly asked changing the topic again.

"Until this year, Mum stayed at home mostly," Katie said. "My younger brother started Hogwarts this year. He's a Puff. Anyway, with just my sister left (she'll start my final year) Mum says she might work more, especially while Sis is at school."

"School? But you said she hasn't started yet," Molly said.

"She attends Primary school just as I and my brother did."

"You mean a Muggle school?" Molly asked confused. "But you were magically raised."

"We live among Muggles. My parents work for and with them and until Hogwarts, aside from my Aunt's family all the people we knew were Muggles or probably were."

"But … why?"

"The War. Daddy was a Muggle Born and Mum was considered the worst sort of traitor by the Death Eaters. The Muggle World was safe for them; more so than this one was. Besides, in most cases magic isn't all that much of an advantage. That and my parents make a lot more than they probably would've had they stayed. Mum writes for a living, scripts mostly for the BBC. She does children shows with all sorts of magic in them…"

"But that would violate the Statute of Secrecy!"

"Some may say that. But do you really think the Muggles don't know anything at all about our world? They know quite a lot. True, it's not accurate at all. But they would hardly be surprised by much, except to learn that it's real. To most of them, magic is make believe, something for children's stories and works of fiction. It's not real. So Mum writes her stories about magic and it appears on the telly performed by puppets or cartoons – which are moving drawings – and where the real magic are camera tricks. Since she writes, she was able to do that from home and watch us when we were younger."

"I suppose," Molly said unconvinced but clearly not intending to delve further. "And your father?"

"He also works in the Muggle World," Katie said. "Not surprising as our world was hardly welcoming Muggle Borns such as him back then. Not sure they're all that welcoming now. But he makes pretty good money I'm told. He works in an office doing what he calls information management, whatever that is. Sounds dreadfully dull so I really have no idea what it really means. When he's joking about it, he says he's a 'deforester.'"

"A what?" the Weasleys asked in unison.

"There are people who write all sorts of reports that get to his desk. He reads them, figures them out and what they mean and whether they might be important and writes more reports about them to pass on to his boss and others, so there's always more than one copy of everything. All that's on paper which is made from wood which is made from trees that have to be cut down and there's lots and lots of paper involved so lots and lots of trees need to be cut so he's a deforester."

"I see what you mean," Molly said clearly not understanding. "But your family does get by, doesn't it?"

"I never asked about their finances, if that's what you mean," Katie said somewhat coldly. "My gran was disowned, you know. She and Grandpa made out alright and my parents do as well. We haven't had to ask for assistance from the academic trusts or any of that to send us through school."

"I had to ask dear," Molly replied. "After all, you're both so young and while you are bonded and could get married at any time, you can't possible take care of yourselves financially. You're still in school and need the education to qualify for decent employment."

Katie seemed to take offense at the decent employment remark, but Ron spoke up before she could reply. "Don't be so sure about that, Mum," he said in a mischievous tone that sounded more like the twins than Ron.

"Ron, I know what I'm talking about," his mother replied. "Your father and I eloped before our final year. We barely scraped by once we finished school."

"If we had this talk a few weeks ago, I might be worried about that. Wasn't sure I would be … well, what girl would go out with…"

"I would and I told you that," Katie said.

"I know," Ron replied. "But I didn't know that before, did I? But as you said, for now you don't need much so we can go to Hogsmeade and hang out and I won't have to worry about your being upset that I can't empty a money purse on you … yet. This time next year, maybe Spring Term however…"

"What have you done, Ronald?" Molly scolded.

"Not much," Ron said. "Just helped Harry figure out 'bout the Basilisk and go with him to kill the thing. Rules of Conquest, you know? He has an offer from the Goblins for the thing and his elves are getting it all set. My cut will be at least 200,000."

"Galleons?" Molly asked in shock.

"Actually, 228 and change," Ron said. "That much is certain, 'though Harry and some others think the thing's going to bring in more than the Goblins offered so it could be more than that. If I had to, once that thing's sold I could pay for the two of us to finish school, no worries. And yes, I know how much that costs! It's far less than I'd be making with the Galleons just sitting in the vault – and Harry did say most of it would be doing just that 'til I'm seventeen."

"Too right!" Molly began. "And what about your sister? You will share some of that with her given what she went through, right?"

"No he won't!" Ginny shot back. "Before you even begin, _mother, _remember that I am a Potter now. Money is not an issue in this family. Besides, as I am to be his wife, any money I get would become family money anyway, right? There's little money I need given our resources as they now are. Harry's got to keep half of whatever he gets for that snake and that's a half million certain. Why do we need any more?"

"I'm sure whatever he has he could use more…"

"He tells us what he has when he gets his monthly statements from the Bank, Mother. Is eighty-six thousand too little?"

Molly's jaw dropped. Oddly, Ron's did not.

"That's how much he can spend from his trust accounts today. There's well over two hundred thousand more he can't touch 'til he's older. And that's just the Trust Account and does not include his farm income which goes into his spending account and not the savings one. His farm's been earning a thousand and more a month and that's only a fraction of it since we haven't sold the bulk of our harvest yet. I have no idea what the main Potter account has and Harry says he only has a rough idea. I think we can survive without my getting something from that Basilisk separate from the Potter cut! I know you and Dad struggled. I won't have to, not that way at least. It seems that despite what's happened to Ron, he and Katie won't have to either."

Molly seemed to try to calm herself down. "I'm sorry. It's just … well, the lot of you are so young…"

"You were too, weren't you?" Katie asked.

Molly nodded. "Not as young as you lot, but yes. Our families were supportive enough but thinking back I remember the hard times we had starting out and … well, that's what I see even if in my mind I understand it won't be the same. It wasn't supposed to be this way at all! There was no helping what happened between you two," she said looking at Ron and Katie. "We were told there was no telling if that would happen. The two of you could've gone through that Magical Disconnect scores of times and never bonded. But you did and I want to help you make the best of it. I didn't know about the Basilisk or had forgotten or never figured it would amount to anything for Harry or anyone else. I saw my youngest bonded and betrothed before her Second Year and my next youngest bonded and … you are betrothed, aren't you?"

"Not formally, Mrs. Weasley," Katie said. "We're not in a hurry that way."

"Need to get used to where we are, I think," Ron added.

"Well, the sooner the better on that," Molly said. "But not today. This was not what I ever envisioned. I saw Bill and Charlie moving on first: leaving school, leaving home – which they have – marrying and starting families of their own – which they haven't. Not even a rumble of one. Instead, it's my too youngest. It's, well these past few months have been a bit of a shock."

After a long pause Ginny said, "well, for my part – our part – House Potter's part, we hope there are no more surprises in the future. You're certainly going to have to wait for grandbabies to spoil."

"Babies?" Ron gulped.

"Not anytime soon, Ron," Katie said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX

"They really don't say much, do they?" Harry said.

"They're paintings, Harry," Hermione replied. "They've only recently begun to say anything."

"Their ability to interact is limited," Daphne added. "They can tell you things from their former lives: what they did, who they knew, what they remember. There's an imitation of their personalities imbued in them: of course that stuff is further limited by the time of the painting. The children are still children, for example. Aside from that, they have no new experiences to share or talk about. The Hogwarts paintings are more interesting only because they've been hanging in a school filled with students and things going on for ages."

"I guess," Harry said. "I suppose I was expecting them to be more helpful in a way."

"In what way?" Luna asked.

"Don't know. It's hard to explain."

"Could be useful for family history," Hannah observed. "And that is important for all of us. But you're right. Not much use with the other stuff."

"Hey guys!" Ginny's voice called out. She had just entered the Great Hall of the Manor.

"How's Ron?" Hermione asked.

"He and Katie are bonded," Ginny said with a shrug as she joined the group in the circle of high backed chairs that Harry and the others had arranged for sitting around. She then explained what she had been told.

"Pretty rare, that," Daphne said. "I mean there's stories of such things, but I only ever thought they were stories. Then again, I only thought compatible magic was stories; that plural marriages were stories. Ever since this summer began, a lot of stories seem to be based on truth at least."

"Ron and Katie said it was rare and even less predictable than what happened to any of us. Compatible magic is very rare, but it's well known that it can lead to a bond. Life Debts are rare, and they can lead to bonds of some kind – not that I'm complaining, Harry. What happened to them makes what happened to us commonplace."

Harry snorted. "That's the truth considering House Longbottom."

"There is that," Daphne agreed.

"Anyway, they were told and my Mother was told – I suppose Daddy was too, but he wasn't there – they were told that the two of them could've done what they did the other night with Katie all out of sorts with Magical Disconnect loads and loads of times and never bonded."

"How are they?" Hermione asked with obvious concern.

"They seem perfectly fine. Ron's … well, I guess he seems a little more confident about things than before."

"I certainly feel that way," Harry said.

"Oh?" several voices asked.

"Hard not to be in a way."

"You're not getting all big headed, are you?" Daphne teased.

"I don't think so. I hope not. But I think we're handling this change in our lives rather well. A lot of the other stuff just seems easier now. I'm not saying it's easier, just less … scary."

"Okay," Daphne nodded, "I get that and agree. Maybe we've grown up a bit? I do know a lot of things that used to seem important now seem silly to me."

"Why didn't we know?" Harry asked after a few moments.

"Know what?" Hermione replied.

"'Bout Ron and Katie. 'Bout Sirius being married and having a daughter. Why didn't we know?"

"You mean our future memories?" Luna asked.

Harry nodded.

"Perhaps we didn't send those back," she suggested. "Perhaps they weren't all that important; not enough so that we should send them. Gammy and Grampy haven't told us the details of that magic, have they? Not really. For all we know, there's a limit to how much could be sent back. Maybe we had to make choices and chose to send only the really important stuff back. But maybe we didn't know because we didn't know in that time. After all, maybe Sirius never told you 'bout his wife. He was a fugitive the whole time in that memory, right?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"What point would there be in telling you about his wife? He couldn't be with her, could he? He didn't know where she was or any of that just as he didn't know in this time. Here, however, he was free to look although she did find him first. There? He wasn't free even if he was out of that prison. What good would it have done to tell you about her? One might say you had far too much on your mind to further burden you with what was a purely personal matter to him, don't you think? And of course, he knew nothing about the daughter. He only learned that in this time after his wife found him. As for Katie and Ronald; perhaps they never bonded in that time. Perhaps Ron never made the team or, if he did it was much later on. I do recall the game in that other time. It was the first game of the season as it was here and the weather was just as bad. But it was Gryffindor against Hufflepuff, not Slytherin and I don't remember Ron or Ginny playing at all. And, unlike this time, there were those dementors about, which was why the memory was sent I'd guess. After all, it was Neville's Bondmate who died in that time. But I think that was another game.

"No. I think Sirius and his family and Ron and Katie are events unique to this time. They are 'unintended' consequences of what we have done with that information, but I think they are for the better of all concerned, don't you?"

"I suppose," Harry nodded.

"That explanation makes sense," Hermione added with the others nodding in agreement.

"Gryffindor against Hufflepuff?" Harry asked Luna.

Luna nodded. "That's what I remember."

"That makes no sense."

"Things are different," Ginny said. "Remember that meeting with McGonagall about the game? Maybe it didn't happen in that other time. Or maybe it did and Dumbledore overruled her. They weren't dealing with the ICW mess, were they?"

"Not that I can recall," Harry said as Luna and Hermione shrugged.

"So, that would mean that Dumbledore was here and not off on that business," Ginny suggested. "He might well have taken Snape's recommendation. McGonagall did not. So, without him here…"

"The Snakes had to play. Still," Harry sighed, "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Shoe?" Luna asked. "But you're wearing your shoes as is Ginny. The rest of us aren't wearing shoes, or anything else for that matter. You may be a little lost in thought, Harry, but surely that hasn't escaped notice." Aside from Harry and Ginny who had just returned from seeing Ron, none of the others were clothed.

"It's an expression, Luna," Hermione moaned.

"Oh? Oh yes. One of those sayings that makes no sense whatsoever unless you know what the other person means? I always thought they were kind of silly. I mean people always are on about Merlin's pants, but I'm pretty sure people didn't wear pants back then. Well, not what we would call pants."

"It means he thinks something bad's bound to happen," Hermione said.

"Of course he does," Luna said. "I am aware of the meaning of that silly expression. Always wondered why shoe dropping and bad things were related. Maybe it was a superstition? But I said what I said 'cause our Harry was getting moody and that's not what he needs to be."

"Still," Harry said, "nothing's happened since the trial."

"But all the stuff with Sirius and now Ron," Ginny began.

"I meant about Dumbledore and all that," Harry said trying not to sound patronizing. "He's made no move to regain control of things…"

"That we know of," Daphne offered.

"True," Harry conceded. "Then there's Malfoy and his fake injury. Didn't one of you think that was 'cause he or his father's up to something 'bout that hippogriff?"

"Harry," Hannah said, "even if your concerns are valid, nothing's going to happen for a while. Dumbledore needs to make his move in the Wizengamot and Malfoy probably wants some publicity for whatever he has planned. With the ICW still debating what to do about Gringotts, business such as that is at a standstill. All civil matters are on hold 'til after the Wizengamot deals with whatever the ICW does. Basically, you're shoe dropping can't happen until after the ICW acts."

"I suppose," Harry sighed. "I just thought there'd be more, you know? Our uncaps were months ago."

"We were a lot older when we decided to mess with things," Hermione said, "and one would hope wiser. I'd guess we sent back enough for us to do something with enough time to do it the way it needed to be done and with time to deal with the consequences. After all, any change from the way things happened in that other time is bound to have consequences, perhaps even unpredictable ones and we would need to adapt to that to avoid that future or a similar one, don't you think?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"Besides, we do need to deal with some of those consequences today, right?"

"The dinner?"

Hermione nodded.

"Oh pooh!" Luna said. "That means clothes, doesn't it?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, welcome," Harry said. He and his ladies were in the Entry Hall awaiting the guests for the evening. Many were already there: Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia; the Grangers; Madam Pomfrey and the Greengrasses.

"I've been meaning to ask, Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "Is cursing really a part of golf?"

"Pretty sure the pros don't do it – at least not if anyone can hear. But I'm told it is acceptable. It's certainly cheaper to swear than take it out on the clubs. After all, it's not the club's fault if the shot doesn't work out."

"So you…?"

"Think you have to be good enough to have something to curse about, Mr. Weasley. I'm not. Most of my shots are terrible and the ones that are not are surprises."

"I guess that makes sense," he said shaking his head meaning it made no sense to him at all.

"Mum? Dad?" Harry asked as his parents entered. The Weasleys turned.

"My word, Lily!" Molly said. "I thought you were…"

"Harry and his time machine," Lily snorted in an amused manner. "My due date's now in about two months, assuming there are no surprise added weeks."

"I did get your note Mum. Say the word and Madam Pomfrey'll be here for any future Time Compressions."

"Well, I'm not saying the word yet, but thanks."

"We'll make sure he remembers, Miss Lily," Hannah said. There had been a debate about forms of address. After all, Lily had been Lady Potter at one time and technically still was in a fashion. She was no longer a Countess as the titles passed to Harry and his wives, but she had been. Still, "Lady Potter" did not seem right, nor did "Mrs. Potter." So they agreed on "Miss Lily" even though she was married. It was an old, yet accepted term for an older dear friend where their first name only was not appropriate.

"After all," Lily said, "she was there for Harry when he came."

Harry snorted.

"And what was that about?" Lily asked.

"Careful son," James said softly.

"Um… well, given my life, maybe that one should start off different?" Harry suggested.

"Considering how you turned out thus far despite all that, I'd say why mess with a good thing?" Lily commented with a mischievous smile. "Of course, whatever this squirming one is, I do hope there no Trolls or Cerebuses or Basilisks in its first two years of school outside of books."

"I…"

"I'm allowed to be concerned about things, Harry. Regardless of anything else, I am your mother."

"Okay," Harry said. "No promises, but I'll try to cut down on the life threatening adventures, not that I really went looking for them."

"You must admit, Miss Lily, it does take his mind away from pranking," Luna said.

"I can't say which is worse," Lily began.

"Life threatening adventures," Molly said. "No doubt. As frustrating as Fred and George's pranks can be, I never worry when I get letters 'bout them. I just get the Howler parchment ready before I open the note."

"And you never send Howlers about the life threatening stuff," Ginny noted.

"Well, there was the car," Harry mused. "Although it wasn't all that life threatening compared to the other stuff. Ron did get a Howler that threatened to bring the walls of the Great Hall down on the lot of us for that one."

"And Mum _had _to mention me in it," Ginny huffed. "My first day at Hogwarts and I was mortified!" When Mr. Weasley and the Potters looked confused, Ginny continued. "After letting Ron know in no uncertain – and very, very loud terms what Mum thought of Ron flying Dad's car to school, she then congratulated me on getting into Gryffindor. The whole school heard! I so wanted to vanish!"

"Now dear, I'm sure it wasn't so bad," Molly said.

"You weren't there," Ginny mumbled.

"Why don't we head into the main room and mingle?" Mr. Weasley suggested sensing a row on the horizon. Fortunately, the other adults agreed.

"I'm really sorry about this, Mrs. Weasley," Lily said as she and the other three adults entered the Great Hall.

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "The Howler? Ron did steal a car that my husband … well, never mind. Ginny's reaction was hardly strange for an eleven year old girl away at school for the first time."

"No, I meant what happened between Harry and Ginny."

"And why should you be sorry? It's not your fault. And I don't blame Harry or Ginny either. To be honest, you should be very proud of your son and as unusual as Ginny's situation seems, I doubt she could've managed better. Harry's a wonderful boy and I've never seen her so happy. Given the state she was in when she came home for the summer… I never thought she'd smile again but after her time with Harry and the others... Yes, I'd rather that it had not been necessary. But neither I nor my husband wanted any part of that scheme and to be honest we couldn't think of any other way out of it."

"But if James and I had been around…"

"True, it might not've been necessary. Harry didn't know about the two of you then, did he? Given what we knew at the time, there really wasn't a better option. They didn't even know about his Godfather until after Ginny joined them and given the mess she was after what happened last year and what she was like when we saw her at the end of the summer – and since – I can't thank Harry enough for whatever he and the others have done for her. What I can thank you for is that baby you're carrying. He did tell you 'bout the Wards on your sister's house?" Lily nodded. "Because you're expecting, Ginny can marry Harry next summer and her bond to him will change. Otherwise, she would have remained as she is now in case they needed her to extend the wards beyond her seventeenth birthday. At that meeting at Gringotts, Harry spelled that out for us. Given what happened, you could hardly blame him for doing whatever was necessary to protect his family and even then I suppose he saw Ginny as his family. I can't thank him enough for that. Another boy … well, many boys his age … You look at Harry with his girls and you can't tell there's any difference between them in his eyes. But there are differences. Harry's bonded to two of them in ways I can't understand and to Ginny in a way any witch has a right to fear – except Harry doesn't take advantage – and the other two there is no magical bond, yet you'd never know there was a whit of difference watching them together. I am thankful Ginny's bound to such an honorable young man and look forward to their children … although not for some years yet."

"I don't know how he does it or where it came from," Lily nodded. "I'd like to think James and I had something to do with it. I can't say we did and all that happened to him since that night… It all could've turned out so wrong and yet… I don't know if Harry would be the Harry I know now had that night never occurred and I don't want to find out 'cause I couldn't be prouder … of course, he could have worked on his marks before this year."

"I've got three boys whose marks need work," Molly sighed. "They're bright enough, but two of them are more into creative magic – pranking really – than school work and Ron's been distracted by all that nonsense at school. He's always been easily distracted. But hopefully…"

"Something changed?"

"He's on the Quidditch Team. Fred and George do work hard enough to keep on the team, I just wish they worked harder like their older brothers. That and Ronnie's bonding now…"

"He is?"

"His Quidditch Partner suffered from Magical Disconnect after their first match, poor girl. We met her this morning. She's a lovely girl and … but I'd never wish that on anyone. Don't really know what to say to them about it."

"Make a deal?" Lily asked.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"I missed all those years with Harry. He's my son and all, but he's not in a way. I don't know anything 'bout being a Mum to a thirteen year old…"

"No one does, not until they are."

"But I do know about the kind of bond your son has with…"

"Katie? How's that?"

"Once it forms, it's almost indistinguishable from the bond Harry has with Hermione and Luna. The only real difference is the cause. I didn't share compatible magic with James, but we did bond."

"Quidditch?"

"Um … no. Never played or had much use for that game. It was the end of our Fifth Year. We were already sitting our OWLs and I was … well, I was determined to be the best in my year period! I was a wreck as a result and exhausted magically and physically and I may not've been taking care of myself as much as I needed. Emotionally, I was not nearly as bad as a lot of my classmates. Always believed you prepare for exams well in advance, not the night before like some did. But I was also a Prefect. I had just had a rough day. My oldest friend betrayed me in the most hurtful of ways and James … I was actually closer to his friend Remus at the time, but not romantically … James had pushed my friend too far. James and Sirius hated the boy and I did not understand why at the time and it infuriated me. So I had that drama happening in my life and was on patrol and caught a Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect raping a Third Year Muggle Born on the Astronomy tower. I … I killed him."

"I can see why," Molly began.

"No! I mean killed him as in dead as in he left Hogwarts in a pine box! Hit him with a knockback hex…"

"Must've been one…"

"It only knocked him back, and he fell over the wall and to his death."

"Oh my!"

"That's what triggered it. I was in Disconnect before I could even report what had happened. Madam Pomfrey told me. I knew what it was. I knew how bad it could be for me. And I knew what the cure was. I didn't know 'bout Quidditch Partners and the thought of several boys … cure's worse than the disease, you know? But Madam Pomfrey did tell me it didn't have to be that way. I still had to have a lot of sex, but I could pick one boy to… James was the first one I thought of. I found that odd 'cause he had always been so infuriating. Oh, he was nice to me. But he and his friends broke so many rules and… Still. I thought of him. Something told me he might well be the only boy who'd…"

"Respect you in the morning?" Molly offered.

"Something like that. He looked so … so lost when he first got there. I knew I'd made the right decision then, although it was not what I had…"

"Ron and Katie both said it was not the way they saw it happening, but they have no regrets."

"None here, either. Bonds like this are different. James and I didn't know anyone who had one like ours and, to be honest, had we known anyone I would've hoped they were older and further along as it were; someone who could answer our questions about it from experience and not what they read in a book."

"Ron would probably be uncomfortable…"

"I understand. But if either they or you or your husband need to talk to someone…"

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you."

They took seats in one of the several sitting areas in the vast room while one of the Elves served tea.

"How are you managing?" Molly asked.

"I thought we discussed that a bit," Lily replied.

"I meant … well, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Harry Lord Potter now? How do you and James get by?"

"He is Lord Potter now," Lily nodded. "And he would support us if we needed his help that way, although we've not discussed that. No need. James and I can make do quite well, thank you."

"Oh?"

"Although it's now Harry's, the Valley was ours and since our house is still there that's where we live. Harry lives here, we live there so it's no imposition at all although he'd have us live here if necessary. Not sure how his girls would like that, but they'd understand. As for money, while Harry is Lord Potter, money wise he only has access to his trust account and even then only the earned interest – which is substantial. He earns additional money from the farm, although the two older trunks are not part of his earnings statements. They deposit into the House Vault which he can't access 'til he's older. Still, his farm income from the four that pay him direct will pay for this trunk he bought by the end of the school year. Harry isn't seventeen, which means James's Trust Vault remains outside of his control and as James is 'alive' now, it will remain our money and not Harry's – not that I think it would matter in any event. That trust has been sitting 'round for years with interest accruing and nothing going out. It's over a million Galleons as of our last bank statement and our anticipated interest income for this year is over ninety thousand. Living here, about all we need to buy are some clothes and personal items. Most all of our food is grown here and costs us nothing so we're making far more than average and spending far less than most young married couples. I think we can manage."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Harry," a voice said and Harry and the others saw Ron and Katie entering through the huge doors that opened into the Entry Hall from the outside of the Manor. "Um…"

"Ginny told us you two are bonding," Harry said. "So, I'm told in polite society I should say welcome, and welcome to you Mrs. Weasley."

Katie blushed pleasantly at the comment.

"Um… we're not married yet," Ron said.

"I notice you said yet," Ginny giggled.

"Yeah. I do get it, you know. We will be married one day, probably sooner rather than later. You know? It doesn't bother me at all. I like the thought. Mum's not … well, it could've been … but she's being awfully nice about the whole thing and Gin here's not picking on me."

"Only because you're with Katie," Ginny said. "No promises if she's not around."

"In that case, I'm not leaving her side not that I had any plans to do so."

"Are you okay, Katie?" Harry asked.

"Pretty much. Then again, I haven't had to explain this to my parents yet. As Ron said, his Mum's okay with it although she did say this past few months has been a shock of sorts what with Ginny and all and Ron and Ginny are the youngest and aside from Fred and George she's not aware of any of her older brothers even having a serious girlfriend."

"Fred and George?" Hermione asked.

"Mum caught them or at least one of them in bed with their girlfriend and that one squealed on the other in a rare instance of twin disunity," Ginny giggled. "She was right put out with their explanation."

"Oh?"

"They said if it was okay for Ron and Katie to…"

"Um…I think it's a different kettle of fish."

"It is," Ginny agreed.

"Yeah," Ron added. "We're bonding. We have to be together, you know. They're just…"

"We get it," Daphne said.

"They are Fifth Years, though," Katie said. "That's usually when it happens, certainly by then from what I've seen and heard. Their Mum said she and her husband started then. I didn't get the impression she was so much upset by what they were doing, just the where and when."

"That and they didn't lock their doors," Ginny said. "That was stupid on their part."

"So, you two are okay then?" Hermione asked clearly not wanting to hear more.

"We are," Katie said. "It was all a bit much at first. But now? I wouldn't want any different … although my parents don't know yet as I said and that does worry me a little."

"Guess we kind of now know what you're going through," Ron said. "Pretty good thing I didn't get all weird 'bout it 'cause…"

"You've been surprisingly accepting, Ron," Daphne said.

"Oh?"

"Ron Weasley, best known Slytherin Loather in our year, and yet he's been quite friendly to me but for the first five minutes that first day."

"Well, Harry was right about you," Ron said. "You're not like the other snakes and neither is Tracy. I'm not changing my opinion about the rest of that lot just 'cause you two are different."

"There may be others like us," Daphne said, "but we don't stand out in that group for a reason."

"I figured that. But I'm not subtle enough about those things to suss out who's just a Slytherin and who's clearly a snake. That said…"

"Don't feel too bad," Daphne smiled, "there're very few of us true Slytherins. Most of them are just snakes."

Ron and Katie laughed.

"Most true Slytherins aren't in Slytherin at all," Harry said. "That's where the Hat wanted to put me. But really, what's so cunning about being sent into the House known for it?"

"You're joking, right?" Ron gasped.

"About the Hat? Nope. It did."

"Then how…?"

"Told it not to. Practically begged it not to. That's all. Already met Malfoy and wanted to be as far from him as possible."

"Are you two okay with what happened?" Hermione asked.

Ron merely nodded. "Well," Katie said, "I'd rather not have gone through what got us here. I don't think any witch would want that. But I did pick him as my Partner just in case 'cause he's my friend and I trust him. I won't say it was my dream as a first time."

"Mine neither."

"But … yeah, I'm okay with it."

"Me too. Makes some things easier, you know?"

"Oh?"

"Hogwmeade Weekend coming up. Figured you lot would be hanging together and I would…"

"You would always be welcome, Ron," Hermione said.

"Yeah. But I thought it might be … weird. Figured it was either run with Dean and Seamus … not my idea of a fun time … or ask a girl and … well, that wasn't gonna happen. Even after making the Team, I was … well, asking Katie before wasn't as easy as it might sound. But now? I'd be daft not to, right? And before you ask, Hermione, I already have and she already said yes so even if we are bonding and m-m-married in a way, it'll be like our first … um … date." He was blushing furiously when he finished.

"His Mum's okay with this," Katie began trying to change the topic.

"Yeah," Ron agreed.

"Which means Dad'll be too," Ginny noted. "He doesn't always agree with Mum, but he would about something like this."

"My parents don't know yet," Katie admitted. "I'm worried about that. Dad's a Muggle Born, you know. Mum might understand. She's from an old line on her mother's side: House of Black to be honest."

"Really?" Harry asked. Katie nodded. "Another cousin! Which one? Mine was Cygnus."

"Sirius," Katie said.

"The older one," Ron added.

"Really," Daphne asked surprised. "I'm from that line on Mum's side! We must be second cousins or something! Dad's side was from Phineas."

"As was my Dad," Luna added.

"Arcturus," Ginny said, "same as Ron."

"We're not Black listed," Hannah chuckled indicating Hermione was the other part of the "we."

"Definitely should make a day of it in Hogsmeade!" Luna said. "Cousins should be friends, don't you think."

"Doesn't always work that way," Hermione observed.

"Well, if it did there'd be a lot less nastiness in the world."


	48. Chapter 48: Shoe Dropping

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: For being late, it's two chapter time…

**CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: SHOE DROPPING**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10****th**** 1993 (Day 5)**

"Sirius," Harry exclaimed as Sirius, a woman and a girl entered the Manor. "'Bout time you showed up. Everyone's waiting for dinner!"

"Harry, you need to learn that in polite society it is fashionable to be fashionably late," Sirius replied.

"And how late is that?" Hermione asked.

"Late enough to miss the annoying small talk and still early enough to make the dinner. We haven't held you up, have we?"

"No," Harry smiled. "You're just the last of the guests and I was planning to say something like that to whomever it was last through the door."

"Right then," Sirius said as he and his two companions were now close to Harry and the others, "Lord Potter, may I introduce my wife Connie, the Lady Black?"

"A pleasure to meet you," Harry said. "I would say we've heard a lot about you, but your husband here has been surprisingly mum on the subject. I can't see why."

"Lord Potter," Connie replied with a slight curtsey as decorum dictated.

"And this is my daughter Anna," Sirius added proudly.

"Hi Anna!" Hannah said brightly. Anna merely blushed.

"You were with us on the train ride here, right?" Harry asked.

"You remember that?" Anna asked surprised.

"I remember all of my guests, even if I can't remember all their names. I never thought you were … well, welcome to our home, Cousin."

"Cousin?"

"Yep. My Gran was the daughter of Cygnus Black who was also your father's Great-grandfather. You'll find a fair few of your Cousins about tonight. Lady Black, Anna, my wife and bondmate Lady Hermione, Countess Finchley. She's not a black but she and I are double digit Cousins, twelve removes or so. My wife and Bondmate Lady Luna, Countess Hwicca. She's descended from Phineas Black on her father's side making her our Third Cousin, I think. My wife Lady Daphne, Countess Abengale…"

"You were the Manor Advocate!" Anna gushed.

Daphne nodded.

"She's descended from Sirius on her mother's side and Phineas on her father's making her a Third Cousin to us two times over. My Wife by Line Continuation Lady Hannah Abbot, Baroness Tinworth. She's not a Black, at least not very recently. She's my Sixth Cousin on my father's side and finally, my Betrothed, the former Miss Ginny Weasley. She's descended from Arcturus Black, making her also our third cousin."

"So," Ginny said, "introductions aside, Lady Black what possessed you to associate with this renegade?"

"I take exception," Sirius began in mock indignation.

"Fred and George," Ginny said. "I know it when I meet it."

"Literally bumped into him in Diagon Alley," Connie replied. "Dropped my shopping, he helped pick it up and that was it."

"I don't think it really works that way," Daphne said.

"It does when you share compatible magic," Connie replied.

"Um…," Harry stammered, "not necessarily. 'Til the end of last term, Hermione was my best friend and I could easily have continued to see her as that. Had that happened, we'd never have bonded and Luna and I became friends end of last term, but had I not promised to visit her this past summer it's also possible we might not've bonded. Just 'cause you know the person doesn't mean the bond will ever happen. You've got to … um …"

"See them as a serious romantic possibility and act on that," Hannah said. "And they have to respond in kind. Without a partner, you're just dancing by yourself, you know?"

"That and we are young," Luna said. "Harry and I were only twelve when it happened and it doesn't always happen that young even if it might happen later."

"Even now, our bonds are still forming 'cause we're too young to form it through … you know," Hermione blushed.

"You know?" Anna asked.

"You've had the talk with Madam Pomfrey," Connie said. "She means sex. I thought that's what did it."

"If the couple is magically mature or close enough to it," Luna said. "We're not. And it's more than that and it was that more that does it. The sex stuff seals it, but the bond begins forming without it if the two see the other as a romantic partner and even if the two are not truly aware of it at the time. In our case, it was just a kiss that got it started."

"We were older so that wasn't an issue," Connie said. "I'd just finished Hogwarts and he was a few years ahead of me. After we finally got together, we realized we both felt something like a pull towards each other from the moment we first saw each other which was when I entered the Great Hall to be sorted. I thought it was just a crush then."

"I was a Fourth Year," Sirius said. "I thought it was creepy feeling that about an ickle Firstie girl."

"Years later when I bumped into him after finishing Hogwarts, however, I thought he was dashing and desirable and very nice and all that."

"She was done with school and so stunning and funny and smart and all the things I liked in a girl with none of the stuff that bugged me. We completed the bond that very day."

"Bit fast, don't you think?" Luna said.

"You kissed Harry the moment he came over!" Hermione scolded. "Right in front of my Mum and I, as I recall."

"Okay, there's that. I suppose the bond works when it works."

"Could've been worse," Harry quipped. "Could've been far more than a kiss right in front of your mother and you."

"Harry!"

"And you kissed me too," Harry continued, "starting our bond as well, so thank goodness all it took for us was a kiss. Much as I like your Mum and Luna's Great-grans, more than a kiss would have been…"

"We get the picture," Sirius said. "Are you trying to be a bad influence?"

"You were the one implying that the two of you 'got a room' the very day you 'bumped' into each other in Diagon Alley," Harry replied. "We haven't done that yet … at least the adult stuff that happens in such rooms."

"I think we should move inside," Daphne said. "I think you lot broke her," she added looking at Anna whose mouth was agape.

"She'll be okay," Connie said. "She's had a lot to take in since she arrived here the other morning. She thought this Mutt was dead, poor thing. Never said that, but what I did say … well, I could see how she came to that conclusion. Anyway, I was told that one of you knows the Fidelius Charm."

"I'd say we all know it," Hannah said. "Hermione's the one who casts it when we need it."

"Why?" Hermione and Harry asked in unison.

"We have some secrets we want kept that way," Sirius said. "Nothing I feel you shouldn't know, or any of your other guests to be honest, but it's easier the fewer who know right off, right?"

"It is," Hermione agreed.

"I'll be the Secret Keeper as I will need to be able to tell others as needed," Sirius said. "You start the spell first, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Petal?" she called and a House Elf appeared wearing a dress. "Could you fetch my wand, please?" The elf popped away without answering. "We don't carry around here ordinarily," she explained just moments before the elf returned with her wand. "Thank you Petal." When the elf disappeared again, Hermione began muttering a series of incantations. "Okay," she said. "The door's open as it were. What secret do you wish kept?"

"This work for more than one?"

Hermione nodded. "Everything you reveal after saying this is the secret will be under the charm. When you're done, I'll seal it."

"These are the Secrets: Connie is my wife, the Lady Black. Anna his my daughter and heir as Regent to the Ancient and Noble House of Black…"

"Can I add to that?" Connie asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Our daughter Anna shares compatible magic with one Justin Finch-Fletchly."

"What?" several voices asked as Hermione waived her wand sealing the charm. "I hope there wasn't more," she admitted.

"That's it."

"Justin, huh?" Harry asked. "Seems nice enough."

"You know him?" Sirius asked.

"He's a Hufflepuff in our year. Muggle Born."

"That's not important."

"When he got petrified last year, everyone thought Harry did it," Hannah said. "Well, not everyone. I didn't. But I could see how others might think that. He had told Harry he was down for eating before he got his Hogwarts letter."

"Eton," Hermione said and then spelled it.

"What's that mean?" Sirius asked.

"It's a very exclusive Muggle secondary school not far from where I live. It's not far from Windsor Castle either. I couldn't go there. First off, my parents aren't that rich and I'm not from the nobility, not that you need to be to go there but it helps. I could probably have passed the entrance exams but they don't take girls. The place has several who became Prime Ministers of Great Britain among its former students. There was a bit of a thing in the Muggle press when it was revealed that Prince William's to attend. The royal family usually attended another school. I'd say it's kind of the Muggle's version of Hogwarts in terms of prestige."

"His family seems to have money," Hannah nodded. "Not like Malfoy money; the older, quieter kind. He doesn't say much about it really although I think he said his Grandfather's an Earl and maybe he's in line for it later."

"Why a Fidelius for that?" Ginny asked.

"Probably the same reason why Sirius wants to keep my identity and his daughter's as quiet as possible," Connie said.

"And why's that?"

"Someone did try to kill me at St. Mungo's," Sirius said. "The Auror's think it's someone who's family's still upset that one of theirs was on the wrong side of my wand back during the War. I'm not so sure. Might be something to do with House Black and if it is, I'd rather the world not know about my wife and daughter. That concern aside, if it comes out I have a legitimate daughter, I'll be buried under marriage offers and I'd rather not deal with any of that! I didn't marry 'cause of some contract like that and I won't do that to my daughter! Although now…"

"Siri?"

"It might be a good idea to talk with these Finches or whatever just in case."

"What do you mean, Daddy?"

"The reason I wanted it secret was to make sure if the bond happens it happens naturally," Connie said.

"It can only happen that way," Hermione countered.

"But I can see a use for the charm," Harry said. "None of us but Sirius can reveal that little bit. We can't even behave in a way that could reveal the secret. That's a reason right there."

"What do you mean?" several voices asked.

"Anna here's eleven and has just learned she may have a bondmate in her future and Justin is a decent enough bloke as far as I've seen. Without the Charm, she might … well, assuming she's interested … she might be a little … well, kinda like Ginny was 'bout me last year. Sorry Gin, but that was a little creepy."

"I didn't mean to be creepy," Ginny moaned.

"And you're not. Not anymore. Not since you've joined us here. But it was odd."

"That was the diary!"

"It was odd before. I came to the Burrow and you practically hid in your room the whole time. Your brothers said you were a right chatter box and all you ever said to me was 'eep!' You put your elbow in the butter! Creepy."

"You would have to bring that up," Ginny groaned.

"I like this you a lot better," Harry said getting her to smile.

"I don't think I'm ready for a boyfriend," Anna said.

"Well," Hermione replied, "whether you are or are not has nothing to do with the bond. You can't bond until you've reached bonding age."

"Without something else like a Life Debt," Ginny added.

"There is that," Luna giggled. "But I'm pretty sure this Justin boy's not Harry. Harry saves damsels in distress before breakfast."

"It was after bedtime, really," Harry said.

"Closer to breakfast from what I heard."

"After dinner, really," Hermione chuckled

"Oh yeah, I guess that one counts too."

"The thing would've killed me Harry."

"So, you owe me a …"

"I might have," Hermione almost purred. "But this other bond cancelled that one out."

"Just what are you talking about?" Connie asked.

"Bit of a long story," Harry began.

"Two stories," Ginny added.

"Oh, it's a lot more than just two stories," Luna said. "Unless you only count the ones where he saves the damsel from certain death then it's only two stories … for now."

"I really don't think…," Harry began.

"Despite everything, Harry, we cannot truly say we know what the future holds and could you turn your back on a girl like that?"

"Depends. Parkinson's toast if she expects me to…"

"Which answers the question. You will help if you have to."

"So we need to see to it he doesn't have to," Daphne said. "Can't let just anyone in on our 'Harry Time', can we?"

"There's always Ron," Ginny chuckled. "We just keep him near to do the damsel saving so Harry doesn't have to. Poor Ron. Only has one witch..."

"I don't think he wants more," Harry groaned.

"You didn't either, as I recall," Luna said.

"You accepted more," Hannah agreed. "And for that we all can thank you."

"The point is, Ladies," Hermione interrupted, "Anna here is not old enough to start bonding, assuming that is in her future."

"Is it always like this?" Connie asked.

"Not always," Luna said. "We're just in a good mood."

"Are you sure you haven't been wine tasting?" Harry offered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry lay in bed. As had been the case since the bondings for him had begun, he was not alone. Of his five ladies, only Ginny slept in her own room and that would remain the case until the two of them were married. Beyond saying it would happen the coming summer, the two of them had not picked a date yet. They both knew it would be another Gringotts marriage. The weddings would not happen until they were older. The more Harry thought about all of this, the more he believed it was all semantics. All five of the girls were his wives in the only true way it mattered: his heart.

The dinner had been planned to officially welcome Sirius's wife and daughter to the Estate. It was at the dinner that Sirius revealed to everyone that he had bought one of these trunks and Harry revealed that he had talked to Sirius and Neville about the possibility of combining these three trunk Estates into a single "Trunk Country." The estates would remain separate "properties" managed and controlled by the separate families, but mostly open to all residents of the Country. This was particularly true for the recreational lands lakes and rivers. Each Estate would retain its own drainage system such that their streams and rivers flowed into a large Lake. But the roads would interconnect and you could fly from place to place without regard to the boundaries mostly. Harry did say that each Estate or portion thereof (a single trunk) could retain its own time compression and for that hour or so in Outside Time it would be inaccessible from the rest of the "Country" as well. Whether and when such Time Compression was used was up to the Estate's owner. The entire Country could also be able to use that feature.

Neville's Estate would be to the north of Harry's, connecting to his two northern most trunks and House Longbottom could continue extending to the north. Harry and House Potter could extend to the east and West of his four new trunks and then out from there. Sirius would be tied into the east connecting into the Old Farms of House Potter and building out to the east and south. Ron then announced his intention to get his own trunk as well, once he had saved the money. When that would happen depended entirely upon how much he received from the sale of the basilisk which could not be known for several weeks. If it was only what the Goblins offered, Ron figured he could get his "first" trunk the summer following his OWLs. Naturally, Ron hoped the basilisk would be worth "a lot" more so he and Katie could have their farm sooner rather than later.

There was some discussion about Anna and whether they should do anything about the revelation that she had a potential bondmate. Sirius revealed the secret of this as everyone settled in for the appetizers. After all, he trusted the people here and having two unknown people at the dinner would be odd. It was a lively discussion, although it was certain that poor Anna was mortified with all of it. Fortunately, she was seated between Ginny and Luna who each in their own way kept her from dying from embarrassment. James and Lily were all for setting the two up as they had hoped to do with Harry, Hermione and Luna. Harry and his ladies thought it was a bit late to be that obvious about it. They needed to know what Justin thought at least in general. This, Ron said, was not as hard as it sounded. True, the Fidelius prevented anyone other than Sirius from revealing anything about Anna. But according to Ron, the other blokes in their year were already starting to look at the witches in the lower years as "potentials." After all, Harry and Neville were now married to eight of the witches in their year, almost half the total and nearly all of the "hotties" as he put it. So it would be a simple matter of asking what Justin thought of the "new crop" as it was now being called.

Sirius was planning on two projects provided he was not going to snuff it if he left the trunks. First, regardless of what happened at Hogwarts, he felt it prudent to approach the parents of Anna's Bondmate about this, not so much to move it forward but to prepare for what would happen if it did. He needed to know more about this boy and his possible inheritances and what his parents thought of that sort of thing. They should know how their son being a wizard might affect such things. The second project was Neville's parents. Andi had discovered the possible cure, but Sirius had to do the countercurse. Andi explained that the real problem was not the countercurse itself, but the nature of the original curse. The victim might not want to return to reality and Andi felt it would be necessary for them to have a reason to return. That reason, she felt, was their son Neville and they had agreed that Neville needed to be there when they tried to reverse the spell which meant they had to wait until the Christmas break.

This was disappointing for Harry. Apparently, Neville had already been told of this by Mrs. Tonks and had accepted it. Still, Harry felt it was not fair that he should have his parents back and Neville still had to wait.

"Harry," Luna said as they discussed this in bed, "but they will come back or should. My mother can't come back."

"Sorry, Luna, I…"

"It is a good thing you care about your friends so much, Harry. But you must know that you can't save everyone. Sooner or later it will happen and there will be someone you can't save."

"What about the future memories?"

"I don't think they work that way," Hermione said.

"But Sirius…"

"Yes, his life is very different now," Luna said. "But beyond that we can't say."

"He never saw his wife again in that other time, Harry," Hermione added. "He never knew about Anna."

"Nor would he have known," Luna said. "Well, he never would've met her."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"She was the girl on the train, Harry."

"You mean…?"

"In that other timeline, Anna died on her first trip to Hogwarts. We stopped that from happening not even knowing who she really was and she has her family back as a result. We cannot say for how long. But does it really matter? She died in that time never knowing who her father was and Sirius died never even knowing she had existed. You can't save everyone, Harry. People will die, maybe even people who didn't die at that time in the other time. But already there are people who've gained what they never had in that time and that should be enough."

**MONDAY, OCTOBER 11****th**** 1993.**

Admittedly, the plan was never one which could be accomplished in a short period of time. She knew it might take decades at the present rate. But it would not do for others to truly know all she was planning. True, there were many who had similar ideas about what their world should be. But she had no intention of being a leader or standing out. She knew to stand out was to invite defeat. She was not from a family that offered any prestige or power. True, she was a Pureblood and probably more so than most who claimed such status. But her family had no land and little money and never had. She could not even bemoan the foolish ideas of a rich ancestor who squandered her family's fortune, for there never had been a fortune to squander. If anyone with true connections actually stood in her way, she knew she would lose.

But none had. She had not been sorted into Slytherin by chance. There were many ways to wield power and not all of them required anyone know about it. There was nothing cunning about being Minister for Magic or holding a family seat on the Wizengamot. She got where she was through cunning. She doubted anyone who had known her at school would have seen her as Senior Undersecretary and even then few would have seen her as being what she really was. The Senior Undersecretary was historically nothing more than a paid advisor to whomever they were Senior Undersecretary to. In most cases, they were glorified servants, highly paid toadies whose most exciting days in the Ministry were working out seating arrangements or picking up her bosses suits from the cleaners. Dolores Umbridge had never done either of those servant chores. She held a lot of power and had access to far more than most of the true Department Heads.

It had helped she had hitched her career to that of a man with no true ambitions. True, he had wanted the post he held now. But he never really reached for it. How could he? The Head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had never been a stepping stone to truly high office and he was not expected to gain his House Seat in the Wizengamot. The truth was, he only got as far as that through her efforts. She would have preferred to tie herself to a true up and comer. It was not her fault she never attained a single NEWT such that she had to start her career as a mere file clerk in the Goblin Liaison Office. It was not her fault she had never married. Her early struggles were due in no small part to the small minds of wizards, none of whom were her betters despite what they thought.

Were it not for the War, she might not be where she was now. She had managed to get Cornelius Fudge to take her on as his assistant. But his career was as much as a dead end as hers had been. Had she not gotten Fudge to notice her talents, she might now have risen to be a shift supervisor for file clerks. It was amazing the doors that could open if one had the right information and, in this case, the right information was knowing that Fudge had a second and third "illegal" wife. Fudge had his "proper" society wife. She was a witch who in Umbridge's opinion had no ideas or visions that went beyond the threshold of a clothing boutique. Fudge found her a nice ornament for society functions, but otherwise she was of no interest and the lack of a child attested to the lack of any such interest. His real family was with a couple of Muggle women of all things! Whether the two women knew of each other and whether they knew he was a wizard… Well, that was why she was his assistant, wasn't it? They probably did not know and he knew that she did and would use it.

"Their" break came because of the War. He had moved to a family afterthought to the Holder of the Fudge seat simply because all those ahead of him had either died or been killed. That move had allowed Umbridge to begin to truly pursue her ambition, but he needed to be more of a patron than that. The post of Minister appealed to his vanity almost as much has having a hoard of Fudge abominations springing forth from those Muggle creatures. He really had no plans about what to do if he became Minister. In the last three years, he had not bothered to do much of anything, at least not of his own volition. Anything that had happened had been at her suggestion and all of it aimed at moving their world to where it ought to be. She envisioned a world totally separate from those filthy, promiscuous Muggles and freed from the vile ideas of the Muggle Born abominations. In her perfect world, they would make perfect slaves. Naturally, not all would accept their proper place so they would be put down. Her world, Goblins either bowed to her or were eliminated, preferably eliminated as they were little better than cockroaches. One step at a time and one day they would be gone along with other freaks of nature. She'd let the Elves be. After all, they had to be slaves and they had their uses. The rest could die and no one would truly miss them.

There were many who believed she had been a Death Eater during the War. There was much about what the Dark Lord wanted that she found admirable. But she knew enough to know that the Dark Lord wanted absolute power and as this would mean nothing for her, there was no way she would openly support it. Moreover, she knew early one that someone from her family would be seen as little more than an expendable asset. There might be some Purebloods who would foolishly throw their lives away. She was not one of them. So, she never became an open follower. But she had never done anything to dispute the rumors that she had been. Fear had its uses after all.

Those damnable Goblins! You would think they were the ones who truly ruled with the way the government seemed to be bending over backwards to make them happy. So what if she almost killed one of those creatures. It was a pity she missed! The beasts had banned her for life and no one was doing anything about it. All of her files, all of her proof of things, everything she could use to keep countless witches and wizards from obstructing her plans; all of this was in her vault which she could not access. So far, none of the people she had threatened with exposure had realized that she was practically defanged. For now, her job was to keep them from learning she was no longer the threat she had been. Even the ones who thought as she did – though did nothing – would turn on her if they knew. But so long as she was Senior Undersecretary, few would know and fewer would do anything to upset her plans.

"You wanted to see me, Cornelius?" she said as she entered the office of the spineless man who was Minister. It annoyed her to no end that she had to answer to him about anything. Were he not necessary to her plans…

"Ah, Dolores please have a seat."

She had better things to do with her time than listen to this man's attempts at a thought. But she knew better than to express her extreme displeasure.

"A couple more and we can get on with this," he said politely. "Would you care for a cup of tea while we wait?"

"No thank you," she said sweetly.

She thought she saw some movement. Was he holding his wand at her? No. Just her imagination. Must be the stress of some of her other business.

"Minister?" a voice said and Dolores turned and saw the face of the Minister's Office Secretary who was little more than a vapid, pretty face from a "good" family and who, in Dolores's opinion would never amount to more than she was now. "The Head of Magical Law Enforcement and Director of Personnel have arrived."

"Ah! Send them in and we can begin," he said cheerfully.

Dolores could not stand the two witches who entered. Madam Bones held a seat as Proxy for a major House. Dolores only attended a Wizengamot session to vote some of the Ministry votes and knew her attendance was at the sufferance of this figurehead Minister and once he was gone, she'd lose all access to that body. Bones held a permanent seat. She had received a life appointment several years ago to add that vote to the several she held for House Bones. That she was a Muggleborn abomination only made it worse. Ms. "Mizz!" Palmer was another thorn in her side. Personnel was arguably the most powerful department within the Ministry even if it never made the papers or had any impact on policy. To a Ministry employee, even one of Dolores's stature, one did not cross Personnel as they could misfile paperwork affecting promotions, pay and pensions. Mizz Palmer's opinion of Dolores was clear. If Mizz Palmer had her way, Dolores would be lucky to be kicked down to a deep, dark, dusty file room. She made it clear she felt Dolores was absolutely unqualified for anything else and barely qualified for that job. What was particularly vexing was she had never found any useful information about either of these women.

"I've dealt with the preliminary matter," Fudge said. Dolores had no idea what that meant, but judging by the reaction the Bones lady did. She nodded in reply but otherwise showed no reaction. "Right then. As you know, Dolores, this mess with the ICW has been bad for business as it were. Aside from the trial of Lord Black – and that was only occasioned through the use of some rather interesting magic…"

"Which should be outlawed," Dolores shot back. One of her side projects had been the struggle to gain control of that House. She did not care who succeeded in that so long as they were beholding to her for that success. But the damn heir had to escape. She was the one who had convinced Fudge to issue the infamous "Shoot to Kill" Order. His escape and exoneration was a blow.

"Now, now. Harmless stuff, really. Besides, it is Ancient and Noble Houses we're talking about. Anyway, it was only through that, that we could even have dealt with that miscarriage of justice. Unfortunately, the Ministry does not have such a useful … um … devise such that we can keep the wheels of government going smoothly while also dealing with this mess across the Channel. I am most concerned with it, as you know. The matter's been before them for well over a month and we are paralyzed while they bicker back and forth and my sources tell me it is not going well for us, not by any stretch. Dumbledore may well lose his seat with them over this and we can't have that. Whatever your opinions of the man may be, it is not in the best interests of Britannia to lose that seat particularly as it is the French who seem to be positioned to gain from it."

"I seem to recall hearing that should … Dumbledore … be ousted, it was the Americans who are considered in the lead for the Supreme Mugwump position," Dolores said.

"Not much better than a French one," Fudge said. "I've heard the same too from Barty's Department. Their sources say the French are backing an American candidacy in exchange for … considerations. Don't know yet what that means, except it won't be to our benefit. So, we need to do something to secure Dumbledore in that post. A few weeks ago, I would also have wished to avoid sanctions, but that opportunity is well and truly lost it seems. I will not simply turn you over to the Goblins headsman, which is all the others seem willing to accept to forbear on sanctions."

"I'm glad to hear that," Dolores said wondering where this was going. No Minister would have done that even if the witch in question was facing a lifetime in Azkaban for that or other crimes.

"But accommodations must be made," Fudge continued.

"Accommodations?" Dolores did not like the sound of that one bit.

"It was your actions that have led us to where we are," Madam Bones said icily. "It was your information – false information! – that set us off to embarrass ourselves before the Goblins and the world. The Goblins want your head and I dare say the ICW would lose no sleep over your demise had we turned you over to them!"

"Naturally, I could not go that far," Fudge added. "I have been advised from many sources that short of that, I should consider terminating your employment."

"You can't possibly…," Dolores began.

"I considered that recommendation and felt it both unwise and unwarranted under the circumstances."

"I'm pleased you at least can see reason."

"But for you to continue as Senior Undersecretary is not politically acceptable. To be honest, I really have no idea what you do most of the time to collect your pay so it seems to me no real loss."

"NO REAL LOSS?"

"Naturally, I can understand you may disagree. But I cannot sacrifice the political needs of this country just because it is inconvenient to a mere … what was the word?"

"Glorified errand boy," Ms. Palmer said.

"So, it is deemed best for all concerned that you be reassigned to another less visible position within the Ministry. Ms. Palmer?"

The Director of Personnel handed Dolores a document. Dolores read it and… "FILE CLERK APPRENTICE? IN THE DEPARTMENT OF WASTE MANAGEMENT? THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! I WON'T STAND FOR IT!"

"It is the only position for which you are qualified based upon your most recent civil service examination and for which there is a current opening," Ms. Palmer said with a predatory smile.

"But it's … it's…"

"Grade C-1, Entry Level, yes. But you see, you never took any examination for promotion, did you? We can't place you above those who followed the accepted procedures for advancement, can we?"

"But … my pay?"

"Commencerate with your new position and time in grade as a C-1. I believe that's three years of seniority."

"I don't have to stand for this! I can retire!"

"Not as of this morning. Had you retired yesterday… But you didn't. You're pension rights are in abeyance until you've attained sufficient seniority through proper Grade advancement as determined by a ruling of the Personnel Board last week. They found the irregularities of your career advancement … disturbing. You may retire once you've attained twenty years seniority, that's sixteen years and seven months from today. Of course, you can always quit. We can't stop you. But you forfeit your pension if you do."

"You'll regret this! You all will regret this!"

"I doubt that very much," Madam Bones said. "As of right now, your office and home are off limits to you until DLME completes collecting any and all documents, files and such that are of interest or are related to your former position. I'm very curious about what your infamous files may say although unless it's clear evidence of illegality, I doubt anything will come of it. Assuming there are no illegal items in your possession, your personal property will be returned to you in due course. It's not uncommon for Ministry workers to take their work home, but we can't have important and potentially sensitive government documents appearing in the Daily Prophet, can we? If you try and access those places before my people are done, you will spend time as our guest in the holding cells awaiting trial for obstruction of a Ministry Investigation and whatever else I can pin on you. Furthermore, if you should attempt to disclose sensitive information to the Press, you will stand in violation of at least three Acts that I can think of. My advice is report to Waste Management."

"Can I take vacation time," Dolores said trying not to lose all control.

"As you have no earned time under proper accounting, no," Ms. Palmer said. "Not with pay, at least."

"FINE!" She had nothing on the two witches yet. But she knew she had something on Fudge, something he'd regret if he didn't change this travesty around to her advantage. She stormed out of the office. For the life of her, she could not remember what she knew about Fudge.

"Well Minister," Madam Bones began as soon as it was clear Umbridge was truly gone.

"I did begin with the Obliviator's Office," he said. "Hated working in the rain. But it seems I haven't lost the touch. Hopefully, this will mollify some of those in the ICW."

**TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12****th**** 1993**

Lucius Malfoy hated this part. He was not an employee of the Ministry or anything else for that matter thanks to his marriage. But he was somebody at least in his own mind. He was a proper scion of a Pureblood family without a Muggle for generations and that should mean something. His gold financed more than a few pet projects both within the Ministry and the Wizengamot. And yet he was treated as if he was some crawling gutter snipe. Wizengamot members and Ministry employees did not have to present their wands to gain admission to the corridors of government beyond the Atrium. Members of the public at large, the unwashed masses of useless sheep did. And as far as the Ministry was concerned, despite the small fortune in "donations," Lucius Malfoy was no better than the witch who cleaned rooms at the Leaky Cauldron. Like the rest of the public, he had to surrender his wand each and every time he entered. True, they gave it back.

"State your business for today?" the guard asked. They always asked that. Years and years ago, he had lied about that and nothing ever came of it. But the fool had to fill in some form and he had learned that "none of your business" was almost as effective at getting a lengthy meeting with the Aurors as casting an Unforgivable.

"Wizengamot Offices," he drawled. "I have a scheduled appointment with a member." This wasn't true. But it never seemed to matter.

"Need a name, Sir," the Ministry sop intoned.

"Lucius Malfoy," he said slowly in case the creature lacked the ability to understand. The low level functionary looked at him with no recognition at all. He then handed the wand to someone standing behind him, whom Lucius had not noticed until then.

"I would appreciate the return of my wand," Lucius said calmly. The Ministry law enforcement types occasionally liked to try and intimidate him. He wondered if he was unique in this regard or whether this was a random thing, just less random for him.

"You won't be needing it," the man said placing his wand into a pocket.

"I beg your pardon!" Lucius replied indignantly.

"Lucius Malfoy?" a voice called out from behind him. He turned and saw three Aurors with their wands draw. "You are under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do say may be given in evidence. Now, are you going to come quietly or do we have to stun you?"

"I wish to speak with my Solicitor," Lucius drawled.

"I'm sure you do," the Auror drawled back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Aurors seemed to have improved since the last time Lucius Malfoy had been their guest. They found everything he had including his emergency portkey. They found that little trinket amusing.

"Wouldn't of worked," one of them said smugly. "We put wards up before we decided to introduce ourselves."

"I want to speak with my Solicitor," Lucius had replied.

"Not bloody original, is he?" one of them replied as an aside to the others.

"More interesting than most," the older one said. "Most spill or wet themselves. It'll be fun watching this one break."

"The old man said he won't break, but also it's not necessary to break him."

"Still would be fun, though."

"I want to speak with my Solicitor," Lucius repeated.

"Suit yourself," the Auror shrugged. They left him in a room with no windows he could see and a single door with no handle. There was a table with benches on either side, all of which seemed to grow out of the floor and none of which could be moved. Lucius knew this was an interrogation room. They had seemed to have made some changes since his last visit years ago, namely the permanently affixed furniture and, he noted, the lack of any clock. They had taken his pocket watch along with everything else. He had no idea why he was here, not really. There were things that would warrant the Aurors attention, but he was certain they could not have learned of those things. Still, it was disconcerting. He had no idea how much time passed before the door opened again. It was his Solicitor or at least one from the firm that handled his legal affairs.

"It's sorted, I take it?" Lucius asked.

"They haven't told me anything," the young man replied.

"Surely the Minister…?"

"Bartley saw him," the young man shrugged. Bartley was a senior partner at the firm that handled Lucius's affairs. "Bartley says it's as if the Minister never heard of you."

"And why is he not here?"

"I don't question the boss about his calendar," the young man replied curtly. "He asked me to handle this and before you ask, this is hardly my first such assignment."

"So… Well, I suppose it will be ROR or some bail?"

"I don't even know if there are charges pending. It might be a simple matter such as your being a material witness to something else."

"That must be it."

"But … well, they usually don't conduct those interviews here."

The door opened inward and a large man entered. He had an unmistakably magical eye patch and walked with a staff or walking stick and a pronounced limp. One of his legs made a wooden sound whenever it struck the floor.

"No need to get up on my account," the man said taking a seat across from Lucius and placing a closed file folder on the table. "Told ya, Lucy, didn't I?"

Lucius said nothing.

"Not so smug as before or perhaps better trained? Not that it matters. Told ya I'd have ya one day and it appears that day has arrived. But I'm not gloating yet. See you've bought a new mouthpiece or are they so tired of you they're giving you to those who have yet to feel dirty just being in your presence?"

"And who are you?" the young man asked.

"Oooh, he's a live one, ain't he? Like him already," the man said to Lucius. "Alastor Moody's the name, Master Auror retired."

"Well, I think we should be speaking to someone with authority."

"Do ya now? I said Master Auror retired. I didn't say I was full on retired, did I? Still on call as a Special Investigator which means I do have authority, as you call it, and one might say a fair bit more than I did as a Senior Auror. So ya be wanting one with authority. Okay, laddie, I'm listening."

"Surely this is all some sort of misunderstanding…"

"They teach you that bit in lawyering school? There's no misunderstanding. Lucy here's a murderin' bastard and we have him nipped. Just a question of dotting the right 'i's' and crossing the right 't's' and he's off on his long overdue all expenses paid holiday on our lovely island resort."

"I haven't heard any charges. Surely, his presence is not necessary to your investigation," the young man pressed. "He's an upstanding member of the community until a court says otherwise. He has obligations…"

"Oh, I am sure he does. Let me guess. You're now going to ask for ROR or bail, am I correct?"

The young man nodded.

"Then you're gonna remind me he's tight with certain people and maybe drop a few names like Cornelius Fudge, right?"

The man made no response to that.

"That was yesterday, laddie. He could be tight with Merlin himself for all the good it'll do him. Your bosses should've realized that it's a new day and come up with a new act, 'cause yours is more worn than my face. Alright then, no ROR and that's non-negotiable. As for bail? Won't take a knut under fifty million."

"FIFTY MILLION?" Lucius exclaimed. "I don't have fifty million!"

"Which is why we won't accept a knut less. That too is non-negotiable laddie."

"You are aware such a bail can be modified by the Wizengamot?"

"I've been dealing with scum like Lucy here and their smart mouthed coconspirators such as you and your boss since before you're granddaddy was a gleam in your great-granddaddy's eye, Mr. Adams and yes I know who you are despite your lack of manners. You can't surprise me quoting chapter and verse as it were seeing as I had a hand in many of them. True, the Wizengamot might modify the bail, but if that's the best you can hope for then maybe Lucy here needs to consider a different mouthpiece. Among other crimes, we've got him for attempted line theft and conspiracy to commit line theft of an Ancient and Noble House. Doubt those Wizengamot boys will be very accommodating."

"Attempted…?"

"Nearly successful, but attempted."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I doubt that. You should've said you're paid to find that hard to believe. But it is the case, regardless if your belief is based upon belief or Galleons. I see you also are … skeptical Lucy?"

Lucius had said nothing.

"Must admit the scheme was clever. Maybe too clever. But it was one of the more entertaining ones to watch unravel. Should've broken the chain at some point. Might've kept you on the street a little longer. But you always thought you were a smart one. Scum like you always do and most of them wind up as our guests. I would ask you where you were on Monday, September 20th – as in three weeks ago – but there's no real need."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lucius said in a measured voice.

"'Course not, Lucy. All the time we've talked over the years and I'm left with the impression that you are without a doubt the most ignorant excuse for a wizard I've ever met. You don't know nothin' if I were to take you at your word. Then again, you're also a liar so there's no reason to ever take someone like you at your word."

"Do you have to be insulting to my client?" Adams asked.

"Have to? No. But it is such fun. Right then!" Moody pulled a photograph from the filed folder. "You know this mutt, Lucy?" he said. "Not that I expect you would. Aside from the fact he's dumb as a post and'll do anything to get a fancy tattoo like the one what's on your left arm, he's not the type you'd associate with – or at least be seen associating with. His name's Rory Mulciber. You might've known his Daddy before that mutt snuffed it. Son's dumber than a garden gnome and is just this side of not being a Squib. Someone told him he could get one of your fancy tattoos if he did a job. Had he been just a wee bit brighter, he might've known someone was pulling his leg about the tattoo. But he did the job. Simple enough. He just had to deliver a small, harmless looking plant to a private room at St. Mungos. 'Course, it never crossed his mind that it might not be a good idea to try something like that when there's an Auror standing right outside the door.

"The plant was Devil's Snare. I can assure you, Mr. Lawyer, Rory was too dumb to know Devil's Snare from petunias. But his 'gift' was not exactly something you'd want to leave as a get well present, unless of course you don't want the person to get well at all. Rory was stunned before he knew the Auror was even in the room. I would say you should've picked someone with real skills, Lucy, but then again we were on the lookout for those types and you probably suspected as much."

"You're not saying my client had anything to do…?"

"I'm not finished. Rory sang. Didn't even have to use the Veritiserum. We did, but didn't need to. The idiot didn't know much but he knew more than nothing. Now Rory here might've had a reason to off our vic. Our vic did kill his older brother during the war but it seems Rory here didn't know that. He would've delivered that plant to Sal Slytherin himself if it meant getting that tattoo. He fingered this guy." Another picture was placed on the table.

"This guy made it interesting. Names' Warrington Wilkes. Added proof young Rory is thicker than the London fog: Warrington here does not have that fancy tattoo and couldn't get it for Rory if he wanted to and seeing as you can't get one these days... Had some cousins and the like who did get the tat, but they're maggot meat now and our vic had nothing to do with their untimely demises. Aside from his questionable family relations, this mutt had no known connection with the tattoo wearing scum. I dare say he could care less about that lot, but he does have an expensive habit and their gold is as good as anyone else's. He's an administrator at St, Mungos and had some very interesting plants in his office including our friend Devil's Snare and none of his office plants are what a Healer would consider appropriate in a hospital. Warrington here convinced gullible Rory he could get his tat if he delivered the plant to a certain room after hours. Said he was to get a thousand galleons for the trouble. His only other contact with this scheme was this kid:"

"Adrian Towson. Like Rory, too young to have a tat and dumb as a post as well. He got a message somewhere else and told it to Wilkes. He remembers the message and Wilkes and who told him, but he had no idea what it was about. He works for the bloke what passed him the message and when the boss says 'go down to St. Mungos and tell so-and-so such-and-such, well, what's he gonna say? Here's the bloke what sent him off:"

Another photograph was on the table. "Victor Bole. Runs a tavern in Knockturn Alley. We've had an eye on that place for years but nothing came of it…"

Lucius smirked.

"… at least not 'til now. As for the incident at St. Mungo's, Vic was just a messenger boy. He didn't know what the message meant, only what it was and who it needed to get to. He might've gotten out of this whole mess with just a warning about who he associated with and what kinds of things he got involved with, but unfortunately he was not lily white in all areas of his life and while he can't finger Lucy here for the Devil's Snare, he had other unsavory dealings with Lucy. While he'd probably have gotten a pass on his involvement in this little caper, it's amazing what you can learn with Veriteserum. Seems Vic had been running drugs – muggle drugs – for years. Middleman. Dealers get the stuff from him at the Tavern then poison the fools in our population with it; fools like the previously mentioned Wilkes. We know who his supplier is, Lucy. And oh, we figured out how to keep a mutt alive long enough to spill even if he had taken an unbreakable vow. That vow's illegal, you know? So we got you for one count of using an illegal curse, voluntary manslaughter in the death of Victor Bole, and distribution of Muggle narcotics. Nothing your mouthpiece here can dream to counter it and you can forget crying to Fudge. He might look the other way on a lot of things, but his ass would be out the door before you could say 'shit' if he lifted a finger to help a muggle drug dealer.

"What was the 'public face' of your little club back in the day, Lucy? Oh yes! You're whole thing was about protecting the Wizarding World from the vile corruptions of the Muggle one. Funny that. We didn't have drugs on our side before the Death Eaters started playing around. Guess we know how that happened. Upstanding member of society, you said earlier? Care to rephrase, Laddie? This guys a drug dealer! What happened to poor Vic aside, you're looking at fifteen years based on this evidence. More if we find the drugs once we get finished taking your house apart brick by brick. That's assuming we keep him. We can hand him over to the Muggles as they love scum like him even less than we do. And before you even say anything about his level of involvement, laddie, remember our law does not make a distinction. Fifteen years mandatory for any in the chain of distribution. More if we find the stuff in his possession. And what you mutts don't know is amazing. You know the Muggles have simple tests for drugs that magic can't trick? If there's any there, we will find it!

"Never would've figured you for dealing with Muggles. But money's money I guess and it's not like you can get that stuff on our side of things. Guess you blew too much of your wife's wad trying to buy the government for your boss back during the war, eh?"


	49. Chapter 49: Unforgivable

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

**CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: UNFORGIVABLE**

**TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12****th**** 1993**

"Vic the stiff and the drugs are beside the point," Moody continued.

"In addition to distributing the drugs, Victor was a part of a very quiet little operation for a very long time although if you ask me the drugs and the operation were related. You see, he was a link in a chain that led from really vile people wanting vile things done to the idiots what did those vile things. He was supposed to be a cut out."

"A what?" Adams asked.

"Don't know as much as you think, do you laddie? The guy at the top of an organization gives an order to whack somebody – that means kill them, laddie – and a guy at the bottom does the deed. In between there are guys who pass the order from the top to the doer. Most of these guys have no idea who any of the others are. Most might only know the ones they do know by sight, meaning they can't give us a name, right? So if we catch one of them, he can only give up the guy above or below him in the chain, but not the whole chain. Still, you can follow that chain by getting the one's he knows unless there's a cutout. That's where the link gets his orders in such a way he has no contact with the next link in the chain. Vic passed his orders via his busboy onto Wilkes. Busboys come and go, but Vic and Wilkes both been in place as it were for ages. Vic knew Wilkes. Wilkes knew Vic. Not saying they were friends, but they knew each other on at least a professional level. Vic never knew what the orders meant as they were in a code of sorts that only Wilkes could understand. Vic passed on a time and place and with that Wilkes knew who needed a Devil's Snare necktie or some other creative way to the hereafter. The time and place corresponded to when and where a patient at St. Mungos had been injured who some higher up thinks should breathe his last. It did not have to be spot on, just enough to distinguish the target from any other patient. Vic passed this on and was also the bagman for Wilkes gold which he paid for out of his drug money and got reimbursed separately through an anonymous deposit to his Gringotts account. Since Wilkes fee was always a thousand and the death of the victims always made the Prophet, Vic never needed to report back up the chain. So then, how did Vic get his orders?

"Muggles call it a dead drop. Don't know why really, but it stops going along the chain dead. Vic never met whoever set the message he passed to Wilkes and he couldn't tell you what it meant, but Wilkes could. In this case, the message was written on a large card in red ink and left in the window of the shop across the street from Vic's tavern plain to see. After all, it meant nothing to Vic or anyone other than Wilkes. In this scheme, the message read '9/20 … 10:00 … Ministry.' Doesn't mean much; does it? To Wilkes, it meant kill the bloke who was brought into the hospital from the Ministry around ten in the morning on September 20th. Of course even swimming in Veritiserum, Vic couldn't tell us who put the card in the window that day or when. It's not like he spent his days staring at the shop across the alley. He'd look out occasionally. Said since the war it was only the fourth time there was a card. Cards were far more common during the war, you know. So we were meant to be left with a real head scratcher. Who left the card?

"Well, ordinarily there's three ways of getting past a dead drop and all of them are time consuming. One is to sit on it with surveillance and look to see someone using it. Of course, this only really works if it's used more than once in a long while. Another way is to do the usual investigative stuff. Figure out who would want to off the vic, maybe narrow it by those devious enough to use such a convoluted method and, in this case, narrow it further by identifying who knew the vic was at St. Mungos and when he was sent off and from where. Guess what, Lucy, you win! True, you're not the only one…"

"Ha!" Adams said.

"But that's not all we have on you now, is it? You see, the third way is to get lucky. The delivery boy was this bloke:" and another picture was presented. "Miles Darby. He's a low level paper pusher in the Revenue Office at the Ministry. Now, before you say he's the end of the line and we're wasting Lucy's time, wait for it! Miles was being watched. Not 'cause we had reason to believe he was up to offing someone. Money had gone missing and we were watching the people from his office to see if someone suddenly had come into some unexplained wealth. At lunch on September 20th, Miles left the Ministry and wound up in that shop in Knockturn Alley. Our tail took pictures. Before Miles entered, there was no card in the window and after he left, lo and behold there's the card! And we know there was no one else in the shop or entered or left the shop while he was there. How? We asked the shop keeper not long after he left what he was doing there. Turns out, Miles is a card carrying member of the Imperious Club like Lucy here, although Miles was never more than a low level spell catcher and Auror target during the war. Interesting that, don't you think?

"Miles, of course, has no idea what that message was about. He was told to put it in that shop window that day during his lunch break and then to forget about it. You told him, Lucy."

"This is ridiculous!" Lucius snarled.

"True to form, aren't you. Got you dead to rights as passing the card. Your mouthpiece might say you had no idea what it meant. We know different, don't we Lucy?"

"It sounds circumstantial at best," Adams said.

"You always try to jump in before the punch line, don't you laddie? I could say that with the drugs, the Wizengamot would believe anything we put in front of them. I could say this was really Voldemort and they'd buy it. After all, if he could deal drugs to wizards he's capable of anything, right? I could, but I don't have to. Have you figured out who it was who entered St. Mungos 'round ten in the morning on September 20th?"

Adams shook his head.

"It would've been easy to figure out. Must've taken Wilkes all of about ten minutes, most of which was spent walking to and from his office. It's not like St. Mungos Casualty is Piccadilly Circus. The man Lucy here wanted fitted for the Devil's Snare necktie was Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. So, that merely left us with the question of who ordered the hit. We know how the order came down."

"It would be easy to argue that someone else did that and my client was nothing more than an innocent in the line of communication," Adams said confidently.

"Not all the laws enacted have been repealed, laddie. You'd know that if you dealt with scum for a living. My guess is you're mainly about contracts and such. If Lucy's part of a conspiracy, knowledge of the object's not important. Lucy here's as guilty of participating in the criminal conspiracy as the person what gave the order and the mutt what carried it out. But you have a small point. Being but a brainless messenger would absolve him of any claims of attempted line theft. After all, the whole idea of line theft is the thief must be able to gain the line, right? But while Lucy here's going to rot for the drugs, we can do him for line theft as well."

"A hollow threat," Adams said.

"I'm not here to make a deal, laddie. That means I don't make threats to scum like Lucy here. I state the reality." Moody then waved his hand and another Auror entered the room with three more files.

"First off," Moody continued, "we're not just taking Darby's word that he got the message from Lucy here. We could. He offered that under Veritiserum. But while that is sufficient, I prefer stuff that the Wizengamot cannot possibly overlook as they've been known to be somewhat skittish about that method if the witness or accused happens to be a 'major contributor.' After all, one would be reluctant to get rid of a source of easy gold.

"You see, Laddie, Lucy here's been a 'person of interest' for some time. There's a standing order that he be tailed, photographed and closely watched whenever he sets foot in the Ministry. Everyone he has contact with is watched. Not as closely as I would like, mind you. We know Lucy's bad business. But until we had more, we can't allocate the manpower I would like. Still, for our purposes today we had more than enough coverage."

Moody slid a set of photographs to the Solicitor. "Take a good look," he said. "First one's of Lucy here entering the Atrium at 9:58 the morning of 20 September. Next one's Lucy here looking at a disturbance which was an unprovoked attack on Lord Black. Third one's Lucy writing a note. Fourth one's Lucy passing through security getting' his wand checked. He was followed from there to the Revenue Office where he met Miles Darby – that's the next pic. The next is Darby writing something in red ink and showing it to Lucy here. Definitely fits our story seeing as we have both Lucy's note and what Darby wrote and his testimony about it. But … well, Lord Black had many enemies and Lucy here was one of them and certainly friends with most of them. Still, we have enough to put him away for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder on top of the drugs. Unless, that is, he were to be able to explain all this away under Veritiserum that is."

Moody waited for a moment for Adams to comment. The Solicitor was silent. Moody then pushed one of the large filed to Adams.

"Really, your firm doesn't need a copy of that," Moody said. "After all, your firm and Mr. Bartley created that pile of Hippogriff dung. It's the case filed by your firm at the request of Lucy on behalf of his son. It was filed in December of '81 when the boy was still crapping his nappies. It seeks a declaration that Lucy's spawn should be heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black. True, the heir apparent was locked away in Azkaban at the time and there were rumors that his dad had disowned him – rumors 'cause the dad was dead and his wife was insane, but the Head of House was neither and made it clear he had an heir, thank you very much, and needed no such declaration about the Malfoy brat. Your bosses even went so far as to try and have Lord Arcturus Black declared insane. That went well. Cost Lucy here 50,000 in fines and got nowhere. Still, your bosses managed to keep the Wizengamot entertained for two and a half years before they finally gave this case the boot. Wonder how much gold Lucy lost under the table to keep that case going?

"This second pile of rubbish is your firm and Lucy's second bite at the apple. It was filed little over a month after Lord Arcturus passed away back in '91 and seeks to have Lucy's boy declared Lord Black. We have evidence that Lucy here paid a small fortune to certain individuals to see to it that the fact that Sirius Black had never been convicted of anything never saw the light of day as that little matter would've come to light as he was still the heir, it turns out. True, there are others it seems who did not want that inconvenient truth to get out, but challenging for Head of House would require having all other potential claimants found conclusively legally ineligible. Being in prison even if convicted does not invalidate Head of House status, which is one of the reasons why this file's so bloody thick as Lucy was trying to get around that little problem. Wonder how much that cost seeing as the Ancient and Noble Houses were less than thrilled about being told their business by a nobody like Lucy here.

"It all became academic, didn't it? All the ink spilled and untold amount of gold changing hands amounted to nothing, didn't it? Not quite a month ago, as I'm sure you lot remembers, Sirius Black was exonerated and released from prison or, rather, his self parole was approved by near unanimous consent of the Wizengamot and unanimous vote of the Ancient and Noble Houses. Must've put Lucy's nose all outta joint. All that time and money to make his spawn a Lord and Head of an Ancient and Noble House coming all undone 'cause the rightful heir is free and married on top of it? Course his little case was tossed out as well as it ain't worth the parchment it's written on now, is it? His son's just a Malfoy now and that's all he's likely to be and need I tell you, Laddie, that it's not all that much? Lucy here knows. Is it all that hard to see how this all fits together?"

After a very long pause Adams said: "It's all circumstantial."

"That one of the pet phrases? 'Cause there's plenty of direct evidence making this only slightly circumstantial. But there are circumstances and then there are circumstances and I don't see the Wizengamot seeing this as something other than an attempt at Line Theft. Either way, it's more than enough to allow us to pump your client full of Veritiserum to find out if this is something other than what we think it is and while we're doing that, we can just find out whatever else he might've been up to."

"He could always say he was under the Imperius Curse," Adams stated with what to Moody seemed a false sense of confidence.

"I take it representing criminal scum when they're in the dock's not your usual line of work," Moody replied. "If it were, you'd know that one's not going to fly anymore. One of the decent things Fudge did in this whole mess was scuppering that old lie. True, Lucy here could claim it. But he now has to prove it and further prove that he would never have conceived of doing what he did or supported it or could have benefited from it and such. Even if he was under the curse, under the current law all he can hope for is a few less years as a guest in Azkaban. Moreover, he has to finger his puppet master and prove the curse was on him throughout. It's not generally known, but you can't just cast that curse and walk away and expect the poor sod to do what you cursed him to do. True, you could nail a bloke outside his home and get him to go in and off his family. But it won't work if he has to wait more than a half an hour or so to get on with it. If the deed takes more time than that to set up and do, the curse needs to be reapplied by the same wizard over and over again. A scheme such as these? He did it of his own free will. Got anything better?"

"Is there a deal?"

"There is, although you might not think so."

"What's the deal?"

"We'll keep his involvement out of the drug case. We'll overlook the attempt on Lord Black. He pleads guilty to the murders of Edgar Howard and Gregory Akers and does life without parole. We waive any claims for fines or reparations"

"That's no deal! Who are the other two?" Adams shot back.

"Two others who were not as lucky. Howard was a business rival of Lucy's who wound up in St. Mungos with a Devil's Snare necktie and Akers was an Auror who, it seems, nearly ended Lucy's career as a drug dealer and also woke up in St. Mungos with a Devil's Snare necktie. Wilkes offered evidence as to both murders as did Bole and Darby. We'll overlook the Bulstrode boy in another matter. Wilkes was to have him off someone, but the boy got strangled by the plant before he could do it."

"If we refuse?"

"Sky's the limit for us then," Moody said. "In addition to all that we have now, we'll pump Lucy here so full of Veritiserum it'll be coming out his ears. His deal back in '82 that gave him a pass for what he did during the War is off. He'd be lucky to avoid the kiss and his son loses everything once the reparations are collected. If the boy's lucky, he might get Mulciber's old job at St. Mungos. I'll let the two of you talk it over."

"I'll take the deal," Malfoy said before Moody could even begin to stand up.

"Pity," Moody said. "I was hoping you'd be fool enough not to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kinglsey Shacklebolt stood at a wrought iron gate looking down a long, raked gravel drive along with a fairly large team of others from Magical Law Enforcement. The gate was along a Muggle country lane in Wiltshire that was far from the more travelled roads. The team was larger than necessary for the purposes of this visit as it included several Auror Apprentices here. It was considered a good training opportunity as what they were here to do was part of an Auror's duties although rarely could a trainee be brought along for a real such assignment as it was rare that the residents would be in a cooperative mood. It was possible the resident might be uncooperative, but it was unlikely there would be any real risk to the trainees.

They stood and waited for the resident to arrive. Shacklebolt could have brought a team of ward breakers instead of just two and simply take down the wards. It would have taken time to do that. But as the resident was not under any suspicion and there was no reason to believe there was illegal activity afoot, an all out assault like that was unnecessary. The document Shacklebolt held in his hand should be enough to gain access.

They could not see the residence from the gate. The drive went up and over a rise in the land and one would assume the residence was somewhere on the other side hidden from view from the lane. They saw a woman coming towards them. She seemed to hesitate for a moment when she saw them, but then resumed walking with a purposeful stride. Soon all that separated them from the woman was the gate itself, still closed.

"Madam Malfoy?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I am Investigating Auror Shacklebolt. I have here an Authorization to search these grounds and all buildings duly signed and sealed by the Head of DMLE…"

"I am aware, Auror, that such Authorizations cannot be executed without a Warrant or without the approval of the Head of Household. My husband is away until this evening."

"Your husband is currently on his way to Azkaban prison there to begin to serve a life term…"

"Azkaban? How? There's been no trial! Not even an arrest that I'm aware of!"

"He was arrested this morning at the Ministry. He pled guilty to two counts of murder and accepted a life term in prison to avoid trial on grounds that would have left you and your son homeless and knutless had he been tried and convicted of all we could bring against him. You will find he signed this authorization."

Her shoulders seemed to slump noticeably. "M-may I see your authorization?" she asked nervously. Shacklebolt handed her the document and she read it over. She seemed to stagger at the end and had to place a hand against a bar in the gate to steady herself.

"As you can see, it's all in order," Shacklebolt said.

"And how does this affect me? If you find anything, I mean. Should I contact a solicitor? My reputation…"

"I can't advise you what you should do in that regard, Madam Malfoy. I can say that unless you actively took part in criminal activity, what your husband has done and what we find will have nothing to do with you. As for your reputation, I cannot comment. To the extent it is an extension of your husband's, whether you cooperate or not will have not true bearing although I dare say not cooperating probably would not stand you in good stead unless you wish others to think you condone what your husband has done."

She seemed to look lost. "I have not… What Lucius has done is his business. But if you have him, why are you here? What's he done? Why do you need to be here?"

"We have reason to believe there is contraband here, Madam, the mere possession of which is a ticket to prison. Surely, you would be well advised to be rid of it."

"Contraband? What's that got to do with murder?" Madam Malfoy asked confused.

"He pled to murder. We did have enough to try him for that."

"He was exonerated," she protested. "He was under the Imperius Curse."

"Whether you or anyone else believes that is not our affair and not relevant. The murders in question occurred after his exoneration and not before. His exoneration was conditioned, however, on not engaging in similar activities again. He pled to those to avoid being tried for those murders, everything he did during the war and worse."

"Worse? What could be worse than murder."

"Drugs."

"Drugs?" she asked in horror.

Shacklebolt nodded. "His involvement in a major drug distribution ring in our world – maybe _the _major ring in Britannia – was significant. That piece of information is being closely held and will not appear in the papers."

"It would ruin us," she said softly.

"To say the least."

She nodded. "That bastard! How long will this take?"

"I can't say, Madam. We will try to stay out of your way as much as possible."

She sighed resignedly. "Very well." They heard a click and the gates opened slightly.

The woman seemed to collapse as the team entered. She could not clearly hear what was said. Someone was helping her to her feet before she began to reconnect with what was happening in the world around her. "Are you all right?" another woman's voice asked.

"Drugs," she whispered. "Of all things…"

"We'll get you to the house," the voice said.

"I can't … I can't believe…"

"Come. I'll help you," the voice said. She allowed whoever owned the voice to help her back over the rise and to the manor beyond.

"I can't believe it," she said finally, now seated in a parlor.

"It is a bit of a shock," the woman said. Madam Malfoy looked at her helper. It was a young woman with a somewhat familiar face. The woman was wearing robes identifying her as an Auror Trainee.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Madam Malfoy said.

"Her name is Nymphadora," another woman's voice said calmly.

"Mother!" the Auror trainee moaned.

"Now that I'm here to deal with… Well, Investigating Auror Shacklebolt would like you to get off your behind and get to it, his words," the woman said.

"Gladly," the young trainee replied and left the room almost at a run or she would have if she had not stumbled over her own feet.

Madam Malfoy looked at the "Mother." She looked very familiar, but Madam Malfoy could not believe it was who she thought it was.

"I am a little disappointed," the woman said. "Then again considering what it was you were forced to marry, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised."

"Andi?" Madam Malfoy asked nervously.

The woman nodded and smiled at least on the surface. "It's been a while, Cissy."

"I'm … I'm sorry about…"

"I can understand why it's been a while. Your husband was not inclined to be sociable with us."

Narcissa Malfoy snorted. "That is an understatement."

"And we did little to make it easier," Andi continued. "I wanted nothing to do with him when I was sixteen and nothing has changed my mind since then. But, it would seem that the problem is relegated to the past. I'm sorry if you felt you were in anyway a part of my remaining out of contact. I have missed you, Cissy."

Madam Malfoy nodded. "It was … I have missed you, Andi. But … well …"

"You were eleven the last time we talked. I'm not surprised that such was the case given what I did. I am sorry. It's my fault you had to marry that man."

"Don't be silly," Narcissa said. "You eloped after your OWLs the summer before I started school. Yes, it's true that when you did, Father immediately pawned me off on House Malfoy to make amends. But I had five years to get out of being stuck with your former betrothed and I did nothing. It was my mistake, not yours. I listen to my elders thinking them wise and correct. I accepted what they told me. I let them put me into his bed the summer after Second Year and let them marry me off to him after my OWLs. I made no effort to do anything else and did not know how right you were until it was too late. I thought I was getting the good deal and that you were a fool with the choice you made. I was wrong. They were wrong. And if I had a chance to do it again, I would have not been so … compliant. I certainly would've kept that man out of my bed. Sorry."

"The past is where it should be, Cissy. I lost my favorite little sister…"

"I'm your only little sister."

"True," Andi smiled. "But I always liked you. I didn't know Father would stick you with him. Had I known…"

"Andi, as you said don't dwell on what can't be changed."

"Let's then hope this new change is for the better."

Madam Malfoy seemed to relax a little.

"That was…?" she began.

"Our daughter," Andi replied. "She hates her given name," she sighed. "But she's done well. Auror Trainee and while I'm not allowed to tell her this, she's at the top of her class overall. Her lead instructor's only complaint is that she can be a little on the clumsy side, although that does come with her condition."

"Condition?"

"She's a metamorph and still learning the abilities of her gift," Andi said. "We … well, we did not learn of it until her Third Year. Madam Pomfrey thinks it may've been repressed in some way or tied to her maturation such that it did not manifest earlier. Apparently, having the ability to change can cause coordination difficulties especially if you do not practice that ability regularly and … well, as a teenaged girl such an ability…"

"I can well imagine," Madam Malfoy said. "Especially in Slytherin."

"Oh, she was not in _that_ House. But teenagers are teenagers and it's only a question of degree in some ways. A girl who could change her appearance in almost any way? So long as her form was human, female and the same body mass? A teenaged boy's fantasy, as you can imagine. She hid her talent very well. But to do so … well, that's why she's still somewhat uncoordinated."

"Is there a reason you're being so…?" Madam Malfoy began.

"This must be hard on you, Cissa. I've been asked here because I'm a Healer and because you're … family. I'm hoping…"

"Keep my mind off of things?"

Andi nodded. Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy were sisters. Narcissa, Cissy as she was called by only a few and that few had included Andi, was the youngest of three girls. Andi was in the middle. The oldest was Bellatrix. In the opinion of both sisters, Bella craved attention and hated it when someone else got it. Bella would have been happiest as an only child or at least as an only daughter. She and Andi had never gotten along mainly because Andi had taken away some of her limelight. Bella had a better relationship with Cissy, but that was mainly because she was seven years older than Cissy rather than only two, or so the two younger ones thought. Andi and Cissy had got along famously when they were younger. Cissy had looked up to her older sister and Andi had always tried to take care of and help her little sister. That all changed when Andi was in her Fifth Year. She was then informed that she was to marry Lucius Malfoy, no matter that she already had a serious boyfriend. Lucius was in her year at school, in her House even. Andi could not stand the boy and as soon as she took her OWLs, she and her boyfriend skipped the train home and took the floo from Hogsmeade to Gretna Green and got married. Her parents disowned her for that. This did not matter to Andi, except it meant she would never see her little sister again. But she felt that it would be far worse to be the wife of Lucius Malfoy. Of course, it had never crossed her mind that Cissy would have to marry the man in her stead and when she learned that some years later it had crushed her to think she had done that to little Cissy.

"I'm sorry," Cissy said. "I … I never really tried to keep track."

"I never tried to be trackable, truth be known," Andi said. "Went to ground as soon as we finished Hogwarts or France to be precise. I'm pretty sure we were on some sort of list with the Death Eaters and it was not one anyone would want to be on. France was fairly safe. I qualified as a Healer there. Ted red law with a firm that worked for British clients on the Continent and Dora was born there. We came back after the war."

"Any other children?" Cissy asked.

"Just Dora. It was a difficult pregnancy and, well it wasn't safe to try for another."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happens and Dora is … well, we're quite proud of her. You have a son, right?"

"Draco," Cissy said. "Although he seems more his father's son than mine. Once he was born, Lucius was done with me as it were. I suggested he should have other options, that he should not place the fate of House Malfoy in one boy's hands. He refused to consider other children. He was unwilling to risk having a daughter – says they're too expensive to maintain and more so to marry off properly – and did not want to risk a fight over the House between sons. I might've been happier with another child. I … well, at least he left me alone after."

"I'm sorry," Andi said.

"Drugs! Of all the things, drugs!" Cissy said. "Lucius was no prize. He was useless in many ways and terrifying in others. That he's been put away for murder is no surprise. It was more a surprise it hadn't happened back then. But drugs? What could've possessed him?"

Andi gasped. As a Healer, she probably knew far more about "drugs" than her sister. They both knew that such things were illegal and that was one item of contraband that was above corruption, meaning if someone was linked to it neither influence nor gold could prevent arrest and conviction. The Wizarding World had outlawed Opium in any manifestation even before the Statute of Secrecy and even before it became a problem in Europe. Their initial reasoning was that its medicinal uses (and it did have some) made it a threat to potion makers. Economic protections aside, when its more nefarious properties soon became known it was viewed as a Muggle weapon aimed at controlling magic as one of the signs of opium use was a marked reduction in magical ability while under its influence. Back when Opium was still legal in the Muggle world, its path into the magical one was largely through Muggle Borns which probably was a reason for the prejudice against them, one that had not truly existed (certainly not to such an extent) before the nineteenth century. Some were addicted to it and brought it into the magical world and shared it with friends, turning them into addicts as well. By the mid eighteenth century, possession and distribution of Opium (mostly in the form of Laudanum) carried with it a long prison sentence. This extended to many other Muggle drugs as time went on, at least those that were deemed either intoxicating or addictive although alcohol and tobacco were noted exceptions. Alcohol was so old that no one could conceive that it was invented to ensnare and control magicals and as tobacco was deemed magical in some ways so it avoided the ban. But other drugs were seen as a threat to society as a whole. It was more reputable to be a thief, murderer or Death Eater than a drug dealer.

"Is that why they arrested him?" Andi asked horrified.

"No," Cissy said. "Well, I don't know. Not really. They didn't say and I didn't ask. But they said he pled to murder and the drugs would not come out. My guess he was not arrested for that – the drugs I mean. They would've made an example of him if that's why they arrested him. There were a lot of things about Lucius that were truly loathsome. There're a lot of things I would believe about him. But drugs? What could he have been thinking?"

Someone cleared their throat. It was the Auror Shacklebolt.

"Madam Malfoy, I cannot say what your husband was thinking in that regard. We are still investigating that aspect of his … enterprises. Perhaps, however, you can shed some light on another? Madam Tonks, we require your assistance as well."

They were led into the corridor. The Manor was somewhat Georgian in style and had a single corridor on the main floor that ran uninterrupted from the front of the house to the back, although it was only a corridor because it served no other real purpose other than a place for guests to wait until the Lord or Lady of the House was ready to receive them and as a way to access the various rooms on the floor, of which there were several. There was a stair about midway along the corridor leading to the upper floors and behind the stair another led down to a basement. Andi and Cissi followed the Auror down.

Cissy had seldom been down here. The basement was mainly storage and living space for the Elves. The only room of any interest to Cissy was the kitchen which was a departure from a true Georgian home of its era where the kitchen was in a separate wing to protect against fire. The Manor was a Malfoy property reluctantly left to her Husband when his father died of Dragon Pox the summer they were married. Lucius had been told that he and Cissy would be given one of the Black properties but Lord Black decided he was not about to include a Black residence as part of Cissy's dowry. Apparently her father had not bothered to consult with the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black about the Malfoy betrothal either for her or earlier for her sister. The same had been the case with the LeStrange betrothal. Lord Black saw no benefit to House Black from either betrothal and made his displeasure known by cutting off the stipend for the parents withholding access to properties for the new couples. This was made clear very publically on Bella's wedding day. Quietly, Lord Black also informed his cousin Cissy's father Cygnus that the same applied to the Malfoy betrothal. Had there been more Blacks that had avoided being disowned by prior Heads of House, Cygnus and his line would have joined that list. House Malfoy did not learn of this until after it was too late. Poor Bella had to move into that family's small home as the LeStrange's had little property of note. Cissy knew Bella felt cheated in many ways. She grew up spoiled to an extent and expected a lavish home. She got a room with her husband in a large farm house that was residence for her husband's parents and brother as well.

Cissy too was "confined" to a single room. Her bedroom was hers to do with as she pleased, but she had been forbidden to change anything in the rest of the house. This was her punishment for bringing nothing but her trunk of clothes and a handful of Galleons into the marriage. She was supposed to be a ticket to respectability for House Malfoy but Lucius equated money and property with respectability. A name given up in marriage was nothing to him and so she was to him nothing without land and a pile of money. Once she bore him and heir, she was even less. For the public they kept up appearances. But here in House Malfoy, they never saw each other and she knew there were forbidden places here. She did not know where they were nor was she inclined to find out which suited her husband fine as it meant she could not lead Aurors and others to them.

Except it was entirely possible that Lucius never envisioned her opening the house to a full on investigative team and neglecting to contact his solicitors about it. Nor did Lucius think it possible that without either him or his wife to instruct them the elves would stand idly by as strangers looked for his secrets. But this is what happened and now Cissy was led into a secret passage she had never seen before and down a narrow staircase.

"I've never been here before," she said with trepidation. She had a bad feeling about this and wanted nothing to do with it.

"Are you sure?" a voice asked. She turned and saw a female Auror. There was nothing but hatred in the woman's eyes.

"I didn't even know this place existed. I swear it!"

The female nodded. The hatred seemed to vanish. "She's telling the truth."

Shacklebolt snorted. "Passive Legilimancy," he said to Cissy and Andi. "Auror Marks says you're not lying after making eye contact, then you're not. Pity in a way, but be grateful because no sane person wants to be associated with what we found down here. Still, I think you should bear witness to his depravations."

"What's down here?" Cissy asked fearfully.

"You mean aside from more drugs than can be explained away as and addict's stash? I'm not even sure … there's not enough witches and wizards in Britain to use what we've found. It's possible your husband was also trading this filth on the other side. But that's not why I asked you down here. This way."

He led them into a windowless room not that it was a surprise as they were beneath the basement. Cissy and Andi could see it was sparsely furnished. There was a table, some crude chairs and four beds. Beneath clearly dirty and threadbare coverings on each bed was a young woman. All four appeared to be asleep except there was absolutely no movement.

"Are they…?" Cissy began.

"They're in stasis, it appears," Shacklebolt said. "We were hoping to do this the easy way. But as you know nothing about this place and nothing about them, I assume it's fair to say you know nothing about how to undo the stasis wards on their beds."

Cissy shook her head.

"Why are they here?" Andi asked.

"We can only hazard a guess," Shacklebolt replied. "They appear to be between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, possibly a little younger if they began maturing early and possibly a little older if they were late in that regard. There's no way of saying how long they've been here, when they arrived, or in what order. The only thing we are somewhat certain of is that they're Muggles. They're old enough to be attending school and we have no reports of any girls their age who've gone missing since the war."

"With stasis charms they could've been here since then," the female Auror offered. "But they also don't meet the descrtiptions or pictures of the remaining missing persons files from back then. If we get them out of stasis…"

"When, Auror Marks," Shacklebolt said. "You will note runes on the bed frames. Wards can be taken down and we do have a pair of ward breakers for that. Once they're done checking the rest of this level, they can attend to these wards."

"Yes sir. As I was saying, out of stasis we can detect the presence or absence of a magical signature. As it is right now, I can't detect a thing."

"Unless there's obvious signs of trauma, there's not much I could do either," Andi said. "Is there?"

"Bruising mainly," Marks said. "That one more than the others, but all of them have bruises. The more banged up one also has signs of defense injuries and … well it's obvious she's been raped. I dare say all of them have, but it's more obvious with her. With the stasis charm, we can't say when it happened or even how long they've been here."

"Through that door," Shacklebolt said, "there's a corridor with four rooms off of it. Each has a large bed equipped with restraints. There are injuries on these girls wrists and ankles consistent with the restraints we observed. At the end of the corridor is a spiral stair that goes up to a hidden door in what appears to be a study upstairs…"

Cissy turned around and threw up. "Sorry," she said a couple of minutes later. "It's just…" She had no idea what it was beyond incomprehensibly horrible. "My husband always made it a point to invite his wizard guests up to his study for… They would be gone a while every time. If I didn't know otherwise, I might've suspected he was … well, not all man if you take my meaning. Okay, maybe he wasn't. But I doubt many of his associates were that way. He … he even brought my son there over this past summer for talks of some kind. All that time they were…"

"A brothel?" Andi asked.

"Of sorts," Shacklebolt replied. "Can't say if this was a financial enterprise or merely a gratuity for business associates and the like. But it does appear as if these poor young ladies were kept here for that form of entertainment. Everything suggests they were not willing participants."

"This is horrible!" Cissy said. "I can't believe. No. I can see this with my own eyes. I just can't understand it at all. At least they're alive."

"Yes," Marks said. "But they might not be the lucky ones."

"Oh?"

"We found a room with several sets of young women's clothes. Judging by the styles they're Muggle but that does not rule out Muggle Borns or young witches living in Muggle neighborhoods, just those who do not have any contact with that world. The clothes are all torn or cut. Useless as anything other than rags. What is disturbing, as if the rest of this is not, is first that there's more sets of clothing than there are young women and second…"

"Second?" Andi asked.

"Some of the items went out of style decades ago."

"Whatever else this place is, this has been going on for a long time it seems," Shacklebolt said. "My warders are searching for similar rooms on this level. It's possible there are more. I don't think so seeing as the only ready access is from that stair I mentioned and there were no similar stairs from that study."

"There were others?" Cissy asked.

"So it would appear," Shacklebolt replied.

"What happened to them?"

"I don't know. But…"

He did not finish nor did he have to. No one in the room aside from possibly those four in stasis believe the others whoever they were ever left Malfoy Manor alive.

"I can't stay in this…this house of horrors, Andi, I can't," Cissy said.

"Where…?"

"I don't know. Somewhere. Anywhere. The Leaky Cauldron, perhaps."

"You could stay with us. We live in a nice Muggle…"

"I can't! I might not have the same ideas about them as others, but I know nothing about that world. I…"

"And what about your son?" Shacklebolt said.

"If he's been down here, and I think he has, he's no son of mine!" Cissy said forcefully.

**THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14****th**** 1993**

"Bloody hell!" Ron said. He was at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall and it was breakfast. He was sitting next to Katie Bell and with the "Married Lot" as House Potter and House Longbottom were now known in Gryffindor House. Technically, he and Katie were part of that "club" too. They had been moved into the married student dormitories Sunday night due in no small part for their need to share a bed for their bond. Their room was across the hall from the other two and next to the only other Gryffindor couple who were Seventh Years. Unlike House Potter and Longbottom, Ron and Katie actually used their quarters for more than a place to keep their trunks.

"What is it Ron?" Tracy asked who was sitting across from them.

"Page three," he said. He was reading his copy of the Daily Prophet.

"For those of us without a paper, care to share?" Susan asked nearby.

"Malfoy," he said softly. "The Dad, not the git. He's been sent to Azkaban for life, it says. Says he pled guilty to a couple murders and did so 'cause if he didn't they could ask about the stuff he did during the war."

"Who'd he say he killed?" Katie asked.

"Don't know 'em," Ron said. "One was some Auror named Akers back in '88. The other was some guy by the last name of Howard back in '84 after he – Malfoy that is – got a pass by claiming he spent the war under the Imperius Curse. Says here that pass was conditioned on not doing a lot of things ever again, like killing people. It doesn't say why he was offered a deal at all for the killings, only that he was. The Prophet thinks that was to keep us from learning about more mistakes from the Ministry and then reminds us about Sirius Black and that whole mess. Wonder it Malfoy – the git, not the Dad – knows."

They heard a commotion from somewhere else in the hall. Ron and the others watched as they saw Draco run from his table and out the door.

"Guess he does," Katie said.

"He should run," Tracy growled.

"Oh?" a few voices asked.

"He doesn't exactly have many friends. Enemies yes, and I don't mean the lot here. Most of Slytherin has no use for him, but does nothing 'cause of his father and what that man might do to their families. Without his Daddy… Let's just say I'd rather be on your brothers' bad side, Ron."

"There goes Snape," Susan said.

"Probably to tell the Snakes that killing him, however pleasurable it might seem, is not a good idea," Tracy said. "More's the pity."

"I've just noticed something," Ron said looking at Tracy.

"Do I have food on my face or…?" she replied in shock and quickly wiping with a napkin.

"No. You called me 'Ron.' Twice?"

Tracy almost smiled. "You're not so bad, really."

"Neither are you."

"And don't be flirty. You gotta girl now and I'm married."

"I wasn't being…"

"He's so easy to rile up," Tracy said to Susan.

"This means there's one less thing to worry about," Hannah said from further down the table.

"Oh?" several voices asked.

"We were thinking that the little snake's Daddy was building a case of some kind about what happened with the Hippogriff in our first Creatures Class…"

"That class is so cool!" Parvati said. Those who were in the class, which was all but one of the Third Years in the group, the lower years and Katie nodded in agreement. "I can't believe anyone would want to try and ruin it."

"We're not talking anyone," Ron huffed. "We're talking Malfoy."

"What do you mean, Hannah?" Sally-Anne asked. "What's this got to do with that?"

"Our laws are … very old by Muggle standards," Hannah said. "Draco has no rights as an adult, as we all know. Those rights are held by his father to exercise as he deems appropriate for the benefit of his House. His wife also has no such rights. If something happens to a child, only the father can seek legal help. So, with the father locked away…"

"But wouldn't the mother be able to…?" Hermione began.

"First that assumes she'd want to," Hannah said. "Second, unless she gets the Wizengamot to declare her as head of household or unless the father filed paperwork that would do that if he got chucked into prison, he's still Head of House. That's why Sirius was able to become Head when his grandfather died 'cause there was no plan to name another just 'cause the heir was in prison. But, Mr. Malfoy can't pursue anything from prison and, more importantly, that claim gets locked up with him so to speak. Unless he named his wife as his Head before getting locked away, such that she was Head before he was hauled in at least legally, the claim remains with him and he can't do anything about it while in prison."

"What's all that mean?" Ron asked. He wasn't the only one who didn't follow what it might mean.

"It means there's no one left to complain about Hagrid's class back in September," Daphne said. "It means Draco's weeks of acting was for nothing."

"Okay, now that's cool!" Ron thought aloud.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cissy Malfoy had spent the last two nights and the previous day in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. She left Malfoy Manor with very little. Basically all she now had in the world was just a trunk filled with memorabilia most of which she had brought to the Manor following her wedding, the clothes on her back, her wand, her various potions and toiletries and her House Elf Pira who had been with her for as long as she could remember. She had access to the Malfoy vaults so money was not an issue. She had yet to decide what to do about her son. It would depend upon his answer to a question. If he had gone done into that … place and done anything with those women, he was no son of hers. But that would require a face to face encounter. She was not about to ask that question by letter.

She was torn up about the four young women. While it might explain why her husband had left her alone for which she was grateful as she had never enjoyed his attentions, his choice in mistresses was absolutely abhorrent. Cissy was not one to want to associate with Muggles. She did not understand them or their world and what little she had seen of it was mostly London which seemed to be crawling with them and their machines. She never liked crowds and yet it seemed to live as a Muggle one could never escape the crowds. But she did not despise them either. She just did not want to live like that or in a world without magic. What her husband had done during the war was bad enough, but it was a war and he had picked his side before they were even married and, more importantly, he had kept her out of it. But the recent revelations sickened her. What he did to those four and perhaps others was unforgivable worse, in her opinion, than any of the curses by that name. And the drugs? Did he use them? Not that it mattered. Even if he did not, he was soiled in a way that could never be cleared away. For all she knew, Lucius had been a few or more steps removed from the real business, but if he knew of it and profited from it, he had crossed a line more surely than when he had taken the Mark as far as their world was concerned. But she knew he was more involved than that as the Aurors had found a "huge" cache of the vile stuff in that sub-basement along with those poor girls.

Sooner or later, the drug business would come out. That sort of thing never remained quiet forever. When it did, the name Malfoy would be ruined. She would have to get out from under that name if she ever wanted to be able to hold her head up in public again. Whether her son would do so was another matter. If he had anything to do either with the drugs or those girls, as far as she was concerned he would mean nothing to her. But what if he were innocent? What if he was as shocked by his father's activities as she was? She hoped for his sake that he was. But she could not build her future in such hope.

She knew she had two options. The first was annulment. This had the advantage of being "quiet." It could be done without hiring solicitors or having a case before the Wizengamot and could be kept out of the papers until after it was final. Even then, the papers seldom took interest in annulments. There were many grounds for an annulment, but only one that applied to her. She could not argue the marriage was unconsummated or she had failed to prove to be fertile so as to continue his line. Draco was living proof of that. But she could show a material breach of the terms of her family's marriage contract namely her husband engaging in activities that would disgrace the name of House Malfoy and by extension House Black. It would be easy and quiet if Lord Black granted the annulment otherwise she would have to bring it before the Wizengamot. She would become a Black again and House Black could recover her dowry with interest. What she saw of that would be at the pleasure of Lord Black, which was a potential downside. Another potential downside was that Draco would become legally a bastard born out of wedlock as an annulment meant there had never been a valid marriage. He would lose everything.

Her other option was divorce. These were considered very public and always scandalous as the gossip papers drooled over even the most pedestrian of such cases before the Wizengamot and to get the most out of such a proceeding she would have to drag Lucius and House Malfoy through the mud before the entire country. Dragging Lucius through the mud would be easy. She stood to gain far more because she would be entitled to keep all her dowry for certain and possibly a portion of the Malfoy estate as well. She had grounds, seeing as Lucius had pled guilty to a "notorious crime" and was spending life in prison. Further, she did not need the help of House Black at all. But there was a stigma attached to divorce she would never live down and she was not certain she would want that. In both cases, she was free to remarry. But divorcees were almost lepers as potential brides.

Fortunately, she did not have to decide her fate today. She was still Madam Malfoy and could still access the House accounts to pay her expenses. She planned to spend the day buying a new wardrobe, one Lucius would never see and one with no connection to that place whatsoever. Before she did anything, however, she needed to find out about those girls.

**A/N: The girls are neither going to be major characters nor are they going to become wives of anyone mentioned thus far in this story...**


	50. Chapter 50: Black Business

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Writers Block is a real pain. Maybe I'll post two today for being such a procrastinator... Oh, and in case I forgot to do so before, if any of those four girls should one day have a boyfriend, that boyfriend has not been mentioned yet so any ideas that they'll go with Harry or Neville is not in the plan and will not be...

**CHAPTER FIFTY: BLACK BUSINESS**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17****th**** 1993**

There was a knock at her door at the Leaky Cauldron.

"That should be my sister Pira," Cissy said to her elf.

"It be good to sees Miss Andi, again. Pira be having tea ready, Miss Cissy."

Narcissa went to the door and opened it. There were five people at the door, only one of whom was her older sister Andi. One she recognized as Andi's daughter the Auror whose name escaped her at the moment. One was another woman, well dress but in what looked like conservative Muggle fashion. This was not much of a shock as such attire was popular in the Wizarding World at this time of year. Robes were not particularly comfortable and this was an unseasonably warm day for October in London. There were two men, neither of whom she recognized, also dressed in a Muggle syle and a girl.

"Andi, it's good to see you," Narcissa said and gave her sister a brief hug. "I met your daughter, but a lot happened that day…"

"Dora or Tonks, Aunt Narcissa," Dora said. "Only my mother calls me by that other name and only to annoy or embarrass."

"I most certainly do not! It's your name," Andi retorted. "This is my Husband Ted," she added indicating the tall man beside her.

"I regret not having met you before now," Cissy said sincerely.

Ted Tonks shrugged. "I can understand. Times were what they were and we all chose our sides."

"Some of us were not given choices," Cissy almost growled, "they were imposed upon us by those society believed had such right. The curse of the arranged marriage is to be denied choice."

"It is not the nature of the marriage, but the nature of the husband," the girl said. "As I've come to understand it, societal custom respects the husband's view of his household whatever that may be. Where the husband sees his wife as a partner rather than a subordinate or mere breeding stock, society has no choice but to accept their relationship as it is. They may not like it, but they must respect it."

"And you are?" Cissy asked.

"Lady Hermione Potter, Countess of Finchley, Ma'am," the girl replied. "I regret my Husband and sister wives were unavailable. These are my parents…"

"Robert," the man said. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms…?"

Cissy sighed. "It is a pleasure and I admit I have not thought about address. I was Madam Narcissa Malfoy. Before that I was Miss Black. What I am now? I suppose I'm still Madam Malfoy but I'd rather be shot of that name and affiliation."

"Rose Granger," the woman said after a pause. "My husband and I are dentists, I guess what you would call a form of Healer. But while we are entitled to a suffix after our names, we have no title before our names other than the standard Mr. and in my case Ms. as I am a professional."

"Pardon me for asking … um … Lady Hermione," Cissy began, "but I understand you're at Hogwarts? How…?"

"I am considered an adult as I am legally married," Hermione said. "This is a Sunday and I have no classes or other school obligations to attend to. As this is considered family business, my Husband asked that I attend."

"I see. I guess that makes sense. Please, come in and have a seat. I've had Pira make some modifications, but I'm afraid it's not much. Pira, we have additional guests. Are the tea and refreshments sufficient?"

An elf appeared and Hermione was surprised. Given Harry's description of Dobby, she expected the elf to be dressed in a discarded towel or pillow case. The elf maid wore a dress of sorts that appeared to be cobbled together from many scraps of cloth. It actually looked nice, if busy. Change to solid colors and the design would easily "pass" on the Estate.

"Oh my!" Andi said. "Pira? It's been ages!"

"It being good to be seeing Miss Andi, too! And Miss Andi's family."

"Pira was one of the Elves we had growing up," Andi explained to the Grangers. "And yes, Pira, your sister Nori is doing quite well."

"Pira be happy for Nori, Miss Andi. Pira still be missing her."

"Well, I'm sure the two of you will find time to get together soon, Pira."

"Pira be likings that. Pira be servings, now."

"You have me at a disadvantage," Cissy said looking at the Grangers. "I regret to say that I've had very few dealings with the other side." There was nothing in the way of condescension in her voice. It was as if she was saying she had never had an opportunity to see a particular show.

"Other side?" Rose Granger asked.

"Our world, mother," Hermione said.

"We offered room at our place," Andi said. "We live more Muggle than magical. She declined. There are those in our world who can't adjust just as there are those in the Muggle who can't. And it's not always because of a closed mind or ingrained bigotry…"

"It's the crowds and noise, to be honest," Cissy said. "Everything moves far too fast if you ask me."

"I can see how that might be a problem," Robert said. "But there are slow, quiet and fairly empty places as well. London is London. Where we live is not so hectic or loud."

"All I ever saw was London," Cissy said. "Well that and the farms just beyond the Wards to the Manor. I never bothered going to the town. I know there is one somewhere nearby, but after London I couldn't bring myself to go."

"I'd say it's almost easier for us to adapt to your world than the other way around," Rose said.

"Oh?"

"True, we can't do magic. But all we need to do to adapt is accept the reality of it. The truth is, on our side children know quite a lot about it. Their stories are filled with it and are far more accurate about it than your Muggle stories are about us."

"You're world knows?" Cissy asked in shock.

"Not in the way you think. In our world magic is make believe. You grow out of believing in it or believing it's real, at least in the way of wands and spells and such. But as a young girl, I believed magic was real and the world really did have witches and wizards and fairies and dragons and all of that. In a way, learning that it was not real was a disappointment. A part of childhood dies when the world stops being magical. So to learn that it is indeed magical … well, there was a basis for accepting. So I suppose it is easier for us. Now your politics and social order are another thing altogether. We have parallels for the one and we like to think we've outgrown the other. We find certain of your notions backwards, archaic, quaint even barbaric."

"Your wars are nothing to be proud of," Cissy said somewhat defensively.

"No, they're not," Robert agreed. "Fortunately, we haven't gone all out in one in a long time. The last time we did in a significant effor, however, fifty million or more died. Were we to do that again, it is doubtful anyone anywhere would survive. Probably the only thing that would are the cockroaches according to the joke. One of the potential combatants in that possible war fell apart a couple years ago so we like to think we've taken a step back from that abyss. But the weapons are still out there, so it's only a small step really. We have gotten frightfully good at killing each other."

A knock on the door interrupted any response and ended the discussion. Narcissa was surprised as aside from her sister she had expected no other guests and now there seemed to be another one, unless it was the inn staff on about something. She rose and walked to the door and opened it and saw who was on the other side. It took her a second, but then recognition set in. She knew who this was and what he was. She fell practically to her knees in the deepest curtsey imaginable.

"Lord Black," she said, "you honor me."

She heard a snort. "A beautiful woman on her knees before me," Sirius said, "oh what vile rumors that could inspire. What would my wife say? Get up, Cousin. I don't expect such behavior from family. Well, not unless I really don't like you. Your husband would have to do that rot, not you."

Cissy looked up in surprise.

"Of course, you did tease me a lot when we were kids," Sirius said mischievously. "Then again, you are older than me and I probably was a little snot."

He entered the room and looked around as the door was closed behind him. "I like what you've done with this place, Cousin."

"Please! It's Pira's work. She's become extremely good at redecorating. I've had her doing my rooms since I married that… It was either keep her busy that way or … well, I was not about to have her become a Malfoy elf. That man treated his elves abominably! So I kept Pira as busy as possible so that I could claim she was too busy to attend to any business other than my own. Of course, it meant my rooms were completely done over every day, but I think it was worth it. Besides, Pira's figured a way to make the new room … I don't know … help me with whatever mood I'm in at the time?"

Hermione smiled. She had worried that Dobby's former treatment was indicative of this society. Narcissa's statement suggested it was an exception and not the rule. True, witches and wizards tended not to notice or acknowledge an Elf's labors which still bothered her. But the sort of mistreatment that Dobby suffered increasingly seemed to be the exception. She knew, however, that the status of the Potter Elves was also an exception. She would never tolerate anyone treating Petal like Dobby had been treated. She was pleased that Mrs. Malfoy felt the same way about Pira. It was a shame that Mrs. Malfoy could not have improved Dobby's lot. But Hermione now understood that Dobby was a Malfoy elf which meant the Head of House decided how they should be treated and his wife could be allowed no input. Someone like Malfoy should never have been allowed an Elf!

"I … I didn't expect you to be here, Lord Black," Cissy said.

"I seem to recall you used to call me Siri," Sirius said, "when you were being nice, of course."

"It's been a while," Cissy said. "You were just a boy then and … well, now you're my head of family."

"I'm still your cousin and you're still older than me. I have serious issues with your husband. From what Andi's told me you were never truly his wife nor were you in league with him on anything. I believe that your role in that so called marriage was to beget a brat and look pretty at social functions, but aside from that you were of no use to him. Such a waste. You were too smart and cunning to be no more than an accessory. Unless you prove otherwise, you're still a part of this family in good standing so I'd prefer you cut the 'Lord Black' business when we are in less formal settings such as this."

"I'm … my apologies…"

"You couldn't know," Sirius said dismissively. "Your formality was appropriate and you couldn't know that I don't stand on such with those I consider family or friends. Had I been more traditional and you less deferential, things would be off to an uncomfortable start, don't you think?"

Cissy nodded. "I'm surprised you are here milord … I mean Siri. I was only expecting my sister…"

"Andi and Dora spoke to me after your misadventures last week. It was, after all, family business and I do hope to take such business seriously, no pun intended. We had a meeting of the family this morning to discuss options in anticipation of this meeting."

Actually, it was a few days earlier. Harry had made the morning another week in time compression at Sirius's request so he could spend more time getting reacquainted with his wife and getting to know his daughter. It was also a chance for Anna to meet other relations as the Tonks had been there and unlike her first weekend, House Longbottom was tied into the Estates and had the week as well. The meeting had been held at Harry's Manor and had included those members of the House of Black present but no others. For now that was Sirius and his wife and daughter, the Tonks and all of the extended House Potter as wives were not excluded and James and Harry were in the line of succession after Sirius's daughter.

"DMLE has been keeping me abreast of the matter regarding your Husband," Sirius continued.

"But why?" Cissy asked.

"As you know," Dora said, "Lucius Malfoy pled guilty to two counts of murder and accepted life in prison. He did that to avoid the damage that would surely attend to publication of the full story. It would ruin House Malfoy and quite probably several other families as well. But while DMLE could've built a case against him for those two murders, the original investigations into them had led nowhere. When your husband was arrested, it was not for that or for what we later discovered. Your husband was arrested for attempted Line Theft and the attempted murder of the Head of an Ancient and Noble House."

"What?" Cissy replied in shock. "But that's…"

"The death penalty has not been imposed in quite a while," Ted Tonks said. "Contrary to popular belief, however, it's still available. It requires a significant vote in the Wizengamot and there has not been such a vote in ages. DMLE hasn't bothered to seek it. Then again, no one has tried such a blatant attempt at line theft in over a century and a half."

"DMLE had enough to hang him for that figurative and probably literally," Dora said. "He decided to plead guilty to unrelated charges to avoid the full consequences of a conviction, which would have destroyed House Malfoy and left his son without a knut to his name. It was in the course of investigating the attempt on Sirius's life that we stumbled upon his illegal business activities. There's arguably more of a taint on being the wife or son of a drug dealer than being the wife or son of an enemy. Not even You-Know-Who was so brazenly contemptuous of our traditions and customs!"

"Moreover, one is forced to question the upbringing of Lucius Malfoy," Sirius said. "Then again, he is little more than a French immigrant. He tried to have me declared legally dead on two occasions, you know. Once when I was chucked into Azkaban and again when Lord Arcturus passed. Both times he asserted that his son was next in line … the only one in line to take over House Black. I take it he never consulted you in such matters?" The new Lord Black was getting angry.

"N-no. Not that I recall. We didn't talk. He ordered. I kept my mouth shut. You're right in that my son was not next in line. Unless Bella and I have been disowned, we're ahead of him as Regents and I'm behind Bella even if she is in prison."

"And the both of you are behind House Potter," Sirius said, "or have you forgotten that Charlus Potter married your Grandaunt Dorea Black?"

"Siri," Andi said, "she has given us no reason to believe she was even knowledgeable about this, much less that she was somehow involved."

Sirius sighed. "You're right. I've seen the Auror reports and they're certain she knew about as much about her husband's affairs as the public at large."

"And it's not that she's forgotten about Dorea," Andi added. "Our grandfather Pollux was convinced to his dying day that Dorea was disowned for marrying into that line. Our mother told us we were next after you and your brother. Your mother believed that to be the case as well, I'm sure."

"Maybe, maybe not," Sirius said. "She didn't burn Dorea off the Black tapestry at her House. Then again, she did burn me off of it and yet here we are. The only one alive she seems to have gotten right was you, Andi, as you were disowned before she passed on. I sincerely doubt she was aware that Lord Arcturus never made that one permanent allowing me to reinstate you after his death. Dora, continue."

Dora nodded. "The two murders were related to his drug business. One was a potential rival who, it seems, was going to turn him over to DMLE to take over the business. The other was an Auror who had begun to make the connections leading to him. That he was a major, if not the major drug distributer on both sides of the line is probably going to come out. DMLE has made a number of arrests since your husband was sent away and they're all going to point fingers. As your husband copped a plea and will never see the light of day, they can point all they want and it won't make things worse for him and certainly won't make things worse for his son than they already are. The Line Theft and our other discovery the other day, however, will be kept quiet for now."

"It's the other matter that I…," Cissy began. Tears formed in her eyes and her lips trembled. "I didn't know! I didn't! How could I? Those poor girls. It's my fault!"

"They are only Muggles," Sirius said without emotion.

"And that matters why?" Cissy raised her voice.

"Our ancestor Phineas Nigelus slept with and impregnated scores and scores of girls at Hogwarts, most of whom were Muggle Borns. It was perfectly legal," Sirius said again without emotion.

"They were naïve girls and he was a manipulative coot! It was legal only because they went to his bed of their own free will. It doesn't mean it was right or even acceptable! It was evil! And this is even worse than that! Or are you going to tell me those girls agreed to what happened to them? What those girls are is not the issue! What happened to them is all that matters and I couldn't help them!"

Sirius looked at Dora and nodded. "And that is the right answer, as it were," he said.

Dora handed two photographs to Cissy. They appeared to be of the same girl. One looked like a slightly improved version of one of the girls Cissy saw at the Manor, now sitting up in what looked like a hospital bed. It was a magical photo as the girl moved in the picture although not much. The other was clearly a Muggle photo of a somewhat younger version of the girl, perhaps a year, maybe more. "Her name is Mary Pierce. One of the photos was taken the other day at St. Mungos. The other comes from the Thames Valley Police – that's one of the Muggle Auror offices. Her family was found dead in their home in May of 1978. Muggles suspect carbon monoxide poisoning although it was consistent with the Killing Curse and such attacks were hardly unknown back then – for our part at least. She was not found. She has no other immediate family. She was determined to have gone missing at the age of thirteen, making her twenty-eight years old by the calendar. Biologically, however, she's 5,063 days old or about thirteen years and ten months old. To her she's been there around seven months. We believe she spent most of her time in that place in stasis, revived only when she was … needed."

She handed Cissy two more pictures. These were of another girl. "Jenny Stanley," she said. "Reported missing to the London Police in June of 1982, aged thirteen. To her, it's been about five months and biologically she'll turn fourteen in a week. She had a younger brother and a mum, but no other family. They died in a car crash not long after the report was filed. The Muggles do not suspect the two events are connected although it's a fair bet that they are."

Cissy was handed two more pictures. "Angela Hammer. She went missing from Manchester in August of '86 then aged fourteen. To her she's been missing not quite four months. Biologically she's not quite fourteen and a half. She lived with her gran, who died of an apparent heart attack not long afterwards. Again, no other known family. And finally," she said handing over two more photographs, "Elizabeth Mabry. Disappeared September of 1991 then aged thirteen. She's been missing about two months to her. Her family died about the same time in a house fire in Kent, one that went on to consume most of the surrounding area suggesting Fiendfyre. Less than a year separates these four girls biologically. Thirteen years separates youngest from oldest based on their true birthdates."

"And they were … it's what I think?" Cissy asked.

"Used sexually, raped, imperiused into acts of depravity, frequently with more than one male assailant, they were playthings if not willing ones," Dora said confirming Cissy's fears. "It appears they were kept for a while and then disposed of. We found a secret room with fourteen sets of human remains, all female, all young. The most recent appears to have died around the time that Miss Mabry arrived. The oldest died around 1918 based upon our examination of the remains and the clothes we found."

"You mean this has been going on for over seventy years?"

"Well before you married him, yes. It was happening even before his father was born and that assumes it began with the oldest remains. It would seem whatever it was; it was a House Malfoy thing for lack of a better word."

"Your husband was behind the most recent efforts to repeal the laws prohibiting Muggle hunting," Ted said. "I guess now we know why."

"So when they were done with the girl, they killed her and put her in that room?"

"The evidence suggests the girls were placed in that room alive and left there to die. They'd die of thirst in less than a week, probably not more than three days."

"Miss Cissy needing to take this," Pira said appearing seemingly from nowhere. "Miss Cissy not be needing toos be sick."

Cissy took the vial that her held handed to her and drank from it. "Horrible," she said.

"You're husband or the potion," Sirius quipped.

Cissy seemed to relax a little. "Both. What he did is so … so evil! And he learned it from his father?"

"So it seems," Dora replied. "DMLE has no reason to believe there are others out there like this, but is not ruling that out. I saw more than one veteran Auror lose his or her lunch over this, not that I was any better. The scheme seems very complex, designed to avoid detection and even suspicion. The girls seem to have been selected at least in part because they had little or no extended family – no one to move a search forward after they disappeared and their immediate family died. They were taken from different parts of the country several years apart and while their immediate family died and their manner of deaths could be the result of magic, no two families died in a similar manner. There was little or nothing to link the crimes in such a way that the Muggles would see this as anything more than isolated occurrences and possibly runaways, and people do disappear in that world. Add to it the fact that no body turns up, and the Muggles are none the wiser. Neither, for that matter, were we. None of these incidents tripped any of our detectors so we never investigated either the disappearances or the cover-up. We can't say for certain if that's the case for all the bodies. It's possible an earlier one raised questions. There are a couple of my classmates pouring through old case files to see if there's a connection. The problem is we have no identities on the bodies. We have to find a case that fits, rather than use the name to see if there's a case."

"What's going to happen to them?" Cissy asked indicating the girls in the photographs.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Ted said. "Legally, they should be returned to their own world with their memories of ours erased. But that's not practical here. First of all, they've been held captive for months in their own recollection of time and years in ours. We erase their memories and return them and how can they or anyone else explain where they've been for so long and why they've not aged much at all? Secondly, where would we send them? Their families are dead. Everyone who knew them is years older and would doubt they are who they are. Even if we obliviated them it would raise questions that would lead back to our world."

"But the Muggles don't know," Cissy began.

"I wouldn't bet my life on that," Ted replied. "They're two Muggles in this room and they certainly know, as do the parents and non-magical siblings of every Muggle Born in Britain. They might not be able to tell anyone about our world. They are all under a variation of the Fidelius Charm that prevents them from spilling the secret. But nothing is perfect. Some work for the press, others the Muggle Police and still others the Muggle Government. Questions would be asked. And the Muggles are not stupid. They can piece together things from a lack of information or clear holes in information. It might take time, but they would find the correct answers and we can't imagine what the result of that might be. So, since those girls have nowhere to go in their world and we can't risk it, a place must be found for them in our world."

"Which brings us to this visit in a way," Sirius said.

"Oh?" Cissy asked.

"I take it – well, I'm not really as good at reading people as that. Andi has told me that you truly had no idea what your husband's been into."

"I haven't, not really."

"You knew he was a Death Eater."

"He never hid _that._ But there's a difference between knowing and approving."

"You didn't approve?"

"Do I think that our traditions are important? Yes. Do I think we should respect them? Yes. I think to cast them aside simply because there are countries where they no longer do such things is to cast aside who we are as a people. The Muggles don't cast aside their Queen just 'cause kings and queens have gone out of style elsewhere in the world, do they?"

"No," Robert said. "Mind you there's some that think we should. They are a very small, if vocal minority. But the Queen is a shrewd one. She might not always be a step ahead of things, but she's more on top of things than her government. The monarchy connects us to our past but is smart enough not to stand in the way of our future. I would agree with you that traditions can be important. But there are those that make us who we are and others that are plain silly if not detrimental. The trick is figuring out which is which and getting rid of the true rubbish."

"You haven't answered my question, Cissy," Sirius said. "Did you approve of the Death Eaters."

"They killed witches and wizards, didn't they?" Cissy said. "How could I approve of that? They destroyed families. They said they were about tradition and protecting the old ways and then killed the old families who did not agree with them. I never approved of them! My husband was one before I married him. But that was not my choice either. I was not fortunate enough to have a boyfriend willing to take me off to get married once I turned sixteen such that I could get out of that betrothal. If I had such an offer … I would not be where I am today, would I? I would've taken any offer that avoided that contract. I learned later the word was out. The Death Eaters would have killed any potential suitor, even an heir to an Ancient and Noble House."

"I take that as an emphatic 'no'," Sirius chuckled. "And a good thing too. It seems Lord Arcturus thought ill of them. In his Will he left it to me to disown Bellatrix for being one of them; or to take 'whatever other action' I deem necessary and appropriate. He would've done it, but with so many of House Black disowned for one reason or another he could not bring himself to do it. I'm told he still saw her as a little girl and not the monster she became. I only ever saw the monster. But I am mindful of familial magic as I'm sure Grandfather was. So long as she remains a Black, she cannot harm any other Black, not really. Oh, I suppose she could cause harm by accident, but not by design. The magic robs her of the ability to intentionally harm House Black or any under its protection."

"She's in Azkaban," Cissy said. "She's not going anywhere."

"As was I, if you recall."

"I don't think she's an animagus," Andi said.

"That made it easy," Sirius nodded, "once I got 'round to it which was once I thought of actually leaving that place. But that prison is still far from escape proof. The truth is the only really hard bit is getting from that island to the mainland. It's too far to swim especially given how cold the water is and the fact that you need to swim an extra five miles to reach a place where you won't be dashed against the rocks. But if you can manage the crossing, escape is possible."

"One or two manage it a year," Dora agreed. "Until Sirius, however, they all drowned. It's not that hard for us to recover a body," she added for the Grangers.

"So, I would prefer to take action with the assumption that she can and will escape one day," Sirius continued. "As Head of House, protecting House Black is my duty. Keeping her bound by family magic is in the interest of House Black. She's a raving, homicidal maniac and would kill the lot of us given a chance otherwise. So, I'll hold off disowning her. But one of my errands today will be to annul her marriage. After all, she and her husband are in material breach of the betrothal contract and have been for some time."

"I thought annulments had something to do with something that happened before a marriage," Mr. Granger said.

"In Muggle law and ours that is correct," Mr. Tonks replied. "Most grounds for annulment are variations of fraud. Marriages are a contractual arrangement – a very particular one – but a contract nonetheless. No contract is valid if it is procured through fraud, thus no marriage is valid if procured through fraud. Now, if the defrauded party learns of the fraud and does nothing – if they acquiesce to the fraud, then it no longer matters. For example, Lady Hermione is part of a plural marriage. Her marriage is based upon a magical bond and is unassailable. But, some of the others are not magically bonded to her husband. If they were told or led to believe they were not entering into a plural marriage and they would not have married him had they known it was a plural marriage that would be grounds for an annulment."

"That's not our case," Hermione said.

"No. It was merely by way of example," Mr. Tonks replied. "It would be grounds in both worlds although in the Muggle, plural marriages are invalid period. But our world recognizes something other than fraud as grounds for invalidating the contract. Lord Black mentioned material breach. Where there is a betrothal contract, that contract may define the conditions for the marriage. In our law, those conditions can be breached after the marriage occurs and if breached can allow the other family or the non-breaching spouse to annul the marriage."

"The standard Black family betrothals for our daughters contains such terms," Sirius said. "The husband may not engage in activities that would bring the bride's family into disrepute nor may he allow the bride to engage in such activities. While what that means is seldom defined, it is well established that being convicted of 'notorious crimes' or pleading guilty to 'notorious crimes' and being imprisoned for them falls within those conditions. Murder for profit is a notorious crime."

"You were sent away for murder. That means your wife could have…," Rose began.

"Magical bond," Sirius replied. "There can be no annulment when that's the reason you're married. Moreover, there was no betrothal agreement that stipulated that I had to keep my nose clean, as it were. She could've obtained a divorce which is more complicated and very public. I was, after all, not much of a husband sitting in my cell and our daughter had no father. But she knew what the bond meant. It meant she would never be happy with another. So to her there was no point in getting out of our marriage. That and Grandfather all but welcomed her and our daughter into the family."

"Daughter?" Cissy asked.

"Yes. Your husband ordered my murder thinking your son was next in line. In addition to House Potter having a better claim, there is the fact that my daughter – who was born after I went away to a wife only Grandfather knew about – that my daughter's claim as Regent trumps all others."

"How could he have …?"

"Missed that? No one knew I was married aside from Grandfather and he only knew 'cause he was paranoid about our House. He knew I went to France and suspected why. No one else did. I'm not sure it would matter. Most Brits assume one Ministry is much like another and here all marriage records are in the Ministry Archives in London. So assuming someone thought I went to France to marry, they'd go to Paris and find nothing … 'cause we didn't get married there. We married in one of the provinces and the record of the marriage is kept in the provincial office. Although I doubt any would've looked 'cause most believed as you did that I had already been cut out of the line. Even if they got that far, they would have to know a lot about the Muggle world to learn of my daughter. She was born in a Muggle hospital and bears the name of her mother's mother. To a pureblood, assuming they made the connection to my wife – which they probably would not – it would look as if she was born a bastard as she did not take the Black name. After all, no self respecting witch would fail to name her daughter after her husband, right? That was Grandfather's idea. The word's out that I'm married and it has been for a month and nothing has appeared in the press but speculation. If the gossip mongers can't even figure out when, where and to whom I'm married after this long, could it be a surprise that no one's figured out I have an heir Regent; especially when most are at least somewhat surprised that I was not disinherited as had been believed?"

"Devious," Cissy nodded.

"The wife says I'm more like my Grandfather than my father which I take as a compliment."

"He was … weak willed," she said darkly.

"Probably a good thing fate managed to see to it he was passed over then. As you know, the worst thing that can happen to a House short of an absolute spendthrift is for its Head to lack the backbone to stand up for himself. But we're off the point, aren't we. You have a problem, yes? You are also concerned about those girls. And I have family business to attend to, namely annulling Bella's marriage."

"What does that do for House Black?" Robert asked. "Annulment, I mean. I thought all it meant was that the marriage never happened."

"Indeed," Sirius said almost rubbing his hands together. "Much easier way to ruin someone than just suing them or going through the very public process for divorce where they have a chance to fight back. This is simple, a paper drill really. I present the betrothal contract to the clerk at the Ministry, point out that both husband and wife are convicted murderers in prison, and they stamp it annulled. Any attenuating circumstances would have to have been raised at their trial or they can't argue it since their conviction alone is grounds. Then I take the order of annulment over to Gringotts were the real fun begins. You see, House Black paid a hefty dowry to House LeStrange. House Black is entitled to a full refund plus interest of nine percent per annum from the date of … is it the marriage or breach?"

"He was a Death Eater before," Mr. Tonks said. "Date of marriage."

"House Black is also entitled to all property accrued since the date of marriage that cannot be considered the sole property of House Lestrange. That's in the penalty clause in the betrothal contract. And if there's not enough gold or saleable property in the vault to pay back the dowry and interest, House Black gains any legal business interests or real property of House Lestrange or at least enough to pay the balance. It will ruin that house and as that house was a major supporter of You-Know-Who, when he returns he'll find himself in a financial bind from the off. By annulling the marriage, but not disowning dear Bella, I can prevent her from joining him or supporting him. That too will hurt as murdering psychopaths don't exactly grow on trees and she was one of his worst. Were she to try and join him against my wishes, she would lose her magic or at least enough of it to render her useless to him."

"But he's dead! Everyone knows that," Cissy said.

"You are the only one in this room who believes that, Cissy," Andi said. "The rest of us believe otherwise."

"What?"

"Not that it matters," Sirius said. "She's still a psycho and we need to control her to protect the Houses if nothing else."

"You're just going to welcome her back?" Cissy asked in surprise.

"Not hardly. Should she get loose, she'll be broke won't she? She won't be able to live in her old home and I'm not about to grant her access to the Black properties so she'll be on the streets as well. She was one of his most loyal and ruthless followers 'cause Grandfather did not close that door and make himself a target for that lot. I have no such concerns seeing as they probably want me dead. I have killed a fair few of them. What's a few more? So, she goes back to her leader, broke, homeless and magically forbidden to support him or do his bidding. If she does, she loses her magic and you can imagine how sympathetic he'll be. If she doesn't, he'll be equally sympathetic. I'll let him deal with her and that'll be one less murdering psychopath to deal with later."

Cissy paled. "That's…?"

"Pragmatic and very Slytherin, if I do say so myself. But enough about the dead witch walking…

"Now, as for the girls found in that hole, the Families do not believe the powers that be will act in their best interests or the best interests of our world. They are Muggles and the powers that be foolishly have little or no respect for them either individually or collectively and certainly do not fear them near enough. Andi has verified that for the next few weeks they will be treated at St. Mungos but after, obliviation and they'll be left to fend for themselves, which they are ill equipped to do. The Families are going to place them under House Protection which, as you know, means St. Mungos and the Ministry can't do anything without our leave. The plan is eventually to relocate them to an estate where they can recover and begin their lives anew.

"That leaves us with you, Cissa."

"M-me?"

"What do you want, Cissy?"

"I … I want to help those girls but…"

"But they might not accept you or your help should they learn about your husband, right?"

Narcissa nodded fighting back tears. "I … that was not me … it was …"

Sirius raised his hand. "Andi mentioned this and we guessed the problem. It is why Lady Hermione is here. She has proven quite adept at various permutations of the Fidelius Charm and is here to cast a version that would hide that inconvenient truth from those girls until such time as they can accept the truth without condemning you for the man you were forced to marry."

"She can do that?" Cissy asked in shock. "But she's only a Third Year!"

"She can. It is best not to judge her by her year, I've found."

"It's rather simple, actually," Hermione said. "I'd only be hiding the secret from four specific individuals who don't know it or even suspect it yet. The spells are harder if you try to hide something from people who know of it but are not intended to be in on the secret. It would help, however, if you could honestly say that you're Mistress Black rather than Madam Malfoy."

"And your parents?"

"Her parents are a part of our world which is not the world you're thinking of," Sirius said. "You've left your former residence. I'm sure you do not wish to live here from here on out."

Cissy shook her head.

"The Black properties you remember are on lock down and I'm not opening them up in the foreseeable future. Far too many were known and used by the wrong sort in the past. House Black resides somewhere else and it's a place that cannot be found or accessed by enemies unless we who live there were to allow it which we are not about to do unless it's to our ultimate advantage."

"You mean to kill them?"

Sirius shrugged noncommittally. "It's a safe place to live and we intend to keep it that way. The Grangers are here because should you prove acceptable they are the only ones who can bring you there." This was not true, naturally. But this was a test of Narcissa's desire for change. To accept, she would have to tolerate Muggles and a trip into the Muggle world. "So what is it you would ask of the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black?"

Cissy did not think she was ready for that question. She knew what she wanted, but she was not sure she was ready for the cost. But she also feared this was a onetime offer and to refuse to take the opportunity would doom her to the life she so desperately wanted to leave. There was also the added fact that the girls, victims of her Husband and House Malfoys depredations, were soon to be under the protection of House Black and her decision now would determine whether she could help them at all.

"I do not wish to be a Malfoy anymore," she said softly.

"You have grounds for divorce," Sirius said. She wondered if he was teasing or tormenting her.

"Too long," she mumbled, "too messy. Don't want lawyers and … and …"

"And accusations," Sirius said. "Yes. It does seem that such things lend themselves to the basest of accusations that in any other context might be deemed slanderous. But you are aware of the implications of the other course?"

Cissy nodded. "My son…"

"He could be disowned, cast out of House Black regardless of what you decide," Sirius said. "That is customary where he was to benefit from an attempted Line Theft. It does not help him a whit that I have information about his claims that he's made while at Hogwarts. From his first day there, he made it known at least within Slytherin that he was destined to be Head of House Black…"

Cissy paled. "I … I did not know…"

"And worse, that he hoped ill of me when I escaped. Moreover, with my exoneration he has been overheard by a reliable source suggesting his father will sort it all out for him. I am going to remove that threat to my House today, regardless of what you wish or decide. Just be thankful we have progressed somewhat as a society. A few centuries ago I would be within my rights to demand his head or to take it at my pleasure or leisure. All he will lose is an increasingly remote chance at an inheritance and not his miserable life. After all, I can't allow a threat to my family to persist where it can be dealt with within the law, can I?"

"I was…," Cissy began. "After he turned six, I was… Well, Lucius made it clear that it was now time for him to be raised to become the heir although he never specified the heir to what. I assumed it was to House Malfoy although obviously Lucius had grander ideas. I was allowed little contact with my son. I saw him at dinner and at social gatherings but little else. Still…"

"He is your son," Sirius nodded. "I can understand that now. But I have no connection to him such as you have and… Well, from my position as Head of House, your Husband – and I use the term loosely – is now in material breach of his family's betrothal agreement with the Ancient and Noble House of Black. He managed to avoid it years back with his Imperius defense and quite possible a large, quiet donation to various parties. I know he was no more under the effects of that curse than I am a witch. But it was accepted and his being what he was could not be said to have besmirched our House as a result. But that has changed now. Grandfather may have been reticent to annul marriages. Having faced their wands in that War, I am inclined to be less lenient. Despite what many may think, I associated with Dumbledore only because he was willing to make a stand against them when no one else was. I never agreed with all he advocates. He would allow bygones to be bygones. I am not so forgiving. Your son was part of a plot against my House. His extent of complicity is of little moment seeing as he was aware of it and did nothing to stop it."

"If I do what I have to do to be rid of the shame of that name, what will become of him?"

"Well, that is the question isn't it? I need not disown him under the circumstances as annulment would have the same effect."

"Why?" Robert asked. "I know, I know, this is what I get for missing 'staff meetings.' But how does annulment get rid of that problem?"

"Annulment declares that there never was a marriage," Ted said. "While it's obvious there was a child, the child was born out of wedlock. Since 1926 in Muggle England and Wales, a bastard can inherit from his natural parents unless he is excluded in their wills expressly or by implication which means that there's nothing left to pass to him. Under our law, which before 1926 was the same as the Muggles, a bastard cannot inherit anything unless he is specifically named and included in his parents wills. Even then and in both worlds, noble titles cannot pass to an illegitimate heir."

"What that means is he has no birthright," Sirius said. "If Daddy Deadly dies and failed to name his son – by name – in his will, the son gets nothing. 'I leave everything to my firstborn son' excludes bastards. 'My firstborn son Draco' would include the boy regardless of his legitimacy. Naturally, all of this assumes there's anything left to inherit in the first place. But as we discussed at that meeting you missed 'this morning,' he clearly believes he's to get more than a little.

"So, and Annulment could cut him off from his Malfoy expectancy and House Black does not recognize bastards either. It's a pity, given that Great-great granddad Phineas had a hundred and fifteen of them which would've made Lucius's plot all but impossible if he had to eliminate all those lines as well. An Annulment means the boy has no claim to House Black whatsoever. As harsh as it might sound, there's less social stigma attached to his change in status than there would be were I to disown him outright. We checked."

"They're the same to me," Cissy began.

"I take it Lucius did not consult you about House matters such as the details of betrothals?"

"There's a betrothal? Not that I'm surprised, but I was never told of such."

"Your son is betrothed to Miss Pansy Parkinson," Ted said. "Lord Black obtained copies of all relevant House papers during his eventful trip to Gringotts back in August and as Head of House Black that included outstanding betrothal agreements, Black family trusts and the like. That agreement is binding on House Parkinson. House Malfoy may rescind it in favor of a better match, although an annulment would make it binding on the boy as well as he would no longer be of House Malfoy. But the agreement is such that his change in status does not affect the betrothal, although it's fair to say the father of the Bride may be a little put out to learn that the Bridegroom is not as valuable as he was led to believe. But he cannot back out as the diminution in value was not truly foreseeable at the time of the agreement. Stuff happens, you know? The agreement only allows Parkinson to back out if the boy was disowned outright, which is not the case here."

"I didn't know about that…" Cissy began.

"It seems your hubby had all sorts of secrets," Sirius snorted, "although this time, it seems, the joke is on him. Parkinson was a fallback option. Lucy apparently tried to shop your boy around when he was a baby, trying to pass him off as the next Head of House Black to sweeten the pot, as it were. Pity. Grandfather was still alive and it appears he quietly quashed that nonsense. As a future Head of an Ancient and Noble House your boy was potentially valuable and would have commanded top offers. As the scion of House Malfoy, however … well, he wasn't worth nearly as much, was he? But we can't have a proper pureblood scion walking about unhitched, can we? It wouldn't be decent.

"So, Lucy took a deal from Parkinson. Maybe it was the best he could get. I can't say. But among the provisions is one where if he should lose his parents, as it were, he's to live with them and more critically, he's stuck marrying the girl. So an annulment won't see the boy cast out on the streets or without any prospects."

"He'd have nothing," Cissy protested.

"Well, no fancy house, that's true, not unless he could afford one on his own," Mr. Tonks said. "But he would certainly not be left without a knut. We can't say for certain, but I would not be surprised if his father established a Trust fund for the boy at some point. As you should know, such things are common practice amongst the families with means. Moreover, an annulment has no bearing on the trust as it now stands. House Malfoy can't get it back. Depending upon how it's structured, it might be able to avoid funding it further, assuming it is to be added to and is not fixed in that way. We do know that no claim has been made against the boy's Black family trust and regardless of what action Lord Black may take, he can't touch that either. It was the standard trust for children in good standing, as it were. Five thousand was added to principal the day after he was born and the day after each birthday until he turns twenty-one and the total accrued interest at nine percent per year. He may not access this supplemental trust at all until he turns seventeen or finishes Hogwarts, whichever is later, unless he has no other source of support. So he would first have to exhaust whatever money House Malfoy has set aside from his exclusive use. Afterwards and until he turns twenty-five, he can only draw from the annual interest payouts. At twenty five, he gains control over all of it.

"Right now, the balance stands at 134,000 Galleons or so. Last year, the Trust earned over eleven thousand. When he finishes school, the balance should be around 232,000 with an anticipated annual income of over nineteen thousand. That's quite a healthy income stream for anyone. If he avoids dipping into it – a possibility given we don't know the details about his other Trust, just that there is one – he stands to realize about 450,000 Galleons on that birthday that would generate an annual income of 37,000 or so. That's not exactly a pauper's living."

"And before you ask," Sirius continued, "I can't touch the money that's there. He hasn't done anything that would allow me to do so. I can stop adding to it, but I'm not going to for now. It's a pittance from House Black's financial perspective but a fortune to one without a fortune. Perhaps he will grow up and learn from his father's mistakes. I won't punish him further for the idiot that sired him. But neither will I condone a threat to my House. The Ancient and Noble Houses that are left did not survive the centuries intact by playing Dumbledore's games of forgiveness and redemption. Every one of them has been brutal in one way or another to its enemies and has not tolerated threats."

"I understand," Cissy said. "You're being more than generous, I should think."

"This action is not a final one, Cissy," Andi said. "In the fullness of time it remains possible that your son may once again be a Black."

"He'll have to earn that," Sirius said. "As it stands, there are five Ancient and Noble Houses that have no respect for the boy: Abbott, Black, Bones, Longbottom and Potter. He has to learn that the world does not care what he wants. He will get only what he can earn."

Cissy nodded. She understood that her son was being offered far more than necessary. They said nothing about whether the boy had anything to do with the girls in the subbasement. Perhaps they did not know. If he had done anything to any one of them he was no son of hers as far as she was concerned.

"And my marriage? It will end today?"

"It should," Sirius said. "A couple of days at the most if the Clerk's Office is slow which is a possibility. My plan was to annul both marriages today and to place those four girls under House protections to keep the Ministry and St. Mungos from just tossing them to the wolves as it were. As for your fate? I need a few weeks to get some things sorted. You can remain here or move with your sister or whatever. Just be sure I and the Grangers can find you when your new place is ready. Lady Hermione will cast a charm that will allow you to meet with those girls if you wish without their learning that there's any connection with their former circumstances. If you wish to see them today, Andi can take you."

"Thank you, Siri," Cissy said in a sad tone. She was free of a marriage she did not want and welcomed back into a family she had been proud of, but she did not know where this really left her.


	51. Chapter 51: Psychomagical

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And another one 'cause it's been so long.

**CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: PSYCHOMAGICAL**

**SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23****rd**** 1993**

It was the day of the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. Harry had wondered why the first one was so late in the year when the weather was getting miserable and the days far too short and why there were only four such Saturday visits scheduled during their nine months at the school. He had heard about the wonderful shops and such. But he realized after spending hours there that four visits was probably more than enough. There were only two shops that truly drew students visit after visit. One was Honeydukes which was a candy store with all of its myriad of confections made right there. One of its attractions was you could watch while candy was being made. The other store was Zonko's which was similar to Gambol & Japes in Diagon Alley. It sold toys and joke items. The Weasley twins said Zonko's was better in the joke department. The shop made most of its own stuff. Dervish and Bangs bought theirs from suppliers which while the stuff was pretty good, it lacked originality or so the twins said.

Harry had spent the day with three of his ladies. Luna could have joined them for she had an exemption to the rule that barred the visits to First and Second Years as she was married and therefore legally an adult. But Ginny could not come so Luna stayed at the Estate with her. Ginny was merely betrothed and no exception had been granted based upon the betrothal. They had wondered about this. They knew Dumbledore still believed his contract trumped the others to some extent and had tried to bend the rules to his view of things in a way that would make Ginny more valuable in Harry's eyes than his other wives. He tried that the day they arrived and it failed miserably. His only recent attempt was to try and ban Harry from Hogsmeade altogether, except he could find no support from either the school rules or any of the other professors not named Snape. So instead he banned Ginny hoping that Harry would not go without her and to add insult to injury he apparently had suggested allowing Astoria Greengrass and exemption by virtue of her betrothal to Neville. That exemption also died in the faculty meeting, but Harry had learned of it. Luna wondered if this was what Harry was worried about, but the others were sure it was not the "other shoe" even if Harry was wearing both of his and the others either were wearing both of theirs or none at all. Harry remained convinced that Dumbledore's next real move would be against his emancipated status and his current magical guardian.

The truth was, aside from Zonko's and Honeydukes, none of the other shops interested him. Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop looked useful. It sold all sorts of quills including enchanted ones. Unless one paid a fair bit for an Everlasting Quill (never needs trimming or sharpening), one did need a fair number to last the year and it did sell blank parchment and stationary. But they had stocked up on these items before term began. Gladrags Wizardwear was also useful if he needed to replace clothes. But with all the elves on the Estate, it was not something that was likely to happen. There was an Apothecary which would be useful had he been running low on supplies for his school potions kit. But that was not the case. Most of his potions supplies came from the estate and the rest of his standard kit was from his Estate stores which held far more ingredients in both quantities and types than was required for all of their classes. There was a place that catered to the needs of young witches, it said so on the sign. Harry thought that sounded kinky, but it was really a place that sold magical cosmetics and beauty supplies which while it might interest his girls (and provide him with gift ideas) it was not a place he had any desire to hang around in. One would think with four House Quidditch teams at the school there would be a store selling Quidditch supplies. That would make sense even if it only sold during the year. Naturally, there wasn't one.

There were three places to eat in the village. On the edge of the village there was the Hogshead Tavern which looked like a dump so Harry and his three "dates" decided not to have a look. Then there was Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Harry thought it was entirely too girly and wondered why any boy would be caught dead inside, until he saw that the boys who were there were first of all with a girl and secondly clearly experimenting with and interesting way of ingesting scones. It was the only place in the Village where the couples really did need to get a room. Hannah thought it was delightful, except the snogging was enough to give it a pass. Daphne thought that whatever the proprietor had hoped to achieve with the décor, it was too much and way over the top and she agreed that the customers' preferred activities had little to do with tea. She wondered how the shop made any money unless you rented the table or booth. Hermione did not like it at all for any number of reasons. Besides, they did not need to go to a tea shop – if that was what it was – to get boyfriend time.

They met Ron and Katie at the Three Broomsticks for lunch and were soon joined by Neville, Sally-Anne, Padma, Parvati, Tracy and Susan. They had a large table and all agreed the food was very good and not too pricey. The best bit was Butterbeer. Harry had never had it before. The twins were known to smuggle it into the dorms and break it out for parties, but the Prefects made sure the younger students did not get any. The truth was Butterbeer was a mildly alcoholic drink that reminded Harry of fizzy muggle soda. You could get intoxicated if you drank a lot, like a gallon of it or so. Harry and his girls had occasional glasses of wine with dinner at the Manor which were far more intoxicating. But apparently there was some rule about Butterbeer and the lower two years. There was a rumor the twins had a still somewhere where they boiled Butterbeer down into something much stronger. No one had seen it or the results which told Harry and Ron that there probably was not one, although both agreed that the twins had probably thought of doing something like that. Ron could just see them spiking someone's Pumpkin Juice for a laugh.

Ron thought the Shrieking Shack was totally brilliant even if he and Katie had kept their distance. Harry and the others had seen it, but taken little note. After all, House Potter knew the truth about it. They knew it was where a student suffering from Lycanthropy had spent the nights of the full moon and knew it was again being used for that purpose. Sirius and James had told them the stories of the Marauders and so they knew that their Defense Professor was that student and was a Werewolf. It didn't bother them because he was a really good person and one of their best professors and because they knew what most people in their world thought of Werewolves, they said nothing about Professor Lupin's "little fury problem." They respected him too much. That, and it appeared that Dora Tonks was all "googley eyed" about him and they did not want to be on the receiving end of one of her hexes, she was a top Auror Trainee after all.

"Really isn't all that much here," Harry said.

"You had two huge pieces of shepherd's pie, Harry," Hermione countered. "I'd say that's quite a bit."

"Not to mention the ploughman's lunch you had before the others arrived," Daphne added. "It's a wonder there's room in there for all of it."

"I'd say you're channeling Ron, 'cept he's right here," Katie laughed.

"Hey!" Ron protested, "I didn't have the ploughman's lunch!"

"No, but you're packing away the pie like it's being discontinued."

"It's good!"

"I meant Hogsmeade," Harry said. "And what Ron said. Can I help it if this stuff's good?"

"It is a village, Harry, not London or Diagon Alley," Hannah offered.

"Zonko's is brilliant," Ron offered. "I wish I could by all of it!"

"Even the plushies?" Katie asked teasingly.

"Um … maybe not those. Not for me anyway."

"I think the idea of the visits is for us to get out for a bit," Padma said.

"Makes sense," Neville agreed. "The place does get old, especially after two years. But we do have a place to go now so this isn't so necessary. Still, it is part of the experience, I guess."

"Well, whatever you think, I like this place," Harry said meaning the Three Brooksticks.

"My Dad would too," Hermione agreed, "if it sold a good beer."

"It does," Katie said, "but Madam Rosemerta won't serve that or the wine 'til your Sixth Year and she knows who's who at the school. Fred and George tried to trick her last year and it didn't work, although it was funny."

"Your parents are coming tomorrow, right?" Harry asked Katie.

"Already here, or they might be," Katie said. "Along with my younger sister Agnes most likely."

"Brilliant," Ron grumbled.

"Hasn't met them yet, has he," Neville observed.

"Nope," Ron replied. "Then again, they can't be worse than my Mum."

"What did your Mum do?" Harry asked. "A Howler without the red envelope?"

"That would've been okay," Ron groaned. "No. She was thrilled and then went on and on about sex and that. Like I really want an idea of what Mum and Dad did at school, you know? Or at home, for that matter. Dad hadn't even given me the talk yet. Fred and George told me 'bout theirs, I think, but you can never tell with those two. I thought she was so … well, she always made it seem wrong, you know? But now? It was a nightmare! She even offered to offer Katie advice on … stuff. Told us to have as much fun as we wanted, just not in her living room. And that was the same day she yelled at Fred and George about what they … well … which one's seeing Alicia?"

"Fred," Katie said. "According to Ginny, Mrs. Weasley caught Fred and Alicia and gave them … well Fred, but Alicia was there … an earful about proper behavior. Then Fred said that George and Angelina were doing it too, so they got the business. We were just told not to be stupid about it seeing as we have our own room at school and at the Burrow. And yes, Mrs. Weasley did say if I had any questions … although Ron here would rather I didn't."

"Far as I can tell, she's perfect as is," Ron said with a grin. "No complaints here."

"Likewise," Katie added. "But it was … weird. Not Ron, his Mum."

"Now I've got to meet her parents. She says they're nice, but…"

"Daphne's were the hardest," Harry nodded. "Didn't know them at all and there was little warning about what was coming, you know? Hermione's weren't so bad, but I think that's 'cause her Mum was there when we began bonding – and before you say it, Ron, for us all it took was the right kind of kiss at the right time. Mr. Greengrass was all business about it which helped me. Her mother was concerned about her, but that wasn't too bad. But I think I was more scared of them than I've ever been about Voldemort."

"Good news is, it's a done deal," Sally-Anne said. "My parents are Muggles, you know. The Flamels were the ones who explained it to them and when they remembered what happened, it was not so bad. I mean the bond is the bond."

"Tracy's were the hardest for me," Neville nodded. "They were okay about it, but like Harry said it was a little warning thing. Just be yourself Ron."

"On second thought, don't say anything unless you've thought it through first," Parvati said. "You're not as thick as some people think, but you do speak without thinking about it."

"I know. I was planning on saying nothing," Ron said. "Course, I'll probably have to say something. They'll probably want to know how I could possibly support Katie. What's the deal with the basilisk, Harry?"

"You're so greedy," Parvati chided.

"Am not! Okay, maybe a little. But it's all I've got, you know? I'd like to be able to tell them that … well, that they won't have to … um … that I can afford this stuff. So Harry?"

"Expecting another letter from Gringotts tomorrow," Harry said. "We're close to an agreement and I'm pretty sure there'll be one tomorrow."

"That's not what I meant."

"You mean how much?" Harry drawled. "Can't say, except it's already more than twice what we talked about. I'll let you do the maths."

"Four hundred fifty-seven thousand and change," Ron nodded, "a little over forty-one thousand a year in interest to spend at nine percent, right?"

"Um … I guess?"

"Pretty sure that's close. Should make them happy as forty-one thousand a year's nothing to sneeze at."

"How did you …?" Padma asked.

"He seems to be able to do that," Katie said. "Told him to talk to Professor Vector as he might have a mind for Arithmancy. Tell them, Ron."

"I did … talk to Professor Vector and then Babbling too. I've wanted to drop Divination since the first class. Sorry Parvati, it's not for me. Although I will say Trelawney is more entertaining than most. I just don't get it at all. Guess I don't have one of those eye things. Not my cup of tea, pardon the pun."

"It's okay," Parvati said. Most at the table knew she thought the class was brilliant. "We're learning to read tea leaves," she added for those who missed the pun. "Are you dropping?"

"Yeah. Talked to McGonagall yesterday. I'm picking up Arithmancy and Runes.

"Well, there are some who think Professor Trelawney's a fraud," Parvati chortled, "but she was right about one thing." Everyone looked at her. "She predicted that one would leave us before the end of the year! We thought she meant one of us would die, as she seems to predict stuff like that. But she didn't say that and I guess one of us dropping the class was it."

No one responded to this. "But Ron, you're already a month and a half behind," Hermione said.

Ron shrugged. "First few weeks in both were introductory. You really didn't begin doing anything aside from memorizing a few Runes which is easy enough. Should be caught up in Arithmancy by Monday if you do another week tomorrow, Harry."

"A month in a half in a week?" Hermione almost shrieked.

"It talks to me, Hermione. Runes not so much. But Katie's taking that and's gonna help. It is useful."

"You mean do your work for you," Hermione snorted.

"No, I mean help me if I don't get it. I have to do okay on my exams if I want to stay on the team and if I let someone do all my work during the year, how can I do okay on the exams?"

"What have you done with Ron Weasley," Hermione asked Ron.

"Ron Weasley bonded with Katie and made the Quidditch Team," Ron said. "Ron Weasley learned if he does well, he might be Quidditch Captain Sixth Year. If he does the way he's been doing, he might be lucky to still be on the team. I want to be on the team and I wouldn't mind being Captain."

"You'd be a better choice than me even if I am senior," Harry said. "Anyone who pays attention knows you know more about the game than I do. To me it's look for Snitch, see Snitch, catch Snitch. The rest is an annoying distraction from my broom."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cissy and Andi were standing across the street from their destination. Before them stood a tall, stone façade with large, plate glass windows on the ground floor and smaller, more normal looking windows on the floors above. A faded sign over a broad doorway stated "Purge & Dowse, Ltd." A faded poster of some sort in one of the ground floor windows announced "Closed for Refurbishment." In the tall windows stood manikins displaying mostly women's fashions. Cissy had never come to this place in the manner she had today. She and Andi had walked from the Leaky Cauldron through the Muggle streets of London with the throngs of shoppers and tourists common on a somewhat pleasant Saturday in October and the streets filled with black cabs, buses, some private cars and other vehicles. The street they were now on was less travelled, but that was not to say it was empty.

"Oh, what a lovely façade," an accented voice said. Cissy turned and saw a Muggle woman about her age with another woman and a man. "What kind of shop is that?"

"A closed one," the other woman said. "It's been under refurbishment at least since the War. Look at the clothes! All that lot's good for is a costume party. That's been out of style since well before I was born."

"Was it a costumers?" the man asked.

"Wouldn't know. Before my time. Probably before my mother's time, truth be known. My husband Nigel thinks it's really some very quiet government office of some sort; the kind the government doesn't want us to know exists. My brother thinks some foreigners probably own it in order to get out of paying their taxes or some such nonsense. My sister's certain that the Prince of Wales is behind it somehow. Thinks someone bought it to put up one of those ghastly glass tower office buildings and it was declared 'historical' and therefore must be preserved before the owner could begin to take it down."

"There's a lot of that going on back home," the man said. "The States and the Feds are always declaring this derelict building or that of historical import so you can't change it or get rid of it either."

"Yes. I've read the Prince got that idea from your side of the Pond. He was amazed that we have thousands of years of history being flattened in the name of progress, while our cousins across the way whose history is only a few hundred years old preserve some privy because someone famous took his ease there once upon a time."

"I'm pretty sure we don't preserve historical outhouses," the woman said. "Well, not unless there's a historical house that goes along with it at any rate."

"Right then," the first woman said, "we're only a couple of streets away from the real Baker Street…"

"What's so important about that Baker Street place?" Cissy asked once she and Andi had passed through a magical portal hidden in one of the plate glass display windows of "Purge & Dowse, Ltd." Beside an animated manikin that responded to magical people such as themselves when it was safe to cross over without being seen by Muggles. They were in the waiting room of St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"No idea," Andi said. "I would say it must be a Muggle thing although the lady from around here seemed not terribly interested. So I guess that couple from the colonies must think it's terribly interesting for some reason and the other lady is humoring them for some reason."

"Colonies?" Cissy asked.

"The other lady said 'across the Pond' which was where the couple was from, apparently. That means the Americas."

"Oh."

Andi led Cissy to a door marked "Employees Only." They entered and it was a stairwell.

"They're in the Stanhope Ward for Psychomagical Trauma," Andi said. "It's on the fourth floor. This way."

It did not take them long to climb to the fourth floor nor that long to find the Stanhope Ward but, Cissy mused, Andi was a Healer and knew her way around. The Ward was not one could find easily. It had its own magical barrier to prevent people from either finding it or entering. Andi explained this was for the safety of the patients. During the War, many had been victim of Death Eater depredations and by surviving remained targets. The staff found it best to keep the protections in place.

The Stanhope Ward was the newest and least known of the many wards at the hospital. To the uninitiated, the hospital was a confusing place. After all, if one broke their arm, the directory did not clearly state where they needed to go. All purely or predominantly physical injuries (which oddly included childbirth) were seen to on the Ground Floor which, according to the Directory only seemed to handle "Artifact Accidents." Routine examinations were handled on the Second Floor although the directory said it was for "Magical Maladies." The Stanhope Ward was on the Fourth Floor which housed Spell Damage. But unlike the other unlisted examination and treatment wards, there were few who would ever require a visit.

The Ward was a product of the last war. Before the Death Eaters, none had seen a need for treating Psychomagical Trauma and according to the few practitioners in all probability prior cases had been handled (probably with little success) as Spell Damage. That war, however, caused many such traumas. People were forced to do horrible things or watch as they occurred. The magical effects of two of the unforgivable could be countered magically and their physical effects could be repaired, but the psychological damage could be incapacitating and it did not respond to traditional techniques. As the new branch of Healers studied this "new" condition, they learned that there were those who suffered without ever being victim of an unforgivable.

Andi led Cissy to a room that was too small to be a waiting room. It had three comfortable chairs, two were facing the other and behind the other was what looked like a mirror. There was a woman in Healers' Robes seated in the lone chair. There were no tables or anything else.

"Good afternoon, Healer Tonks," the woman said. This healer looked young, but clearly older than one might look just out of Healer training. "I am Healer Ellie Parsons," she said more to Cissy than to Andi. "You must Mistress Black."

Cissy nodded. Her annulment from Lucius Malfoy had been registered two days earlier declaring her marriage null and void meaning as far as she and the Wizarding Wolrd were now concerned, she had never been married. She was once again a Black and was here in that capacity.

"I take it this is your first time in the psychomagical ward?" Healer Parsons asked.

Cissy nodded.

"Most people are a little … out of sorts visiting here," the Healer commented. "Then again, most of our patients are all out of sorts."

"Is there a reason why the girls are here?"

"Well, they're not foaming at the mouth or hearing Merlin or seeing nonexistent things, if that's what you're asking. We do have some here who are well and truly out of their minds, to use a lay term. But they have gone through a severe emotional trauma and this ward is best equipped to deal with that aspect of their treatment and observation. Were we to leave them in Spell Damage or such, they could run off or harm themselves. Suicide attempts are not unknown given their recent … experiences and I dare say most the other Wards are not staffed or particularly trained to deal with suicidal patients."

"Are they?" Cissy asked. "Suicidal I mean?"

"Well, they haven't exhibited overt behaviors. But it is early in their treatment so we can't rule it out. We might never be able to completely. Our treatment plan is to minimize that risk and ameliorate their emotional and psychological trauma so that they can adjust and go on to a more or less normal life. We hope to bring them to a point of acceptable stability, but this is a less certain field than others. You do understand they all have been through a living hell, don't you?"

"N-not the details. I was there the day they were found and can only imagine what happened."

"We can quantify what happened to them physically and magically. But as you say, we can only imagine what happened to them emotionally and psychologically. The results can be observed, maybe. But we can't waive a wand and say they suffered this or that to any degree, nor cast a spell or administer a potion that'll make it all better. Our job is to try to help them cope with what has happened so that they can live a more or less normal life, but we can't cure them. What happened to them will always be a part of them."

"Their memories?"

"Yes," the Healer said in digust, "the Ministry is rather attached to Obliviation, isn't it? To them it's a cure all for any bad things. It's not. We have learned that in cases such as these patients it would be the worst thing we could do. It would not be unlike treating a person with a broken leg with pain relief potion. The pain would go away, but the bone remains broken and if they try to act as if it is not and walk, they only make things worse. For Psychomagical Trauma, Obliviation is similarly useless and harmful. It hides the injury, but the injury remains and to ignore it will only make it worse. Masking the trauma from the conscious memory and mind does nothing for deeper trauma. The patients must be able to deal with the trauma consciously, or it will eat them alive as it were. We have found that Obliviation is actually worse than doing nothing because the patient can begin exhibiting adverse and atypical behaviors consistent with the trauma, but cannot know why nor can anyone else."

"What kind of behaviors?" Cissy asked.

"The list of specifics is long," Healer Parsons said. "The behaviors would be out of character for the patient, invariably self destructive in one way or another, possibly antisocial and harmful to others. They would also be harmful to family and relationships…"

"These girls have no families left," Andi said.

"But… that's not in their case histories! They all talked about their families. There was nothing particularly remarkable from a psychomagical perspective, just normal teenaged stuff… That one of them might exhibit such a delusion as to believe they have a family when they do not is possible, but all four?"

"We have no reason to believe they are aware of that fact," Andi said.

"The Auror reports," Cissy began looking through a sheaf of notes, "which included examination by an Auror Legilimencer, show that Mary Pierce remembers going to sleep in her bed at her home and waking up in that hell hole. Her family was found dead in their beds. The Muggles figured it was from carbon monoxide poisoning – which can happen apparently – and believe she was a runaway. The Aurors now think it was her abductor and the Killing Curse. Jenny Stanley was abducted walking home from a friend's house. Her family died in a car crash two days later in a manner that suggests the Imperius Curse. The man drove into a bridge abutment at a very high speed for no apparent reason. Angela Hammer was also out walking alone when she was abducted. She lived with her grandmother who was found dead a couple days later from an apparent heart attack – again probably the Killing Curse. And Elizabeth Mabry went missing from her home when her family was out. They died when the house burned to the ground the next day. The fire was not inconsistent with Fiendfyre."

"This makes things difficult," the Healer said. "They don't know. We haven't tried to pensieve their memories. Saw no reason to. But to do so we'd need permission from their family or guardians. You think these are related?" The two sisters nodded. "But, we need to release them somewhere eventually…"

"They are under the protection and guardianship of five Ancient and Noble Houses," Andi said. "I'm authorized to grant such permissions, but if you need a signed slip from their new Head of House, I can have that within a day or less. As for releasing them, House Black wants them as treated as you can do before discharge is even contemplated."

"Yes. I saw that. It's why we still have them. Normal procedure for Muggles is to patch them up and send them back to their world… Ordinarily, they never would've been referred to us. Administration's right put out about the additional treatment, truth be told. So these Houses are trolling for brides?"

"That was uncalled for, Parsons!" Andi said. "I can assure you that two of the Houses couldn't troll for brides – as you call it – if they wanted to being down to but a single witch. All the Heads and heirs of the other three houses are already married, so that too is not an option. Our world did this to them. Our Ministry and by your own statement our Healers would rather do nothing about what has happened to them. The Houses, on the other hand, feel otherwise. Magic did this to them, magic must make it right by them and the fact they are Muggles only increases our obligation!"

"I … sorry," Healer Parsons said. "It's just… I'm Muggle Born…"

"As are four of the wives I mentioned. You're point is?"

"My experience with the old families is not… Well, I have a low opinion as to their motivations regarding all but the other old families."

"Not entirely undeserved," Cissy nodded. "The five families we mention do not advertise their motivations or goals. Rest assured, they truly do have those girls' best interests in mind. We're here on behalf of the guardians with respect to those girls, not to discuss the obvious flaws in our society."

"Yes, of course. Sorry. I hope you can understand my concerns?"

"Probably more than you can know," Andi said. "Back on task. Take us through their treatment to date, please."

Healer Parsons referred to her notes. "They arrived here on the twelfth, all four were under a stasis charm. Each patient was revived in order to undergo initial examination and evaluation. All four were confused and exhibited behaviors consistent with abuse and prolonged psychological trauma. All four were in no immediate physical or magical distress but it was clear they were in the need of treatment for numerous injuries. They were admitted to physical trauma for initial treatment.

"Aside from their obvious injuries, all four were otherwise physically healthy. Despite between one to eight months of captivity following abduction, they had no signs of infection, illness, disease or malnourishment. Interviews determined they were fed at times forcibly. Their diet was more than adequate from a nutritional standpoint but otherwise quite bland: mostly potato soup made with milk or cream and butter and nothing else…"

"That's adequate?" Cissy asked in shock.

"As the soup included the skins and the potatoes were prepared properly such that their nutritional value was not lost, yes it was. A person can live on that diet quite well indefinitely provided they meet their caloric needs. True, it would be bland. But it is healthy enough.

"Their physical injuries were limited. All had bruises, abrasions and minor cuts on their arms, torsos and thighs consistent with beatings. All also had bruising and abrasions on their wrists and ankles consistent with the use of restraints and struggle against the same. All also showed evidence of vaginal and anal tearing consistent with forcible rape and sodomy. However, there was no evidence of internal injuries: no damage to the internal organs, no broken bones. Two showed signs of old injuries, one had formerly broken her arm and the other her lower leg, but these injuries were of sufficient age to rule out their abduction and subsequent treatment as a causal factor in those injuries. Interviews stated all four were slapped frequently and beaten with what they believe was a rubber hose. All injuries were treated, although it was not possible to restore the patients to their previous physical condition…"

"Why not?" Cissy asked. "What do you mean?"

"All of them were virgins when they were abducted," the Healer replied. "That's something we cannot give back.

"Examinations showed signs of magical exposure and trauma. Most notably from Physical Casualty's perspective was the fact that despite evidence and their reports of constant sexual violation, none of the patients were pregnant. Given their ages and other factors, their daily sexual assaults should not have resulted in all four being pregnant despite having congress throughout their monthly cycle, but one of them most likely should have been at least, possibly two. They were not on non-magical birth control and there was no evidence of such use. But quantities of birth control potions sufficient to prevent conception were detected in all four patients."

"It works on Muggles?" Cissy asked.

"Well, I've read nothing about any clinical trials," Andi answered. "But the potion deals with physical not magical processes of fertility. Physically, witches are indistinguishable from Muggle women so it stands to reason that the potion would work on both. Although it might work differently."

"Differently?" the two women asked.

"Muggles have no magic and we know that magic has some affect on many potions mostly as to their potency. Magic either enhances or diminishes the potency of a potion which, if such is the case with birth control potions would mean Muggles would need to take it either more frequently or less depending upon how magic affects it."

After a pause, Healer Parsons continued. "After a day in Physical Casualty, they were sent to Spell Damage. All four were exhibiting symptoms of exposure to the Crutiatus Curse as well as extensive Imperius exposure. It appears that the torture was inflicted to establish dominance and punish unacceptable behaviors such as any displays of resistance or free will. The imperius was used to compel the girls to perform various sexual acts without resistance or hesitation. From my perspective, the effects of those spells had to be dealt with before there could be anything I could do for them here. They were there for a week.

"We're dealing with the effects of systemic rape," she continued. "From the time the girls arrived at their place of confinement until they arrived here, every day included multiple assaults and violations. Initially, there was but a single assailant whom they knew only as 'Master' although within a week or less they were expected to 'entertain' his guests. Only he was allowed to beat them or use the curses on them but aside from that his guests could do whatever they pleased. Once they became 'entertainments,' they were to entertain several guests each day, often more than one at a time.

"From our perspective, it is necessary to help them isolate that experience and put it in a proper perspective. They must see that they were true victims, that they did nothing to deserve the treatment or assaults. They must come to learn that the events they went through are abnormal, that such behavior by the man they knew as Master and his guests is unacceptable. They must learn to live their lives despite their recent experiences. If they can't get past what has happened to them… Well, their chances of living a productive life are then all but nonexistent. We are using some magic upon them to help them cope, but in the end they must come to terms with their experiences on their own. Support for them, emotionally, is essential. Naturally, losing their families – their most likely support – is not a good thing. But there is also the possibility that returning them to their previous lives might also be counterproductive, it's hard to say."

"That's not an option in any event," Andi said.

"Yes, you did say their families are no more."

"There's more to it than that. Have you noted any temporal anomalies?"

"Temporal?" Healer Parsons asked. "Um … well, the consensus is that all of them seem to have adopted an odd coping stratagem. All seem to think they're older than they really are. One claims to have been born in 1965, another in '68, another in '73 and the last in '78 although it's clear they are delusional. Physical examination shows they were born between February 26th, 1979 and June 25th 1980."

"That assumes no use of temporal magic," Andi said. "They were found under stasis charms, the Auror team did not place them under it. They were born when they said they were. Most of their time in that place was under stasis charms."

"Is that even possible? That would mean years for all of them!"

"I am aware of an unrelated case where two people were under stasis for almost twelve years without any physical or magical degradation," Andi said. "The duration was accidental. Whoever it was that was supposed to revive them never showed up. So there was some disorientation as they had missed a dozen years or so, but it's proven manageable."

"But they knew about such things and that they were under it?"

"Yes."

"These girls have no concept of such things. To them, they've been gone months. You're saying it really has been years?"

"Miss Mabry's been missing for a little over two years, Miss Hammer seven, Miss Stanley eleven and a half and Miss Pierce fifteen."

"And their families are gone too? This complicates things."

"Clearly sending them back to their former lives is not an option," Cissy noted.

"No. It couldn't work," Healer Parsons agreed. "That option is not possible and sending them back would only add to the trauma. But what other option is there? They're Muggles after all."

"The Houses have an option available," Andi said. "It would mean a completely new life for them in new circumstances. It would also mean they would retain a connection to our world – although we are confident a very different one from the one they experienced. They do know about magic, don't they?"

"Yes. Their abductor 'educated' them, as it were. We saw no reason to disabuse them of that reality for now. Normally, that would be the final treatment although we in this Ward have managed to keep the Obliviators away. As I said, erasing their memories is contraindicated although we had not yet thought of a way to retain the memories and return them to their former lives. You're saying that can't happen in any event."

"Those lives are gone," Andi nodded. "The Muggles believe them to be dead. No one is looking for them or expecting them. Moreover, were they to return how could they explain their youth without revealing our world?"

"We think it best we take over their care," Cissy said. "After all, it was our world that destroyed their lives, it is up to us to set things to rights if that can be done at all. True, they will live in a magical society, but not the one they've known. There will be young people their age…"

"They're not witches," Healer Parsons said.

"Well, we were not thinking of sending them to Hogwarts, if that's what you mean. Home tutoring is still done in Muggle families, although it is primarily a practice of the well to do. We have parents of Muggle Borns who can assist in their education."

"Three of the four wives we mentioned earlier," Andi said. "Their parents have agreed to assist or oversee the education."

"I wasn't just thinking about that," Healer Parsons said. "I mean their needs are different than witches their age. They are not going through magical adolescence."

"What do you mean?" Cissy asked.

"They do not need sexual release," the Healer said. "Despite the stuff you might've read about Muggles, they are not promiscuous by our standards at all. Children their age are rarely sexually active and girls their age generally do not and have not engaged in sexually stimulating behaviors on purpose. Some have, most have not. They don't have that need, really. It's actively discouraged, in fact. But even if they do stimulate themselves on occasion, seeking intimacy is also discouraged especially with other young women. Again, unlike young witches they don't truly need it to develop. Odds are one or two of them may have engaged in masturbation, the others have not. None of them had been sexually active of their own volition before they were abducted and odds are none would be inclined to be so with a girl as a partner. Given their recent experiences, to thrust them into any form of sexual activity is unnecessary and could be damaging to them emotionally and psychologically. They need to come to terms with what happened in their own time, which might take years."

"We understand that," Andi said. "We are aware of that difference as are the young people we've mentioned. The Houses have no intentions towards them in that regard."

"I had to point that out," Healer Parsons said. "There have been inquiries, you see."

"Inquiries?" the sisters asked.

She nodded. "Anonymous, of course," she said. "Well, most were. One was from a known bordello in Knockturn Alley and the others were individuals who seem to think the girls are … available."

"That's…," Cissy began. "And what has been the response?"

"Fortunately, the first arrived after Lord Black attained Guardianship over them," Healer Parsons said. "Our response was to take it up with their Guardian, without revealing who that was."

"Fortunately?"

"Had Lord Black not assumed Guardianship, the girls would've been released a few days ago for certain. As they had no parents to return to… But that's not the case and this Ward is intent on seeing that it remains so. To return them to anything approaching what they had been through would be a death sentence more than likely. As it is, we cannot rule out suicide although the initial crisis may have passed. Our experience is they either do it very soon or much later … perhaps years later. Naturally, we can't keep them here forever. We can do our best and hope their lives do not drive them back into the dark place where they were. Consequently, if Lord Black has any intentions…"

"He does not," Andi said. "Nor do the other families as we said before. It's a pity those inquiries were anonymous as I'm sure Lord Black would be more than willing to express his displeasure with the mere suggestion personally and quite possibly in a permanent manner!"

"While this Lord Black is not into such depravity," Cissy added, "he is Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. That house has always played for keeps and the current Lord is not about to change that policy. One crosses House Black at their peril, even more so now than in recent memory, I should think. He will not think twice about destroying his enemies in a manner from which there can be no recovery."

"Um…," the Healer began.

"On the other hand," Andi said, "for those he favors and those under his protection, you could not ask for a better or more generous Head of Family. He takes such responsibilities seriously." Actually, while Andi did believe that of Sirius, she knew she was speaking of the Family as in many, not one. They took their responsibilities seriously.

"Can we see the girls?" Cissy asked.

"I would like to be there," the Healer replied.

"Understandable. The question remains."

"Um… they've been isolated. Aside from the Ward staff, they've had no other interactions since they were referred to us."

"So they haven't spoken with each other?" Andi asked.

"They have. We initially had them all in the same room. But it proved upsetting for them so we separated them into private rooms. They knew of each other from before, but had never been allowed to speak to each other so … well, they compared notes as it were. We thought they came up with a mass delusion of sorts. We were not informed of the use of the stasis charm so there was no way for us to believe their claims that they were from different times. They believed it, however. I was inclined to, but was overruled by my superiors."

"Why were you inclined to?" Cissy asked.

"Muggle Born," she replied. "I grew up in that culture and am familiar with it, particularly its music and its cinema. That was how they figured something was very off. Their knowledge of contemporary music and cinema led them to the conclusion that either they were all mental or something else had happened and I knew that they did not make that stuff up. My Wizarding raised colleagues cannot believe that music and such changes as rapidly as it does in the Muggle World. Nor can they believe the sheer variety. Then again, with a thousand or more Muggles for each of us it stands to reason there would be a thousand times as many musical groups. There are only five or six on our wireless who are current and one has been 'current' for forty years. It doesn't work that way with Muggles. Groups popular today didn't even exist five years ago and groups popular five years ago may have disbanded or faded in popularity. A wizarding child could neither invent the groups nor when they were popular and for what.

"There are other things as well that cannot be made up. One has only ever seen pictures in the theater or on television. One has seen some on a video cassette machine at a friend's and the other two had such machines in their home. Three have seen an entertainment format known as a music video, one has not. One has seen a home computer, one has used one and the other two have no idea what one is. What these things are is not important. But they are evidence of the passage of time. All of them exist today and none of them existed in 1978. They came into existence or became affordable at different times. So either those girls have very detailed collective imaginations, or they are from different times. They tend to believe that something like time travel has happened. This has disturbed them as you can well imagine."

"Do you think it would help if they knew the truth?" Cissy asked.

"I don't know," Healer Parsons admitted. "I will say to hide the truth from them would hurt them in the end."

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24****th**** 1993**

The Estate was under Time Compression again. It had been the day before for one extra day to placate Oliver Wood's seemingly insatiable desire to practice until the rest of the team dropped and then practice some more. The advantage with the extra day for practice was their team Captain was not booking the school pitch for every possible spare hour during the regular week. Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia were certain that he would have otherwise and while the twins might act as if OWLs were not all that important, the two Chasers wanted to do well and that meant they did not want to spend six, eight or ten hours a week on the Pitch. The extra day kept such tensions to a minimum, although there was talk about locking Wood in a dungeon and losing the key.

The Sunday Time Compression was to allow the Bell's to visit the Estate. Katie's brother was not among the visitors, but her younger sister was. Fortunately, the Greengrass family was again visiting as the youngest Bell was between Jenna and Cynthia Greengrass in age. The visit was another week long. With Harry's mother's due date moving up quickly, there was now a "Healer In Residence" during Time Compression. Yesterday it had been Madam Pomfrey and today it was Andi Tonks who was also here to talk about her sister and "the poor Muggle Girls."

Harry was in his study. Another advantage of at least the occasional extra week of time was he could sit down and attempt to manage his House Affairs. What he really did was sift through it all and come up with some ideas and then sit down with his parents and Sirius and sometimes Neville and talk it over. True, they were no more experienced in heading and Ancient and Noble House than he was, but he Sirius and Neville were Heads and his Dad was becoming his chief advisor about such things – at least when he wasn't asking for advice from his wives. Still, he thought, where there was time having many opinions and ideas to consider was better than just doing something and hoping it was for the best.

"Have you seen the most recent offer from the Goblins?" he asked the group gathered in his Study. This group consisted of his parents and his wives although he was asking his Dad.

"Looked it over," he said. "They've come up a bit."

Harry nodded. "I'm thinking of taking that offer."

"They might come up some more."

"Not much, I should think. There's not much more I can drop down either. We're close enough now."

"They've still refused to offer what we know has been offered for some of the stuff in the past."

"That's one way to look at it," Harry agreed. "They think they're getting it for a steal with this offer. The truth is, the joke's on them, isn't it?"

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"They offered me a million sight unseen for the lot," Harry said. "I countered as the Flamels suggested bargaining on price for the bits by weight and volume – area for the skins. They probably saw me as trying to get more for less, meaning they think there's less of a basilisk than I said there was, but it's actually bigger than I said. So, they try to keep it under what I might get selling to wizards, thinking that way they can both avoid paying me a million and make a killing. But their first counter-proposal was for over a million when you add all the bits up. They're still getting it under market, but they're gonna be in for a shock when they see just how much they thought they under bid on."

"So what are the numbers?" James asked.

"Added all up, their initial offer would've totaled about one and a half million. We countered back and forth since that week and their current offer stands at … let's see … around 6,423,000. Market value is only about a two million more. But that assumes the price doesn't drop and I'm told if we dumped this stuff on the market, the price would plummet. I'd be lucky to get a million for it. This offer is firm, I think."

"Looks that way to me," James said.

"Which means they're stuck with it and have to pay what they agreed to, right?"

"Again, that's what it looks like."

"Not that I need the money, but is there a point trying to get more? Justin, Collin and Clearwater are due to get about 400,000 and Ron is over one point two million. Seems to me more is silly."

"My brother's getting that much?" Ginny said. "Does he know?"

"Wasn't going to tell him how much," Harry said. "He knows it's over 450,000, but not how much over. That's enough information to keep your parents and the Bells from raising too much of a fuss about their bonding so young."

"When are you going to tell him, or the others for that matter?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, I was thinking of waiting until the final disbursement," Harry said. "Can you imagine the look on Ron's face when the Goblins show him he has that much in his new vault? True, he can only access nine percent of it this first year and only the interest earned on what's left 'til he's older; but nine percent is more than I had to start with when I left school for this past summer."

"He'll probably pass out," Ginny chuckled.

"And what do you have now?" Hermione asked. "You've spent a small fortune, you know."

"True," Harry chuckled. "But I've made a small fortune too, not including that snake. My balance stands at 254,611 all told, about six thousand more than before I started spending. My spending account is still down about twenty-two thousand, but that still leaves me with 94,575 to spend, not that I'm planning on spending much of anything before Christmas and even then, not that much. By then, however, it now looks like I'll be adding over three million to my Trust Vault with almost 300,000 available for spending. It seems Harry luck with money is almost as odd as with life. I can't seem to not make money," he added with a chuckle.

"Or spend it fast enough," Daphne said. "Not that I can see much to spend it on that we don't already have."

"What do you intend to do with it?" his mother asked.

"Honestly? I haven't thought that far ahead," Harry admitted. "Didn't make sense to think of that until I knew how much or how little there was to think about. I have some ideas, of course, but nothing certain."

"And your ideas?"

"Aside from support my family, you mean? Trunks."

"Trunks?"

Harry nodded. "You know Sirius got one of these, right?"

His parents nodded.

"You also know we've connected the Potter Estate to the Longbottom one just as we connected all our trunks into one Estate. House Longbottom is along our north property line. We can now drive from here to there rather than use the floo connections or such. Well, Sirius asked and I agreed that he will also connect into the Estate. His place will connect in along the east boundary of Gradfather's first trunk and part of the southeast boundary of my new trunk due east of the Manor. Neville will be able to expand his estate to the north, northeast and northwest. Sirius to the east and southeast. Then there's Ron whose also thinking 'bout getting one and with what he'll make he will be able to do so easily even if he has to buy the elves to staff it. I was thinking of his tying in along the east boundary of our northeast trunk and allowing him to expand to the east and northeast. That leaves the west for House Potter to expand. But before that, I was thinking of getting what I call a Common Trunk. After all, there's now a fair few who almost live here like the Grangers, Greengrasses, Mrs. Abbott and the Weasleys; not to mention Neville's Gran and his in-laws. There'll be others too, it seems. So, rather than have the almost constant guests living in guest houses, why not give them their own places? It would be a town in that common trunk, I'm thinking. But that decision can't be mine alone. Neville needs to be in on it (even if I pay for it) and maybe Sirius and Ron as well.

"Another thing I was thinking was to buy up all of the trunks like this out there. Sirius told me there were at least four 'gathering dust' in that trunk shop in Diagon Alley and there's two more in another shop. The builder makes two every three years or so. Aside from Sirius, House Potter and House Longbottom own all those that have been sold so why not the lot of them?"

"I take it there's more to this than just having them all," Hermione observed.

"There is," Harry nodded. "If we have them, no one else will. I'm not trying to be exclusive or something. But while we've had no new memory uncaps, we do know there will be more and more importantly we know that despite what we have done so far, the future's going to get a lot worse before it can get better. Why would we even risk the chance of the bad guys getting their hands on one of these? Can you imagine what Lucius Malfoy might've done with an estate like this? The Aurors would never have found those girls we were told about. I want to take that option away from the bad guys."

"So you plan to buy all of them?" Lily asked.

"If necessary," Harry nodded. "Actually, I know you and Dad have a fair bit in his trust and there's Sirius and Ron and Neville. I may be head of House Potter, but I see no reason why you can't have your own farms or a place like this set aside for my brother or sister. I'm going to ask them to think about it as well as you. No rush. Those trunks don't seem to be going anywhere and I'm not about to mention this to Ron 'til he gets his cut from the basilisk which won't be for a month or so even if I sign off on this offer today."

"Why so long?" Hannah asked.

"It'll take about that long to get all the stuff to the Goblins and make sure they don't lose track of any of it," Harry said.

James laughed. "They're going to love you!"

**A/N: Yes, the potato diet above is not made up (although it would be terribly boring). One might say 20th Century Europe would've been a very, very different place were it not for the humble and bland potato.**


	52. Chapter 52: A New Halloween

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Hopefully, my writer's block is fading into a distant past. No promises, though.

**CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: A NEW HALLOWEEN**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31****st****, 1993**

Another quiet week had passed from the perspective of Harry and those around him. Ron had met the Bells, dreading it beforehand. Fortunately, the Bells knew a little about bonds and far more about Quidditch. While neither of them had played, Mrs. Bell's best friend had been on a team and had told her about Quidditch Partners even though it never came to that. Ron said that Mrs. Bell had thanked him profusely for helping her daughter. Mr. Bell was a bit standoffish at first, but later admitted it was at least in part due to the fact he now would never have the chance to scare off a would be boyfriend. The tension subsided even before Ron could reveal that he would be able to support Katie which made things even easier. Harry still had not told Ron just how much he would be getting.

Ron meeting the Bells the previous Sunday during Time Compression was really about the only drama of the week as far as Harry knew. The newspapers made it clear that the ICW was still dithering over the incident at Gringotts. This meant that the Wizengamot was unwilling to do anything that might be undone directly or indirectly by sanctions. It also meant Dumbledore was out of the country. For Harry and the others, this meant that there was a rat that remained in stasis at the Estate and whatever schemes Dumbledore had to regain control over Harry were still on hold. So from Harry's perspective, nothing much was happening outside of Hogwarts.

Nothing much was happening inside of Hogwarts either. There wasn't a corridor on the Third Floor on the right hand side promising a painful death to inspire curiosity. No one had been petrified. The dementors were long gone. A part of Harry found that Hogwarts without such life threatening things was actually rather dull. Classes were classes. Binns was just as boring as ever and Snape just as snarky and arbitrary. Harry thought his electives were absolutely brilliant, but it meant more homework which was one of the reasons he had extended his weeks. For the rest of the school, they had to get it all done in seven days. For House Longbottom, Potter and the Weasleys (less Percy), they had fifteen days so none of them was terribly worried about the number of assignments, not even Ron.

Ron had dropped Divination and was now taking Runes and Arithmancy meaning he now had the same courses as Harry, Hermione and Neville and at least a few of the other Third Year wives. It was obvious from the first class that Ron had made the right decision at least when it came to Arithmancy. All though he was still Ron Weasley, meaning he was slightly more enthusiastic about being called on in class as he was about walking into a dell filled with huge spiders, when he was called on in that class it was clear even to a grudgingly impressed Hermione that he understood the material better than most. Runes was harder for him, but he wasn't complaining about the work as he could see how "cool" they would be in time. If one wanted to hear complaints about school work from Ron, they were pretty much limited to History and Potions. Then again, there were few who did not complain about those classes.

Defense classes were infinitely better and harder than they had been before. It struck the Third Years (and upper years as well) that their new Professor actually knew what he was doing. This was a good thing. But Professor Lupin also seemed to be trying to get all Fifth Years and below caught up to where they should have been had they had competent Defense instruction before he arrived which meant more work for everyone. Still, his classes were only slightly less talked about than Hagrid's and almost everyone liked Hagrid's classes.

The real "drama" of the week was the further unraveling of the aura that had followed young Draco Malfoy into the school a little over two years earlier. The news that his father was now sitting in Azkaban and would remain there for the rest of his life had knocked the pompous boy off his supposedly secure pedestal in Slytherin House. But two articles in the Daily Prophet the prior Wednesday had destroyed whatever respect for his family that had survived. After all, for some students a former Death Eater doing life for murdering "undesireables" was still a badge of honor. But the article disabused any notions that the former Death Eater was still fighting for "the Cause."

The first article was more relevant to Harry and his friends. It stated that House Malfoy had been planning to bring suit against Hogwarts for an "attack" on its heir by a Hippogriff during a class at Hogwarts. House Malfoy was seeking the head of the "deranged creature" literally and was further planning to sue the school and Board of Governors over the incident. With Malfoy Senior now locked away in prison, the suit would go nowhere. Apparently, the mother had refused to continue it and the lawyers had quit when their bills went unpaid. It made the "aggrieved party" a laughing stock at school as his bad acting had gained him nothing at all. It also saw him suspended from the Slytherin Quidditch Team for all of a day before his Head of House intervened on his behalf. Of course it did help Draco a little that there really was not a better option at Seeker. There were plenty who could play as poorly as he had, but not one who was truly an improvement.

The second article was clearly more relevant to Draco and Slytherin. The arrest of Draco's father had led to several more arrests, some related to the murders for which Lucius Malfoy now occupied a cell in Azkaban and others related to the business interests that led to those murders. Fifteen wizards had been arrested in the past couple of days for being part of a drug ring. All of them fingered Lucius Malfoy as a key player in the ring and DMLE had not revealed his arrest was for murders related to that vile business and refused to comment as it was an ongoing investigation. The article reported about the raid on the Malfoy home and suggested that piles of illegal drugs had been found within mainly because DMLE had not openly denied the speculation preferring to stand on "No comment." There was no doubt in the paper's opinion that Lucius Malfoy was the leading figure in what was clearly the largest illegal drug supplied in magical Britain. But, as no one official had confirmed the story, it read as the same rumor mongering drivel most came to expect from that paper and most enjoyed for the entertainment, but never truly believed.

Information had leaked out, however, and whether that was intentional or not was anyone's guess. DMLE was said to be certain Malfoy's trade was not limited to witches and wizards. His drug enterprise might well be the largest in Muggle Britain as well, if not all of Europe. The raid had found "hundreds if not thousands of pounds" of cocaine and heroin as well as "tons" of cannabis. There was also a huge supply of LSD and Bufotenine which was made from the toxins found in poisonous toads and was also a known potions ingredient. Most of the drugs came from overseas specifically Asia and the Americas which meant there was more to this operation than a few former Death Eaters.

The article speculated as to why Malfoy would dirty his hands with such filth. The sale of Muggle drugs to witches or wizards was on par with using Unforgivable. All fifteen of those caught could expect to spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban unless they had something to offer to get a deal. The article went on to explain that Malfoy would be no better off if he was a Muggle as the scale of his operations pretty much meant he was looking at a life sentence. What would possess seemingly reputable men to engage in such vile business? The paper noted that Malfoy was a Death Eater who claimed he had been under the Imperius Curse the whole time. Unnamed sources said to be with DMLE revealed that Malfoy had been that organization's "money man," whose job was to get money by any means necessary. He had been known to "shakedown" otherwise law abiding citizens by of means threatening their families with untold horrors unless a suitable payment was made. But the paper opined that had not been enough for the insatiable organization. Malfoy had spent a considerable amount of his own fortune to fund the Death Eaters and may have turned to the sale of drugs to refill his vaults and fund the organization. Afterwards, he kept at it because "it paid better than honest work."

Draco had capitalized on his father's stature in society whether real or perceived to raise his own within the school. Without his father and his father's name, he had little to distinguish himself from his peers. With it, he was powerful at least within Slytherin. It had helped that his father was a known and feared Death Eater during the War. But this news destroyed whatever stature being the son of Lucius Malfoy may have had. The son of a drug dealer was lower in the eyes of his peers than being the son of a Muggle. Nothing could erase the stain of what his father had done.

Draco's fall from the heights was largely unnoticed outside of his House. Harry and the others noticed that he was no longer the brash, cocky and insulting little snot that he had been; but aside from that his misery went both unnoticed and unremarked upon. It was as if he ceased to exist. Then again, Draco only existed when he was being a git and now he knew he could not get away with that as easily as before.

Harry and the others who considered the Farms as their home were aware of one more crime on the ledger of House Malfoy. The Daily Prophet had not written a word on the four Muggle girls found imprisoned in the basement. Harry and Neville and their wives knew of them because they were told about them and asked to extend House Protection over them. But they knew little more than that. Sirius was acting as their guardian, so even though he had yet to visit them, he received reports from Andi and Cissy.

The former Madam Malfoy was another change that was not known to Harry and the others aside from Hermione. Hermione had not told them mainly because it had never come up but also because she did not want the families to be the source of this news before it came from somewhere else. She was pretty certain this was information beyond her abilities with the Fidelius Charm. For now that was House Black business so there really was no need to let them know about that. Harry and the others were not the only ones unaware of the annulment. That too had not made the paper nor had that information been passed to any of the faculty or Draco Malfoy. So, as they were unaware of much that had flowed out of the trial of Sirius Black, it was only the topic of Draco's father that occupied conversations leading into the weekend and the scheduled Time Compressions.

The Sunday Time Compression would be another week. With the Estate gaining thirty-six hours of charge for every day Time Compression was not activated, the Trunks gained forty-eight hours of charge a week despite the eight extra days under time compression. Now that the Basilisk had been dealt with, Harry had signed the contract with the Goblins agreeing on the price for the various bits, and the processed materials were being delivered to Gringotts; Peter "Spidey" Parker and Amanda "Mandy" Crosby (the Flamels) were able to join the growing numbers who spent their Sunday's on the Farms. It helped that two of their classmates (Astoria Greengrass and Anna Fitzhugh) were also regular attendees as they did not wish to draw undue attention to themselves. House Potter and Longbottom were looking forward to spending time with their families, getting or keeping ahead of their classes and resuming training with the Flamels.

It was mid morning on Sunday and Time Compression had just activated. Harry and "his girls" were out on the veranda of the Manor which looked out on the vast back lawn and gardens where he had taught Hermione to fly a broom the previous summer. It was autumn both Outside and in most of the Estate, but the veranda and lawn were part of the Summer Gardens which were a tropical environment year round. As such, his girls could "not wear" what they wanted when they were alone with him. It was too chilly to do so elsewhere on the Estate.

"What're you reading Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry really was not reading at all. He held the Sunday edition of the Daily Prophet and had been staring at the date and pondering it. The truth was he had skimmed the paper and there was nothing of interest really.

"Nothing," Harry said.

"Don't be silly," Luna said. "Then again, that is the Daily Prophet which on a good day is not much. Most of the time it is 'nothing.' Or are you saying you're not reading it?"

"Um … sorry. I was just thinking about the date."

"It's Halloween," Daphne noted. "Or at least it is Outside."

"Oh I do hope there's pudding at the Feast when we get back," Luna said.

"There's always pudding," Hannah said.

"Is there? I know there was last year. I assume you're saying there was the year before. But always?"

"I'm sure there'll be pudding, Luna, even if there hasn't always been pudding," Daphne said.

"That's good," Luna sighed. "What's life without pudding? Is that why you're so quiet, Harry?"

"Hmmm?" Harry sounded distracted.

"The pudding at the Feast, Harry."

"No Luna," Harry said. "I just haven't decided what day this is."

"Now that's silly," Luna said. "It's Sunday, October 31st, 1993 and it's Halloween too."

Harry nodded. "Outside it is. But I'm hoping Inside time rules 'cause to you, Hermione and me it's more like March 18th, 1994. Daphne, Hannah and Ginny have not had as much Time Compression as the three of us, you see."

"You figured that out?" Hannah asked.

"Did the maths after my last Quidditch Practice," Harry said. "Well, actually I went to the Control Room and let the system figure it out."

"Why?" everyone but Hermione asked.

"Halloween's never been a good day for me," Harry said. "It was the day I lost my parents, for one. Then it was the night First Year when the Troll got in and almost killed Hermione. Then last year…"

"You missed the feast last year," Hannah said. "I remember that."

"Nearly Headless Nick invited me to his Death Day party," Harry said. "I thought it couldn't be worse for me than Halloween usually was. I haven't decided if I was right."

"Death Day?" Daphne asked.

"Don't know if all ghosts or even most celebrate it or whatever," Harry said. "I'm pretty sure Myrtle doesn't – her own that is. She was there for Nick's at least until someone hurt her feelings. Anyway, it's the anniversary of the day they died."

"That sounds … odd," Daphne said.

"It was," Harry agreed. "Most all the ghosts Nick knew were there including a fair few who don't haunt the school normally. They had food – after a fashion…"

"But ghosts don't eat," Hannah said.

"No," Hermione agreed. "But I dare say most want to. Ron and I were there too. I think Ron was a little put off by the 'food.' It was food once, but apparently the ghosts prefer it to be almost as long gone as they are."

"It was all rotten," Harry chuckled. "Smelled terrible, and no I have no idea what it tasted like. Anyway, Nick's idea was we'd be his special guests. He's been wanting to join something called The Headless Hunt for ages. Don't ask me what that is 'cept you need to be a ghost and apparently you needed to be properly beheaded to join."

"Hence Nick's problem," Hermione snorted. "The headsman botched his beheading."

"His head's more unhinged than off," Ginny giggled. "It's funny once you get over the shock of it."

"Anyway," Harry went on, "Nick hoped we could convince the head of the hunt or whatever that he was properly scary and should be allowed to join. Didn't work. They seem to be rather insistent on having loose heads to knock about."

"Now that's a disturbing image," Hannah said.

Harry shrugged. "They're dead. Must be pretty boring, you know?"

"Well, dealing with Trolls for afters does strike me as a bad night," Daphne said, "but the ghost's party? You did have a choice, you know?"

"Ah… well, the bad bit came later after Hermione, Ron and I left to find some real food. We came across Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris…"

"That thing's a menace," Ginny began.

"And it gives decent cats like our own a bad name!" Hannah protested.

"Still, running into that thing is hardly something that would be memorable," Daphne pondered. "I mean, if you're the type to engage in behaviors Filch – and therefore his cat – find … interesting … well, it's hardly extraordinary that the cat found you out, is it?"

"Ah… well the cat wasn't as … annoying as it usually is considering…," Harry drawled.

"It was petrified," Hermione finished.

"I was possessed," Ginny began protesting.

"Now Ginny," Luna said calmingly, "are you going to say you would never have petrified Mrs. Norris even if you knew how to do it with a wand and not a basilisk?"

"Um … okay, you have a point," Ginny sighed. "Mrs. Norris getting petrified did not really bother me at all at the time. I'd heard all kinds of things 'bout her from Ron and the twins and anyone at the school might've done it given the means. I didn't see it as a connection between what was happening to me at all until much later. Fred and George even thanked me for an almost Mrs. Norris free year last year when they found out I was behind the petrifications."

"It did make sneaking around late at night easier," Harry agreed. "But what made that a bad night was Filch blamed me for it and it seemed like a fair few in the school agreed. Fred and George later said _if _I had managed it on purpose, they wanted me to show them how to do it again; although I think they were joking a bit."

"When was that?" Hermione asked.

"'Round about the same time they started announcing my arrivals throughout the school: Make way for the Heir of Slytherin!" Harry imitated. "Seriously evil wizard coming through! Will petrify you as soon as look at you; assuming he's in a _good_ mood that is." The girls laughed.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Luna said.

"I suppose," Harry sighed. "In hindsight, shoving my wand up a troll's nose was kinda funny too. At the time, however…"

"So you haven't had much luck with Halloween," Daphne said. "Is that way you did the maths? To prove to yourself that it's not really October 31st?"

"Um, no," Harry replied. "Actually, I did the numbers before realizing it meant today is not today really."

"Then why did you do the numbers?" Hermione asked.

"Um … well, we've been here a while, right?"

The girls nodded.

"Well, I wanted to figure out how long, you see. Luna pointed it out to me a couple weeks ago or so and I wondered … well, this time counts and doesn't count, you know?"

"We may have an idea," Hermione said, "but what do you mean?"

"Well, it doesn't count in some ways," Harry said. "I mean your monthlies, for example. They happen on Outside Time, right? We don't get older any faster either if we're otherwise magically stable. But then there's my Mum, you know? She was 'bout two months pregnant when we found her and Dad. That was three months ago Outside and now she's due any day now so Inside Time also counts. And there's no denying we've experienced far more days than the people Outside. It's why we're ahead in all our classes given that we've had extra days to do our homework and stuff so it counts for that as well. So I think it should count – or be counted – in other ways given there's a load of us living on the Estates now."

"The seasons are the same regardless," Luna observed. "It was summer here for a long time and now it's fall in here yet you say it's really March? That's Spring Outside."

"Um…well, that's a feature of the Trunks. I can tie Inside seasons to the Outside ones which is how it's working now. Neville's place has always been that way, but he and his Gran almost never used Time Compression before this summer. If you rarely use it, there's not a huge difference in the odd day here and there. Aside from our first few weeks here, I really hadn't thought of using it all that much either but it hasn't worked out that way, not that I'm complaining. So the plan is to continue as we have been recently and before you say it that's not a problem. The last three weeks or so I've used eight days Time Compression per week. My recharge rate is fifty-seven hours more than that so each Saturday we've been sitting on a full charge of 1440 hours. That gives us more time to plan and train, once the Flamels figure out what to teach us beyond Occlumency. Given our use of the Time Compression, I've been thinking of disconnecting the Trunk seasons from Outside seasons. That means if it's March Inside, it won't matter what month it is Outside."

"Might be a little odd if it's winter inside and summer outside," Hannah commented.

"It'll still be summer in the tropical gardens," Ginny said. "They are tropical after all."

"So, you have that sorted," Daphne said. "I'm not complaining. We get to see our parents and families all the time and I like that."

Hermione snorted. "Mum likes it too. Dad's been commenting that if we keep this up he'll be a Gentleman Dentist, what with working only one day in three not counting Holidays. I really didn't get that."

"I'm a Gentleman Farmer," Harry said. "I own a farm, I oversee it to some extent, but you don't see me hoeing the fields or stacking the hay…"

"You have done a little," Ginny commented.

"'Cause I wanted to, not 'cause if I don't it won't get done. But I think the term means I'm a farmer who sits back 'cause I can as I have others who keep it running. Hermione's Dad's term suggests he's sort of part time, I guess. But this is beside the point. I'm thinking 'bout doing something about this time thing."

"Such as what?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"Well, on the one hand I'm not suggesting we observe Outside holidays just 'cause it's the same calendar day Inside. Christmas is only Christmas Outside. But days that are unique to us – those who live here – that's different. So I calculated our birthdays…"

"Calculated?" Hermione asked. "Isn't it just whatever day is our birthday inside? Shouldn't yours still be July 31st and mine September 19th?"

"For those two examples, you're right Hermione. Luna's is also on September 3rd Inside as well as Outside. But the three of us are the only ones here who are so easy to figure."

"Okay," Daphne drawled, "this requires an explanation."

"A birthday is an anniversary, right?" Harry replied. "It's supposed to mark a full year of experiences since the last one. Well, time Inside is different than time Outside. Since I've gotten the trunks, I've had a hundred and forty more days of experiences than those who've never been here. Hermione and Luna have the same amount of time here so that's why our birthdays are the same on the Inside calendar as on the outside although in reality the two days don't line up. For example, I turned thirteen Inside on July 31st when outside it was June 26th, the day after Ginny joined us."

"None of us noticed," Hermione said sounding contrite.

"Nope," Harry said. "We weren't thinking 'bout such things, were we? We had a lot more on our minds at the time so we didn't notice that bit, or that we've also missed everyone else's Inside birthday except Hannah's. Hers will be on May 20th Inside which, if we stick with our recent schedule will fall during time compression on November 28th Outside time."

"But my birthday's April 15th!" Hannah disagreed.

"Outside. Inside, taking into account the added time from time compression and the fact that the Insider calendar I'm talking about did not begin to depart from Outside time until our first use of time compression and factoring in that you missed twenty-eight of those days as they occurred before we were married and you joined us, your Inside birthday shifted to a new date. Ginny's is now September 15th and Daphne's is December 3rd Inside time. What that is in Outside time, I can't say. It all depends on our use of Time Compression."

"So, you missed our Inside birthdays as you call them?" Daphne seemed to growl at Harry. Then she smiled brightly. "Guess we can give you a pass on that seeing that you didn't miss any in Outside time yet. That and none of us knew there was one to miss. You haven't forgotten mine, have you?"

"Unless you've done some time magic I don't know about, yours is still November 12th or a week from Friday Outside, right? And before you ask, I did get you something and no I'm not telling you what or where it is."

"You're no fun," Daphne said with a false pout.

"Well it wouldn't be a surprise if you knew, would it?"

"Why did you ponder all of this?" Luna asked. "It seems somewhat amusing, but trivial in a way too given what we're to face, don't you think?"

"Good point," Hermione agreed. "I mean if you've got nothing better to do than reinvent the calendar, perhaps this time compression thing's too much as you seem to have too much time on your hands."

"But it was thoughtful," Hannah countered.

"Don't get me wrong," Harry complained. "It's not like I've been sitting around just thinking about this. Not at all. I only did this yesterday afternoon after Quidditch when you lot were all out and about and Ginny was still in her bath."

"Practice was even more grueling than usual," Ginny huffed. "Our next match isn't 'til February but you'd think it's tomorrow and we're nowhere near ready the way Wood was going on about it. I swear he won't be satisfied until all us girls are bonded to teammates after a bout of Disconnect!"

"I hope you're not serious," Hermione said.

"No. It is a bit of an exaggeration," Ginny said. "Besides, although Harry's my Quidditch Partner, according to Madam Pomfrey I'm not at risk for Disconnect 'cause of the bond that already exists between us 'cause of his claiming the Life Debt and binding me as his concubine. It's not like yours or Luna's, but it's enough. Ron got very lucky – and I don't mean that the way you think. I think Katie's a real good match for him. We were told what happened between them was really rare so I doubt if Wood could do it even if he wanted to and I'm sure Angelina and Alicia would make him wish he never heard of Quidditch if he tried. My point was Wood's practices are almost harder than the game. But that's beside the point. It has nothing to do with the calendar thing and I think it's odd, Harry, that you should dwell on something so … not important in the big scheme of things."

"It came to me a few days ago," Harry began.

"I do hope this isn't a dream thing," Daphne said. "Divination's rubbish, you know."

"No, nothing like that. I was thinking of my Mum. Well her and my brother or sister who'll be here anytime now. That's … weird. Well, anyway, so I was thinking and Mum and Dad said they're going to have the kid up at the cottage. All this time I thought babies came from hospitals," Harry quipped.

"When I was really little, Mum said they came from the lettuce patch," Ginny said. "I used to run out and look now and again 'cause I figured I had to surprise it or it wouldn't be there and I didn't want to always be the youngest. All I ever found were Garden Gnomes. And no, even at that age I knew the difference."

"I thought it was a cabbage patch," Hermione said, "or is lettuce a magical thing?"

"Um … well, it wouldn't make sense to say a cabbage patch when there was never one at the Burrow, I should think. Aside from Ron, none of my brothers'll eat the stuff," Ginny explained. "Then again, Ron's not a good example in that way."

"Guess that makes sense," Daphne nodded. "I knew where they came from 'cause Mum was always having another it seemed. She didn't tell me about how they came about 'til I was eleven and she caught me … you know."

"My Mum told me I came from her tummy when it was time for me to be there," Luna said. "For a time, I wondered if my tummy rumbles were babies. I was very young then."

"Anyway," Harry interrupted, "so my Mum's going to have the kid up at the cottage. She told me that's where I was born. So I began thinking about that and somehow Time Compression got into the mix. The kid's going to age based upon the days Inside, not Outside until it's magically stable which won't be 'til it's about five or so after that it grows and ages on Outside time. But when would that be? And don't say in five years. What I mean is when would that be in Outside time? When is its real birthday? That got me to thinking about birthdays and Inside and Outside time and how we're using time compression more than I thought we would. And then I realized we need to use it more than we have. I know from what little has been revealed from that other future that I'll have to face Voldemort and know it will be much sooner than it should be ideally. I doubt I was prepared at all last time. Given what we've seen at school, how could I have been? I can't just hope that it'll all sort out in the end, can I? That means I need time to prepare and time is not on my side – outside of the Estates. But in here? Well, that means my brother or sister's gonna grow up quick if you only see them Outside so I came up with the Calendar to keep track of such things and set to plotting birthdays Inside and such and then… October 31st!"

"Okay," Hannah said, "it was making sense. But you lost me with October 31st." The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's my Mum's birthday although I don't think she knows it is."

"How can she not know when her birthday is?" Ginny asked.

"And it's October 31st Outside, Harry," Hermione added. "You said it was March something Inside!"

"I said before a birthday is an anniversary," Harry said. "It happens three hundred and sixty-five days after the last one. Now that's what I hoped to continue, mainly for my brother or sister. He or she could well have lived close to two years or seven hundred and thirty days by the time the Outside first birthday rolls around. And what makes us any different? True, we don't age on Inside time at all; but we still experience the days so why shouldn't we also mark the events? So, this calendar is simply a reflection of the days that have passed since I first activated time compression and my days deviated from Outside time. As I said, Luna and Hermione were here for that bit. Neville's trunks have the ability, but he and his Gran never used it or saw any need to. When we visited House Longbottom back in August (Outside Time), it was the first time for them. The different birthdays are so that they correspond to the passage of one year since the person's last Outside birthday. To get it I had to take into account that person's degree of time displacement in the trunks which means you date changes for the days of time compression you missed. There've been a hundred and forty such days as of this morning, but most residents have had less than that. So, I take the number of time compression days they fell short of the total and counted forward from the date of their last Outside birthday to arrive at their first Inside birthday. I'm assuming the residents will miss few of the future compression periods."

"And who do you count as residents?" Hermione asked.

"Um… well, so far I only figured on us, Neville and his girls, my parents and Sirius as they live here all the time…"

"Um, you may want to rethink that," Daphne said. "My family's been here most such days. They only missed the days before you had them over after we married, when we were in France and that two weeks when Sirius first arrived. They practically live here."

"Same here," Hannah nodded.

"My parents haven't missed a day since you first let them come," Ginny added.

"It's your own fault, you know," Hermione chuckled. "You have horses for my Mum and golf courses without fees or waiting lists for my Dad and skiing in the mountains once it snows for both of them. The lot of them practically live here now."

"And now there's Ron, Katie, Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia…"

"I get the picture," Harry moaned. "But we're off point again. The adjusted birthdates take into account time displacement. So, I did the figures for us and such and then my parents. Then with my parents, I realized I made a huge mistake."

"The stasis spell!" Hermione gasped.

"Exactly!"

"Um … I don't get it," Ginny said.

"They went into stasis October 31st and came out on July 31st!" Hermione explained excitedly.

"Okay. I got that bit, but it was years later."

"For them, no time had passed at all! Well, a little as it did take them hours to get over their spell. But it was if they went to sleep October 31st and woke up the next day but instead of it being November 1st it was July 31st."

"My problem," Harry agreed. "They had the additional time displacement that saw to it they did not experience the time we did except whereas my figures before were dealing with the displacements between Inside and Outside time – which applies to them as well for their Inside birthdays and such – they also had a similar displacement entirely in Outside time; one which left them aged twenty-one for a dozen years. I had to adjust their Outside birthdates so that they would turn twenty-two after they had experienced twenty-two years of Outside time without that stasis stuff. So I had to adjust their birthdays to take into account the gap from when they entered stasis – October 31st – and when they recovered several hours later for them which should've been November 1st but was actually July 31st and when you do the maths, that means my Mum's adjusted Outside birthday is now October 31st instead of January 30th. Dad's is now December 26th. With their adjusted Outside birthday's I could then calculate their Inside birthdays and we missed their Inside twenty-second ones as well: December 20th for my Mum and February 14th for my Dad."

"So that's why you were thinking about Halloween?" Ginny asked. "'Cause it's now your Mum's birthday?"

"As I said, it had never been a favorite day for me before. Now, not only is it not the day my parents died – I just lost them for a bit – it's also my Mum's birthday so I should … well …"

"Forget about the past?" Hannah offered.

"Not dwell on it, more like," Harry said.

"Gramy and Grampy always said there are lessons to be learned from the past," Luna mused, "but you should not dwell on it for it can't be changed. They make more sense now, considering how long they really have lived."

"Have you told anyone but us about this?" Hermione asked.

"Told?" Harry replied, "No. I sent my Mum a card – I got a bunch of them during our Hogsmeade visit just in case, you know – and told the elves to deliver all sorts of flowers today. I explained why in a letter and said we'd be by later today. I think Hedwig was looking forward to an excuse…"

"I haven't seen much of her," Hermione mused. "Where's she been?"

"An excuse for what?" Hannah added.

Harry chuckled. "Very busy. I've never seen her happier really. Then again, I think she fancies herself as the world's best Post Owl and I haven't given her many opportunities to prove it until recently. It wasn't like I sent loads of post before and the only work she really got was delivering letters for Hermione. But ever since we got back from France she's been here and there with the mails. We had the business with my parents and Sirius to deal with so they could go to Gringotts. Then there was the 'formal' meeting with House Longbottom to arrange. After that there were a lot of posts preparing for Sirius's trial and other legal stuff with Mr. Tonks. She had a short break and then it was all the back and forth to Gringotts about the basilisk. As for what I think she's been looking forward to? Albert the Younger said the Valley's 'overflowing' with rabbits and squirrels, although I think he was exaggerating. There are fox there, you know. Still, I think Hedwig knows that and was looking forward to a good, long hunt in the woods up there."

There was a slight "pop" as Dobby appeared standing before Harry. Dobby was dressed in a black jacket with the Potter crest over the left breast. He had a white, collared shirt and tie and grey trousers which were in the Elf Fashion. Elves did not wear shoes. In the winter if they were to work outside they wore some kind of boots, but otherwise they were generally barefooted. Elf trousers were cut off about mid way between the knee and ankle and in Dobby's case he wore a pair of socks, neither of which matched. It was his own affectation which Harry had not seen any other Elf emulate. The "Dobby Socks" were a badge of honor and respect for it was with a single sock that Harry had broken the bond between Dobby and House Malfoy.

"Great Harry Potter, Sir!" Dobby said bowing. "Dobby bes apologizing for being interruptings Harry Potter Sirs alone times with his Ladies, buts Lord Black bes in the Entry. Lord Black bes knowings that Harry Potter Sir not being receiving guests yet, but Lord Black bes sayings he needings to see Harry Potter Sir on something being urgent, Sir."

"Isn't our portal connection off line?" Harry asked.

"It being not usable, yes Harry Potter Sir. Manor not beings open for guests to bes comings and goings as they pleases."

"How'd he get here then?"

"Motor car, Sir."

"Must be important if he came by car considering…," Harry said to his ladies and earned a laugh in reply.

Sirius Black had the dubious distinction of having been involved in the first and so far only motor vehicle accident in the history of the Estates. It had happened before the school year had begun and aside from "bending" one of the Estate vehicles and damaging a hedge along one of the country roads, it had not been terribly serious. The only injury had been to Sirius's pride. He had "borrowed" one of the vehicles and figured he could drive as well as any of the others forgetting that the others were either Elves or the Grangers, Tonks and Mr. Greengrass; all of whom had been driving for years and James and Lily Potter who also drove. Sirius drove a little too fast for the turn and had his accident. His excuse was he was certain he was not going too fast because he could have easily have made the turn at that speed on his motorcycle. He had been barred from driving any estate vehicles ever since. The car could be repaired. The hedge had to be replanted. But Harry told Sirius that they were not working to clear his name just so he could wind up dead on the road. Sirius had avoided the Estate vehicles ever since in protest to his "severe treatment at the hands of the so called authorities" and stuck with a broom or the internal portal system; unless of course one of the other adults offered to give him a ride to a golf course. Sirius had yet to decide whether he would bring his motorcycle to the Estates. It turned out that the bike was not something that could be easily moved in and out; it had to be taken apart Outside and reassembled Inside which meant that the reverse had to happen for him to use Outside again.

"I guess you should see what compelled him to submit to allowing one of the Eves to chauffeur him around," Hermione said with a laugh.

"Which means we should have our Elves pop us up to our rooms in case we need to be presentable," Daphne added.

"I certainly don't want to see him now," Hannah agreed.

"Oh pooh!" Luna huffed. "It was supposed to be a green card day."

"Well," Harry said, "we'll see if that's even necessary. There's no need for me to bring him out here that I can think of and if there is, I can have the Elves help you sort out your attire. I see no need for you lot to do anything but relax and no need for Sirius to do more than imagine what it is you choose not to wear when it's just us together. Enjoy the sun." With that Harry turned and entered the Manor. After a walk through the Great Hall and passed the now animated portraits of his ancestors, Harry entered the Entry Hall and saw Sirius standing near the large front door which was open. Sirius looked upset.

"Your portal's out," Sirius said irritated.

"It usually is at this time," Harry said trying to ignore the irritation. He reminded himself that this was his home.

"I got to the Terminal and had to hire a car," Sirius continued.

The "Terminal" was relatively new. That was a change that had become an idea during the trial and a reality following the joining of the Potter and Lonbottom Estates. The prior arrangement had been far too confusing for everyone. Before, every place had a series of doors that were portals that led to every other place on the Estate with similar portals. The front wall of the Entry Hall had become a line of doors: one to the main trunk, four to the access trunks currently in use by his girls' families, one additional access trunk that allowed Ginny to get from her dorm to the Estate and then there were twenty others that were portals to other places on the Estate. To include similar access with House Longbottom would make the ridiculous even worse. Now, there were only two doors on the wall other than the front door: one was the main trunk access and the other was a portal to the Terminal. The Terminal was a new building on the Square in the Elf Village. All the Access Trunks now were connected to their own doors in one large room in the Terminal. Another large room had portal doors to other locations on the Potter Estate: the Manor, Farm House, his parents' cottage in the Valley, the four guest inns and the Island resort, six clubhouses for the nine golf courses, a boathouse on the Great Lake, the three separate riding stables, two ski facilities in the Valley and the Quidditch Pitch. A third room currently held only one portal that led to a similar terminal for House Longbottom. The three rooms opened onto a large lobby that exited onto the Square outside. It was a lot less confusing. The new Terminal also had the advantage of keeping his Manor from resembling Platform 9¾ at times.

There were some like Sirius who had wondered why Harry did not have an internal floo system. The truth was while he would use one if he had to, he hated them. The portals were cleaner (one invariably wound up covered with ash and soot traveling by floo, they were chimneys after all) and less disorienting (for whatever reason, one spun like a top in the floo and in Harry's case arrived dizzy, disoriented and often flat on his back or face). With the portal one just stepped through the door from one place to the other. The others ways to travel about were by broom, bicycle, on foot or by car. None of which were nearly as fast given the distances now involved. A drive from the Manor to his parents' cottage would take over an hour. The Numbus 2001's could cover the distance in about a half an hour.

For whatever reason, Sirius had needed to see Harry. He had taken the portal probably from the Mountain Lodge where he and his wife currently lived to the Terminal and had found that the portal to the Manor was closed. This would have been obvious as the door would be closed and locked. He had obviously found an Elf and asked for a ride, hence the term "hire a car."

"Getting around's not too bad," Sirius said calming down a little, "but communicating in a pinch needs work."

"Oh?" Harry replied.

"Wouldn't have come all this way if you had floo calls," Sirius continued.

"I've never used that and, to be honest, it doesn't excite me. Was thinking of something like a telephone system, but haven't gotten 'round to setting it up. What do you mean by communicating in a pinch?"

"Like in an emergency!"

"There are Elves for that, Sirius," Harry deadpanned.

"I … bugger, why didn't I think of that?"

"And the Patronus Charm can be used here as well, although the girls and I aren't that far along with it."

"I … okay, maybe I got caught up in the moment…"

"What moment?"

"Um… well, James came 'round all out of sorts. Course he was the last time too. So I was off 'cause he was all out of sorts and then you're portal's closed so I had to ask for a car and had to wait and wait while one was brought up to the village and…"

"Why was my Dad all out of sorts?"

"'Cause of your Mum."

"What'd he do this time to get her riled?"

"She's not… Nothing. She's just… She's in… She's having the kid!"

"What?"

"She was due any day," Sirius began.

"My Mum's having the baby?"

Sirius nodded. "There's no need to panic," he said.

"I'm not. It's just a surprise… well, no. She was due any day now. Is the Healer there?"

"Both Madam Pomfrey and Cousin Andi are there. Madam Pomfrey arrived just as I was leaving to come here. Andi was already staying at the Mountain Lodge with Ted and Dora came with Madam Pomfrey."

"What's Dora got to do with this?"

"She's family, Harry. She' my cousin, your cousin, your father's cousin."

"Sorry, I thought she had something to do with Healers the way you said things."

"My fault?"

"I didn't say that…"

"Maybe," Sirius continued ignoring Harry. "Might be I'm … more out of sorts than I should be. Can't say if having to get a ride here helped, but… Course you might be out of sorts too. Then again, to a crazy person everyone else is out of sorts. The looney's the only sane one of the lot."

"Um…yeah. Well, you've done your bit so maybe I'll just activate the portal and you can head back…"

"You're just going to stand there? Your Mum's having a baby!"

"Which you told me."

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?!"

Actually, Harry was not really calm. But even in his heightened emotional state he was nowhere near wherever his Godfather was.

"And just what am I supposed to do now?" Harry asked in a calm tone of voice. "I'll admit I've never been a big brother, but I always thought that role had nothing to do with the birth itself, or did I miss something?"

"Umm…"

"Sirius, right now the Portal to the Terminal is deactivated, right? That means I'm about thirty-four miles from my Mum by broom and about sixty-three by car. I suppose I could fly there in about twenty minutes or so, but my girls can't. Well, Ginny and Daphne probably could, but Luna and Hannah don't like flying that fast and Hermione's never flown anywhere near that far. Neither have I, come to think of it. So that means a car which will take over an hour from the time we leave."

"Then what are you waiting for…?" Sirius began.

"It'll only take me a minute or so to open up the portal connection…"

"Well do it…!"

"But, my ladies will want to make themselves presentable for some reason, although I'm not certain if there is appropriate attire for going to a birth. Although I am certain what they're wearing now is not appropriate. Well … it might be in some foreign cultures, but not here in Britain. And of course I'll be stuck here waiting for them, won't I? Well, _maybe _they'll tell me to go on ahead without them, but I can't act on that, can I? And I can't just leave, you know? You know what's scarier than facing Voldemort, don't you? It's facing a witch who's angry with you and you can't really run and hide. And I've got five to deal with!"

"Oh bugger…," Sirius said.

"What?"

"Um…," Sirius blushed.

"You didn't!"

"What?"

"You haven't told your wife yet, have you?"

"Um…"

"I might only be thirteen, but I think I know that's a mistake."

"I was caught up in the moment," Sirius pled as an excuse. "I… Harry, there're certainly some things I know at least as well if not better than you do. You've faced a form of Voldemort twice, which is twice more than I have. But I have stood in the line and gone toe to toe with the worst of them in a situation any sane person would avoid and came out almost none the worse for wear and I can't say that about the blokes on the other end of my wand. But you do have more experience at this husband bit than I do."

"Not much more," Harry admitted.

"But you thought of them first and I didn't."

"That's 'cause I know they're all smarter than me and scary when riled."

"Connie's gonna kill me."

"I'll open the portal. You go back and throw yourself at her mercy. If you're very lucky, she might not have noticed yet. If not, beg!"

"And if that doesn't work?"

Harry shrugged. "Either take it like a man or run. I find running never really works, though. I'll be along as soon as I can."

Sirius nodded somewhat contritely.

A few minutes later, with Sirius gone, Harry returned to the veranda where the others were still lounging. He took his seat and sighed.

"Sirius's not sticking around?" Hermione asked looking up from a book.

"No. He just came by to deliver a message."

"In person? That's odd, don't you think?" Daphne noted.

"He got a little carried away, perhaps," Harry nodded.

"Was it important?" Ginny asked.

"It must've been to come all this way. The portal is shut down."

"It was," Harry agreed. "He made it to the village and then came by car."

"He didn't drive, did he?" Hermione asked.

"No. The hedges are spared yet again."

"So what was this message?"

Harry shrugged. "Just that my Mum's having the baby."

"WHAT?" five voices shrieked.

"And you're just sitting there?" Hermione added.

"Well sure. Why not?"

"Why not?" Hermione began.

"I assume the lot of you want to go too," Harry interrupted. "While I can probably go as I am, you can't. So why not sit down as it'll take you a few minutes at least to get ready and pacing back and forth won't speed anything up."

"Ooooh!" at least two of them groaned as they all but flew towards the door. The other three followed, albeit not quite as quickly.

Harry and the five girls walked through the Portal from the Terminal into the main lobby of the Mountain Lodge about forty-five minutes later. Harry had kept his seat on the veranda until they all had returned and Daphne was the last by about a minute. Hannah had edged her out, although Harry figured it would be a close run thing as it was. An Elf awaited them.

"Milord Potter, Ladies," he said, "James Potter has requested you join him in the cottage across the road."

A couple of minutes later, Harry and the others entered the front door of the Cottage and another elf guided them to the largest parlor which was at the back of the house with a view of the mountains. Sirius was there with his wife and daughter as were Ted and Dora Tonks and Professor Lupin. So was Harry's father who looked worried.

"What'd we miss?" Harry quipped.

"Don't be such a prat," Ginny said speaking for the other four.

"Um… it's still happening," Sirius said.

"Madam Pomfrey and Healer Tonks are with your Mother," Ted said.

"Her water's broke, but that's all we know and that only tells us it's soon but not how soon," Connie said. "Could still be hours, although I'd hate to be her if it was. Anna here was out within an hour of my water breaking…"

"Mum!" Anna exclaimed turning beat red.

"Consider yourself lucky, Harry," Ted said. "I'm sure if she wasn't busy, your Mum would be going out of her way to embarrass you at this moment. But, just you wait…"

"Great."

"Oh goodie, there's food!" Luna exclaimed. She noted a sideboard with trays of sandwiches and snacks. "What? It's about time for lunch anyway. And there really isn't anything else we should be doing."

For Harry and his Ladies there was no arguing with Luna's logic. Harry placed a couple sandwiches on his plate and some other things and took a seat beside his father who looked scared or sick or something.

"How can you eat at a time like this?" his father asked.

"Well, it is almost lunch time and as we may be here a while, why not?"

"You know your mother's up there giving birth?"

Harry thought of a snarky response but decided against it. "Madam Pomfrey's up there. If she could put me back together after some of the stuff… Well, having babies is pretty normal for a wife, isn't it?"

"My Cousin Bella never had one," Sirius said. "Then again, she's not quite sane or maybe she is. I'm not sure if her former husband qualified as being human."

Harry bit into his sandwich and chewed for a moment. "Funny," he said after swallowing, "I always thought there'd be a lot of noise, you know?"

"Silencing charm," Sirius said.

"There wasn't one the last time," James added almost in pain.

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. Poor Prongs down here having to listen to your Mum screaming 'bout how she was going to castrate him once she got 'round to it."

"Um…," Harry began.

"She didn't, obviously," James said. "At least not yet."

"Supposed to be painful?" Harry asked.

"Lils said it was almost up there with the Crutiatus Curse," James nodded.

"She'd know?"

"We were Hit Wizards during the War," James shrugged. "Getting hit with that was an occupational hazard and yes, she was hit with it once…for a couple of seconds…before I relieved the Death Eater of his head for doing that," he added darkly. "Those weren't pleasant times."

"Mr. Potter?" a voice asked.

"Yes?" Harry and his father replied. The voice belonged to Madam Pomfrey.

"Lord Potter," she said, "I think I mean the other gentleman seeing as you are not the father of the child. Mr. Potter, you may see your wife now."

Harry's father stood with a broad smile on his face and tried not to run out of the room. He mostly succeeded.

"Well?" several voices asked. "What is it?"

Madam Pomfrey replied with a mischievous smile. "A lesson in the customs of our world," she replied. "It is our custom that the parents reveal that information when they are ready. You will either be asked to visit the mother and child or the father will tell you in a few minutes."

A/N: Yes, I am evil…

As for Lily's adjusted birthday, it did work out that way and I didn't plan it in advance. If one treats the day his parents woke up as their November 1st, then January 30th becomes October 31st. As for the child being born October 31st, that was in the original outline.


	53. Chapter 53: New Feet, Cold Feet

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Since I seem to be writing again and have more than ten chapters beyond this and the next one, you get two again. (That and I still feel a bit sorry for not writing anything for a while...)

**CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: NEW FEET, COLD FEET**

**SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31****st****, 1993**

Harry Potter's relationship with his parents was different. Then again, he would muse, what about his life was not? They had been together, such as it was, since July 31st Outside time or September 19th Inside time or three months or five-and-a-half months depending how one was counting. Together was not totally accurate as James and Lily Potter lived in the Cottage at the far end of the Mountain Valley at the southern end of the Estate and Harry and his ladies lived in his Manor some thirty-four miles to the northwest as the broom flew. Still, he had seen his parents almost every day since they recovered and before he and his girls resumed classes and every weekend since classes resumed.

Still, it was a different relationship. Harry was thirteen and in between terms at boarding school when they recovered. He was also emancipated, married four times over, betrothed on top of that, and Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. The Head of House had passed from his father to him so that meant that in House Affairs he was over his father. Still, his father was more familiar with this traditional stuff than he was so he often talked things over with his Dad and almost as often followed his Dad's advice.

His girls had come up with the idea of the Manor Court for Sirius. His Dad had heard of that, but thought it was no longer an option and thought it brilliant when it turned out that it was. Thus far there was nothing pending of interest before the Wizengamot where his Dad would be important. Harry planned to name him as the Potter proxy. It was not that he did not trust Augusta Longbottom in the role. It was that he wanted his Dad to have some role in the affairs of House Potter and as they had learned the Fidelius Charm that protected the secret that James and Lily Potter survived the attack of October 31st, 1981 and were alive and well worked in ways few had suspected.

While James and Lily Potter spent most of their time on the Estate, they were by no means prisoners. They had been to the Quidditch Match. They had sat in the back during the Manor Court. They had been to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade since their trip to Gringotts. No one had recognized them for who they were, not even those who had known them before and not many really had. After all there were over seventy thousand witches and wizards in Magical Britain so it was unlikely anyone knew everyone and James Potter had not been the "newsworthy" item his son had become. His marriage to Lily was no more than an ordinary announcement in the Daily Prophet without a photograph. Then again, they did not advertise their former identities either. Most of their forays into the wider world were for shopping or – on some occasions – entertainment where all most people cared about was the color of their money. In the rare instances where they were asked for more, they were James and Lily Evans who recently emigrated from New Zealand and had both magical and Muggle identification to that effect from Gringotts. His Mum had chosen New Zealand.

"_First of all," she explained, "it's not like there's a load of New Zealanders running about Magical Britain. We're probably it. There were some who undoubtedly emigrated there during the War, but Emily (Abbott) checked and no such émigrés have returned. About the only witches or wizards who've been there would be the ambassador and his family, and they've been there since before we finished school. So if we say we're from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or whatever who's to say otherwise? I picked New Zealand 'cause I remember reading that of the former British colonies, it's accent is among the least distinguishable. An expert on dialects would spot us for frauds after a few sentences, but there aren't any such among the Wizarding population so it's unlikely we'll ever be called on it. On the Muggle side, it doesn't matter that we're who we really are so we can say we've been abroad if asked."_

The real "test" of the Charm had been when the Potters went down into the Chamber of Secrets. Most of those who went that day knew the Secret, but Professor Flitwick had not and he never wised up to them despite the obvious clues. He was told at the end of that little adventure and had given Hermione fifty points for the excellent charm. So long as the Charm remained active, it seemed no one could learn the truth about James and Lily Potter unless Harry let Ginny tell them.

_"It's a double-blind secret so to speak," Hermione had explained to the Potters. "The weakness of the Charm is the free will of the Secret Keeper. If the Secret Keeper wishes to betray the trust, he can. Our system has eliminated that weakness. Ginny cannot reveal the Secret because Harry has ordered her not to and she cannot defy his orders willingly or otherwise because of a bond she shares with him and the nature of that bond is also protected by a separate Fidelius Charm. So maybe it's really a triple-blind Secret. In the end, only Harry can decide when and whether it should be revealed and to whom. Moreover, to undo the charm the Secret Keeper must agree to do so and she can't unless Harry allows her to. The really interesting bit is she can tell if Harry's being forced to order the Secret revealed and retains the will to refuse that order. I won't say that what happened in your experience is impossible, but it is as close to impossible as we can make it."_

James convinced Harry to hold off on any changed to the Potter Proxy. On the one hand, the law seemed to be clear that he could not change Proxies at all until he was seventeen. But the law was not nearly as clear as to emancipated Heads of Ancient and Noble Houses so maybe he could, but it would be challenged. Harry figured it would be and that it would force Dumbledore's hand as Harry and his ladies were certain Dumbledore was not going to just let things go in any which way and certainly not in a way that would deny Dumbledore the control he thought he had. James agreed that in all likelihood it would force Dumbledore to lead the challenge and, perhaps, attack Harry's emancipated status. He agreed with Harry that this should be a goal for House Potter, but said that politics was all about timing and this move was clearly political in intent and consequences. House Potter should force Dumbledore to reassert control only when the damage from doing so would be greatest for Dumbledore as it was all but absolutely certain that Dumbledore would lose. The most advantageous time to stick it to Dumbledore would be the coming summer as Harry planned to marry Ginny sometime after she attained her legal Bonding Age on June 21st. James believed that Dumbledore wanted to gain complete control over Harry in one fell swoop rather than first challenge the emancipation and have him reinstated as Harry's magical Guardian and then later reveal the Vassalage clause in his now worthless betrothal agreement. He might move quickly, but only if he felt the betrothal was threatened which meant only if Sirius or Harry seemed to be taking action to undo the betrothal, which was not going to happen. So long as Sirius did not interfere with Dumbledore's plan, Dumbledore might wait until he could achieve his ultimate objective all at once. So, James said, it would be best not to tickle that sleeping dragon until they could time things to unravel all the plots. Harry was somewhat impatient about things. He did not like that hanging over his head even if it would come to nothing in the end. But he soon agreed that to wait was in the best interests of House Potter and delay would be all the more damaging for Dumbledore in the end. Augusta would remain Potter House proxy. If nothing happened by the time Harry left for the Summer Holidays, then they would force matters to a head.

James also advised Harry about the Rights of Conquest governing the proceeds to the Basilisk. When Harry learned he owned it and it was worth quite the fortune, he was seriously tempted to keep it all. After all, while he and his ladies had no clear plan for the War that was in the future, he was certain he would need loads of money for one reason or another. James agreed that to most people, a million Galleons was a lot of money. But it was less than two weeks interest income to House Potter. James had been Head of House Potter for seven months: from his twenty-first birthday on March 27th, 1981 to his "disappearance" on October 31st, 1981. It hadn't meant all that much as he had not seen it prudent to assume the House Seat in the Wizengamot and his family was in a safe house and not on Potter lands Outside at the time. He was still training and an Auror, but he had assigned the House Proxy to Augusta Longbottom who was also exercising Proxy for House Longbottom as the then Head, Neville's father, was fully engaged in the War as an Auror. But, even though he was not exercising the political authority of his House nor living on one of its Outside Estates, James had been receiving monthly statements from Gringotts. As he recalled, in one month the estate had earned over 2.8 Million Galleons in interest on the family accounts and this did not include his income as an Auror Trainee or the Potter farms and business interests. It was earning more today, probably.

"_But I can't access the Family Accounts 'til I'm twenty-one!" Harry said. "I doubt I can wait that long as I'm pretty sure the War will resume well before then."_

"_That's not entirely true, Harry. You are emancipated now. As the emancipated Head of House you can't access the family accounts until you've exhausted your Trust Accounts and the Goblins won't allow you to spend beyond your interest earnings on what they would say are frivolities. Right now, you're trust only allows you to spend the earned interest without penalty, plus whatever earnings you have that can be said to be derived from that source such as the farm income from your four newest trunks as you placed them in operation. Dad's trunks earnings probably go direct to the family vaults. Still, I think you'll find your farm income even without his will be fairly substantial but that's beside the point. You can access your other monies if the Goblins allow it. I think they'd consider paying to fight that war as something that is not a frivolity. But you would be withdrawing with a penalty of fifteen percent meaning for every hundred Galleons you need, the Vaults would be reduced by a hundred and fifteen with the Goblins pocketing the fifteen._

_"I've done some figuring. Your last fiscal year which ended on your birthday, your trust earned 22,828 Galleons interest. That does not include 20,000 added to your spending account because of your marriages. Your farm mangers estimate that this fiscal year your four northern farms will earn around 160,000 after expenses. Without refiguring interest for that, that's at least 180,000 in earnings for this year. Your cut on the basilisk will add another 45,000 in interest over the first year assuming you only get a million for the whole thing. 225,000 a year is a lot of money. That's £1,518,750 a year! That's how much you can spend without losing a knut meaning you'll be no poorer than you are right now and you can still spend about another 620,000 from the interest in your trust before you even need to worry about penalties. You don't need a million Galleons, Harry, because you really don't need a million Galleons at all."_

James then explained the specifics of the Rights of Conquest. Harry could keep half the proceeds and no questions could be asked. If he kept more, there could be other claimants to challenge him. First of all there was what was known as Squire's Rights. This rule dated back to the middle ages and recognized that the Master had an Apprentice who invariably provided some valuable assistance during a quest and should be compensated for it as there had been instances when the Apprentice did much of the work and saw nothing of the reward. This meant if Harry stiffed Ron, Ron might challenge him about it and James felt Ron would get something if it came before the Wizengamot. Likewise, where property was threatened by a dangerous creature or it had been damaged, the property owner could assert a claim for that as well. In this case, it meant the Board of Governors could ask and expect to receive some of the proceeds. True, the fact that one of the Founders had probably placed the threat there to begin with might mean Hogwarts would get nothing; but that would have to be proven to the satisfaction of the Wizengamot. Finally, victims could ask for something provided their families had not offered a reward for their rescue. The prudent thing to do was keep half and throw the rest out to the other potential claimants in amounts they could not contest and expect to win; which was why Harry was planning to distribute the money the way he planned and as he thought about it made sense to do so. Of course, he added a provision on the amount that was going to Hogwarts that it must be used to provide scholarships for Muggle Borns and families that could not afford to send all their children to school under the existing Hardship scholarships. The rules allowed him to restrict the funds to such an extent.

James also told his son about the tradition in wealthier families of proving their members with an annual stipend. It was always a small fraction of the family's annual income, but a small fraction of tens of millions was still probably more than most wizards and witches earned. That small stipend had been the source of Harry's trust and it would continue until he turned twenty-one. His sibling, after he or she was born, would have that stipend as the basis for their trust and when they turned seventeen the payments would continue. Harry could disburse up to ten percent of House Potter's income in such stipends, but it was limited to 10,000 a year per member. In 1981, this would have provided stipends for around three hundred and forty people and 10,000 a year was almost half again more than the average income. Although James and Lily did not need the stipend as James's own trust was now earning over 90,000 a year, it was customary to provide it and automatic unless the family member was disowned outright. Naturally, Harry had no intentions of doing that.

Aside from such matters which could not be easily researched in the Library; his conversations with his Dad centered on Quidditch, girls and being regaled with tales of the Marauders. They also spoke about golf, but that was usually when they were playing. As for girls, Harry did ask questions but more often it was his Dad teasing him about his current living arrangements.

If he had truly serious questions about girls, he learned to talk to his mother. She knew quite a bit about magic and had been considered a prodigy in Potions and Charms at school, but as a Muggle Born her knowledge as to the culture and traditions of the Wizarding World was limited. However, in most cases if he had a question about Charms or Potions he had a huge library and five very bright young ladies to help him find the answer and he enjoyed finding it more than being told it. But if he wanted to ask about girls and couldn't ask his five ladies for some reason, his mother was the person he sought. After all, it made little sense to ask Hermione about what would be a good present for her. There were other things as well that would be embarrassing to ask his ladies. They still were embarrassing asking his mother, but it wasn't the same in his mind.

"_I can't tell you much about your bonding beyond what you already probably know or you or your ladies have already read," Lily had said to him apologetically. "You want to know how a young woman thinks from a somewhat disinterested perspective, I can tell you. I knew when we got that first notice about Hermione and you that your life would be different – really different when we got the notice about Luna and you. You already have more experience with a Plural Marriage than I do. But I do have more experience as a woman than you can ever have … I should hope."_

"_I'd rather not have some of those experiences, I think," Harry said. "From what the girls tell me, it's not too pleasant."_

_Lily chuckled. "No. But it is necessary. And I can tell you and your girls if they ask about what to expect when they're pregnant although that can vary markedly from woman to woman. However, aside from intellectual curiosity I hope that all of you do not engage in any practical experimentation along those lines anytime soon."_

_"We're a bit young for that," Harry said._

"_And yet you are in an intimate relationship with those five young ladies."_

"_Um … not that way, Mum. Hermione, Luna and I literally bonded on the first day we could; not that we planned it that way. It was the day that Luna and I reached our magical Bonding Age. According to the books the Flamels gave us on such things, bonding that young is … Well, we're too young to complete the bond. We're too young to … um … well … magically consummate the bond."_

"_So no sex?"_

"_The bond is trying to stabilize and to get the three of us to the point where we can finalize it. That means we'll reach that kind of maturity sooner than we would have otherwise. But the process … well the girls still need their girl stuff but aside from kissing and hugs and stuff that would not be improper in front of guests, the process suppresses any more … um … serious urges."_

"_So you don't," Lily began._

"_We're not sexually intimate beyond what I said. I can't be and they're not interested that way yet. Good thing I know this otherwise I'd think I was broken or something."_

_Lily chuckled at that. "I'm sure you're not."_

"_Healer Tonks says I'm fine. It's normal under the circumstances. She can't say for how long, though. It could take up to a year. But when we've reached that point… She says there won't be any doubt in our minds when we do. Once we reach that point, we'll probably need a few days of alone time. Fortunately, according to what we've read and Healer Tonks has told us, while there must be some chance that the magical … consummation of the bond results in conception, it does not mean it must. Hermione and Luna can complete the bond without stopping their potions apparently."_

"_That's a good thing."_

_Harry nodded. "We're not ready for that yet. We've all talked about that sort of stuff and agreed. None of them will get … will have a child or start one until at least they've gotten their OWLs and the only one considering to do it that soon is Hannah 'cause she wants a lot of … kids for her line and even then she's not certain she'll start before her NEWTs. The others want their NEWTs first."_

"_And what do you want?"_

_Harry snorted. "I want Voldemort done with, but they're of the opinion if we let him dictate our lives he's won something and none of us want him or his kind to win anything if we can help it. If it were up to me alone, I don't know. Maybe when I'm thirty? Not sure I'm ready to be a Dad yet…"_

"_Harry, if you wait until you think you're ready it may well be too late. On the other hand, you should wait 'til you're done with school. No one truly knows how to be a parent before they become one. While there are books about it, it's not something you can really learn that way. It's sort of learn as things go along, which can be scary 'cause you're always worried about whether you're doing it right. I think if you're not worried about that then you're probably doing it wrong. Your father and I worried all the time about whether what we did as your parents was the right thing. And we didn't always agree on everything…"_

"_Oh?"_

"_Sirius bought you a training broom on your first birthday and your father thought it was a brilliant idea. You seemed to think so too and you were flying about before you could even walk! I, however, did not think it was such a good idea. Neither did Hermione, come to think of it."_

"_Really?"_

_Lily nodded. "When we were over at her house and you had that thing and flew it, she'd run after you saying 'Hawwy NO! Hawwy NO!' It was funny in hindsight and kind of cute."_

_Harry winced at the word "cute." "What about Luna?"_

"_Luna thought the whole thing was funny."_

"_That sounds like them," he said. "I wish that night never happened!" he added after a pause. "For as long as I can remember all I wanted was a real family. Anything but what I had might've been better. Every time the door rang I hoped it would be someone saying it all had been a terrible mistake and I had a real family that wanted me."_

"_I wouldn't have wanted that for you, Harry. You were not supposed to have anything to do with her."_

"_I have a family now, finally."_

"_Well, if it helps your father and I are very pleased with the way you've turned out … all other things considered."_

"_Luna thinks it was the bond."_

"_Oh?"_

_Harry nodded. "She thinks the time we spent together as babies did something. She doesn't know what and of course Hermione can't find anything about anything like that in the library. But Luna thinks that some kind of connection formed even if none of us could remember it and that connection allowed us to go through what we went through after and not … not turn into people we wouldn't like or want to be friends with."_

"_Luna's a smart girl," Lily nodded._

"_They all are. I probably wouldn't like them as much if they weren't."_

Lily probably knew more about his time with the Dursleys than his girls did and certainly had been told more at any one time and that was also helpful in a way; although Harry wondered if it would ever be a good idea to let the two sisters meet. Then again, it might be amusing as well. After all, he doubted his Mum would kill Aunt Petunia outright and short of that he doubted she would be worse than Dobby had been.

He was still trying to figure out what his relationship with his parents was. Now there was a new wrinkle as he was now a big brother as well. He thought about this as he watched his father follow Madam Pomfrey to the stairs in the Cottage. Harry ate another sandwich.

"Lord Potter?" Madam Pomfrey's voice sounded, "you and your ladies may head up now."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Your parents request your presence."

"Oh, right."

Harry and his ladies then followed Madam Pomfrey up the stairs and to the same bedroom where he had found his parents lying in stasis back on his last birthday. As he stepped through the door, he saw his mother sitting up in bed. She was wearing some kind of robes and was tucked in beneath blankets below her waist. She held in her arms what looked like a small bundle of blankets and was looking at it with a smile. His father was seated beside her and was also looking at the bundle as he entered. His mother looked up with a large smile on her face.

"Come and meet your new sister, Harry," she said softly.

Harry walked forward cautiously. To be honest, he had never really seen a baby before in his life; not up close at least. He did not count the ones he saw on the telly on those few occasions when he caught a glimpse of anything nor did he count the occasional prams he saw here and there in the Muggle world. All he saw of his sister at first was a head, mostly bald although there were strands of fine hair of some color he could not distinguish. There was also a very tiny fist poking out of the blankets that swaddled her. Her eyes were closed.

"She's so small," he said almost impulsively.

"Not too small for a newborn," his mother said. "In fact, she's a tiny bit bigger than you were when you came, but not enough to matter really. I'd introduce you but it seems she's decided it's time for a nap."

"What's her name?"

"Elizabeth," Lily said. "Elizabeth Dorea Potter after both her – and your – grandmothers."

"She was the easy one to name," James said. "Your Mum and I were split over your name. She wanted Henry and I wanted Harold so we split the difference as it were and named you Harry."

"I never knew your mother's name," Harry said to Lily.

"Like your Dad, I lost my parents before you were born," Lily said. "In their case it was a car accident, not the Dragon Pox outbreak."

"Aunt Petunia always told me I lost my parents in a car crash," Harry began.

Lily nodded. "It was a lie with a grain of truth as you did lose your grandparents that way. They were hit by a drunk driver who also died in the crash."

"Elizabeth," Harry said after a pause. "Like the Queen."

Lily nodded. "But not for the Queen. My Mum was born before she was the Queen. Actually, she was born before the Queen's father was King, but not by much."

"You need to sign the family ledger to make it all official," James began.

"Um?"

Albert the Elder then appeared with a very old looking and very thick leather bound book.

"It is the custom that the Head of House enter the names of the new members of the extended family in the Ledger. This will allow Gringotts to transfer funds for her education and Trust, among other things. I did it for you, but I can't do it for her as you're the Head now. Just copy the form from your entry."

Harry opened the book. There seemed to be hundreds of pages with handwritten entries announcing the birth of ancestors and relations, although there had been very few in the final pages. He saw the last entry:

_Born to:_

James Edward Potter  
_ Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter  
son of Lord Charlus Potter  
35th Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter  
and  
Dorea Consuella Potter nee Black  
of the Ancient and Noble House of Black_

_and_

_Lily Marie Potter nee Evans,  
daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Evans:_

_a son of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

_HARRY JAMES POTTER_

_This 31__st__ Day of July, 1980_

_Lord James Edward Potter  
36__th__ Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter  
32__nd__Earl of Hwicca  
27__th__ Earl of Abengale  
24__th__Baron of Loch Sheen  
17__th__ Earl of Hereford  
6__th__ Earl of Finchley_

_Head of House_

Harry then took a quill from Albert the Elder and carefully wrote a similar entry in the ledger, with some minor alterations:_  
_

_Born to:_

_James Edward Potter_  
_son of Lord Charlus Potter_  
_35__th__ Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter  
and  
Dorea Consuella Potter nee Black  
of the Ancient and Noble House of Black_

_and_

_Lily Marie Potter nee Evans,  
daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Evans_

_a daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

_ELIZABETH DOREA POTTER_

_This 31__st__ Day of October, 1993 A.D.,_

_The 18__th__ Day of March, 2__nd__ Year of the Estate Calendar_

_Lord Harry James Potter  
37__th__ Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter  
33__rd__ Earl of Hwicca  
28__th__ Earl of Abengale  
25__th__Baron of Loch Sheen  
18__th__ Earl of Hereford  
7__th__ Earl of Finchley_

_Head of House_

**WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3****rd**** 1993**

"I'm not sure if I can do this, Siri," the former Mrs. Lucius Malfoy now Mistress Narcissa Black said.

"You said you wanted to help them," Sirius replied. He was not surprised she was reluctant. What surprised him was how long it had taken for her to express it.

"Help?" Cissy replied. "Indeed. I feel I owe it to them … to me in a way. But … but your all but asking me to be their mother!"

"Think of it more like being their Head of House at school," Sirius smiled.

"Okay, that's a disturbing thought. Do I look anything like Professor Slughorn?"

"I wasn't thinking about him necessarily."

"Or Professor McGonagall?"

"You certainly are not nearly old enough. But you must admit she is quite striking. Probably would be more so for her age if she smiled more…"

"Or Professor Sprout?"

"You are too sleek and well put together. This is about a role, not a personality or appearances, Cissy."

"But they're not like us!" she almost hissed.

"Oh? Aside from the fact they are females and twenty years younger than I am, I see no difference."

"They're Muggles! I don't know a thing about them!"

"It's not like I'm asking you to marry them, Cissy. Then again, is it all that different?"

"I don't have to sleep with them!"

"That's not what I meant. You didn't know Lucy all that well before you were betrothed."

"More than not at all…!"

"But not by much considering you were being asked to be his wife for the rest of your life. This is different. I am asking you to … well, to be their minder. We can't send them back to their former lives as those are irrevocably gone. Our world caused that so it's our job to make amends. They're too young to be on their own so they need an adult to tend to them, help them, guide them and all that sort of stuff. I'm not even asking you to give them lessons, although you may if you feel you can provide them with something they could use later in life. I'm making arrangements for tutorials for their education. We do have some well educated Muggles who are weekly guests at the Estates…"

"They're not witches!"

"Yet aside from that minor difference, they are teenaged girls. Surely you can relate to that."

"It's different for us," Cissy groaned. "We have certain … needs at that age that they do not have…"

"Which Andi tells me is a good thing given what they've been through. They cannot be expected to be active that way and fortunately they do not need to be."

"I was betrothed when I was their age! I had already been with…"

"Was that your choice, or the duty expected of you by your family and by him?"

"Um … duty first. Mostly. There were times when he was … when it was enjoyable, but that was later and it certainly has not been recently."

"It is my understanding that is the exception at that age, not the rule. Girls may well be intimate with other girls, but not with boys."

"That may be the case, I wouldn't know. Slytherin House … well, by being betrothed I avoided … Girls with no family connection of note generally … are expected to do things …"

"By the boys?"

Cissy nodded. "It was not uncommon to see one of those girls providing her House Service in the common room. Third year girls who did not have … protection … would sooner or later find themselves moving into the boys' dormitory whether they wanted to or not. I needn't tell you why."

"Ah, the joys of Pureblood Supremacy," Sirius said sarcastically.

"But … I was brought up …," Cissy began with half hearted indignance.

"Indeed," Sirius said, "as was I and as was your sister Andi. Now tell me honestly, of the three of us who had the better life?"

Cissy hung her head.

"Our parents' ideals destroyed how many lives? Forget the war and the suffering it caused. Of their children, how many lives were truly destroyed? It seems only Andi truly escaped ruination. I'd say I did as well as I can't blame my time in Azkaban on our parents directly, although indirectly I can as were it not for their beliefs and the many idiots who believed as they did, I would not have been suspected of anything! My brother, Mother's favorite, did as she bade him and became that which I despised: a Death Eater. They never have found his body, you know. And I know our side didn't kill him. His own side did it to him for some reason. Your sister Bella is rotting away in Azkaban for the way we were brought up. And your life has hardly been a bed of roses either."

"It's still…," Cissy mumbled. "I have so little in common…"

"You're probably right," Sirius nodded. "You were brought up with wealth and privilege, something which cannot be said about any of those four girls, although only one was from what the muggles would truly consider a 'poor' family as the other three were in their middle class, whatever that means. You were raised to be the perfect, pureblood princess, as were your older sisters. That, of course, is not something that would do those girls much good seeing as they would be worthless in the Pureblood marriage market. Then again, one might say it's worthless period. You and your sisters are a prime example. One has since rejected it all and the other, as I said, is sitting in Azkaban drooling on herself. As for yourself, you were arranged into a marriage with a man whose only quality was that there was no crime beneath him and no depravity that repulsed him. So whatever it was that you were taught by your parents, it seems to stand you in good stead," he added sarcastically.

"But…," her resistance was weakening although she still could not see past the differences. She wanted to help the girls somehow, but she had not even imagined the help she was to provide was as their adult minder or whatever Sirius imagined she would be. She thought someone more knowledgeable and quite probably in tune and sympathetic with Muggles would fill that role.

"I needn't remind you that life as you knew it is over," Sirius said.

"But…," she tried to protest.

"You're no longer the trophy wife of a vicious, lowlife desperately in search of respectability which I've been assured is how much of society saw your situation; and certainly expressed their opinion of it behind your back as it were. That life ended the moment I had that sham annulled. You're almost thirty-six years old…"

"Thirty-four!"

"You were two years ahead of me at school," Sirius began.

"True. I was passed ahead a year, missing Second Year altogether. I was told it was for my academic prowess, although my marks were good I don't think they were that good. I suspect my father arranged it somehow to make me more marketable. That was not long after the time Andi ran off with her husband."

"Thirty-four then," Sirius said. "Aside from your family trust and your House Black stipend, with which you could live in modest comfort for the rest of your life, you have nothing really. And as you're aware, the trust and stipend are subject to the whims of the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black…" Sirius knew this was more or less and idle threat, but he tried to sound sincere and earnest. "I have not seen fit to offer you one of the lesser Black properties," he added and this was true. Then again, he did not think any were fit for human occupancy. "And you have a son by another. As you know this makes you … difficult to market as a bride. It would cost a fair fortune to … well, you know. While I will not necessarily stand in the way of a future marriage, neither will I seek a match on your behalf. So your options are somewhat limited. Right now, you live in a room over the Leaky Cauldron. With your resources you can afford better, but the market for properties in our world is notoriously tight. You could probably manage to find a two room flat with a private bath, but anything more spacious and you're hoping to be the first in the queue when its current occupant passes on. Either that, or you'd have to live amongst the Muggles. What I'm offering is not much better in terms of a social life. Then again, it's my opinion – and not just mine, by the way – that you need a change in that regard. But my offer includes a large house on my new estate much more in keeping with what you may have been used to. All that is required in return is that you look after those four girls. And unless Andi failed to make it clear, while you're the one who will share the house with them there will be others seeing to their needs such as education and such. Naturally, you can refuse and remain at the Leaky Cauldron."

Sirius had expected reluctance from his cousin. After all, what he was asking was nothing less than a complete change in lifestyle, goals, expectations and to a great extent beliefs. He suspected that Cissy was thinking along such lines and may have been for quite some time. But there was a huge difference between thinking about something and doing it. Faced with actually having to cross that line, to take that irrevocable step and leave her former life behind forever, it was hardly a surprise she would express reluctance when the new reality stared her in the face. But the old reality was gone the moment she agreed to end her farce of a marriage so some new reality was in her future. Sirius merely pointed out her options: return to the full support of House Black for which she was expected to spend a few years looking after four girls whose lives were ruined by her so called husband, or take her chances on her own which was something she had never done in her entire life.

"I suppose," she said. "I guess I can manage."

Sirius was pleased. It was getting harder and harder to keep St. Mungos from casting the girls out on the street. That would not have happened in any event. One way or another, the girls would be looked after but he would have preferred that he and his wife not fill the role as primary guardians. After all, they were trying to have another child among other reasons. But had Cissy absolutely refused, the girls would still have a new home. He told her Andi was waiting for her at St. Mungos. He had other business to attend to in London.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Of the many reasons real and imagined that had led Cissy to express second thoughts, the major ones arose from watching the four girls as they underwent aspects of their treatment. Certainly, there were aspects of it that involved wand work and potions. There was magic that could take away some of the emotional pain and trauma behind a past experience and its memory without removing the memories themselves. There was no need for Cissy to observe those treatments, but this did not mean she was ignorant of the results. Memories had been copied for later review via a magical device called a Pensieve. A Muggle Born once described the device as something similar in appearance to the Mirror of Galadrial as described in The Lord of the Rings, except you had to stick your face into it to see the memories. That, and rather than watch them like on a screen, you fell into them and could walk about and see things from different angles in three dimensions. For whatever reason, the device not only showed what the person remembered seeing, but often things that they could not have remembered.

Through the pensieve memories, Cissy was able to watch the girls' memories of their abductions. Two of them were at home when Lucius appeared in their home. The girls clearly did not understand how, but it was clear to Cissy and the other witches and wizards who had seen the memory that Lucius had apparated into the home. There was the telltale sound of a body displacing the air.

The other two girls were not at home when they were abducted. Both had been walking along the street. Both had been walking home from school alone when Lucius appeared in front of them and that was the last they remembered of their old lives for their next memory was in one of the rooms in the subbasement of Malfoy Manor. In this, all four memories were similar. Lucius took his time. They couldn't move. He told them they were now in his service and expected to do whatever it was he wished them to do. He then removed their clothes with a knife stating that they would not need such things anymore. He left them alone for an unknown period of time as the memories did not include any real time reference. When he finally returned, he was naked himself and it was clear what his intentions were and what service was expected from them. He raped them over and over again, probably over a period of several days as the girls had clearly been placed into stasis after each assault. They apparently had been healed in the interval between rapes as was the case throughout their captivity.

For lack of a better term, the four girls had become sex slaves. At first it was brutality. It was clear that at times they were allowed to resist, but that was always when there were three or more wizards with them and it always resulted in their being forced upon by all of their "guests." Other times were less brutal physically, but even worse emotionally. They were often under the Imperius Curse and while under it their bodies did whatever they were told. In their minds, they wanted to resist but they could not and to each and every one of their horror, their bodies betrayed them by enjoying it at times. The two who had been there the longest were under the Curse far less often as whatever will they had to resist was gone.

For Cissy, it was all too horrible to contemplate and then it got worse. Within the last week or so of the girls' memories, they had a new, frequent customer. It was her son Draco and he seemed unmoved about the plight of any of the girls. He acted as if they deserved what was happening to them and it was his right to do it to them and they should accept that as the way of things. The odd thing was he had never actually done anything other than verbally abuse them while someone else violated them. But he had also never told her about them. He allowed that to happen. In her mind, Draco was dead assuming he had ever lived. She had no son and she would object to any mention of his ever returning to House Black.

The girls knew of the other three. When they awoke from stasis for another day of violations, the other three were on their beds "asleep." But while they knew of the other three, they had never met the other three. There were times when two or more of them were "awake" at the same time for a "party," but they were never allowed to communicate with each other. They did not even know the names of their roommates. Evidently, there had been three other girls there at one time. When Mary Pierce had been brought there in 1978, she "shared" the room with three different girls who had since disappeared. She never knew their names either and had no idea what had happened to them except she was certain it was not a good end.

The pensieve memories had been horrible. But Cissy had also watched a different treatment. Not being a Muggle Born, she wondered why it was so important for the girls to talk to a Healer about their ordeals. She had watched these sessions from another room and watched as the two girls who had no idea about the fate of their families were told they were alone in the world. All four had been told there had been other girls; two of whom knew this and the other thought there had been another. All four were told that those girls were all killed in the end and that had they not been rescued the same would have been their fate. Cissy wondered why they needed to know this. A couple reacted as if they expected that was the case. The "newest" one, Elizabeth Mabry, was hysterical in the end. That had been the week before.

In a way, she had unwittingly been a part of that hell on earth. She had never questioned her husband's activities and certainly had never been curious about what secrets might lie behind the walls and beneath the floors of Malfoy Manor. She had never questioned the belief system that could lead a person to believe they had the right to do that to anyone. This as much as anything else she had said to Sirius was the reason why she had been reluctant to come here on this day.

For today she would meet those girls and they would finally meet each other. Until today, they had been in private rooms and had gone through treatment alone. Starting today, however, their new lives would begin and while Cissy had been told they would have their own bedrooms in their new house, they would interact with each other finally. It was her job to begin the process although fortunately she would not be alone. She would meet the girls with her sister and Healer Parsons.

The three older witches entered a large room. It might have been a parlor or some such place given the furnishings but aside from some couches, low tables and comfortable looking chairs there was nothing homey about the place. The walls were bare of pictures and painted white and the floor was tiled. On the far wall were windows that seemed to look across the street to the tall Muggle building beyond. It was a sterile space.

On one of the couches sat four girls all of whom were wearing what looked like bathrobes over hospital gowns and slippers. Like the room itself, their attire was practically colorless. Cissy recognized them immediately has these were the four who she had been watching for over a week although this was the first time they had ever seen her in all probability.

"Good morning, girls," Healer Parsons said. "I've brought a couple of guests with me as you can see. This is Healer Tonks and with her is Mistress Black."

"Not another mind tinker," one of the girls seemed to moan.

"No, Miss Pierce, Healer Tonks is not a 'mind tinker' as you so eloquently put it."

"I specialize in witches' – I mean women's healthcare," Andi said.

"You're not going to give us one of those exams, are you?" one of the other girls said.

"No. I'm not here in that capacity."

"Then why are you here" another of the girls asked rather rudely.

Andi ignored the tone. "Your time here at St. Mungos is nearly over," she said. "I am here to talk about what will happen after."

"We're going to a home or foster care," another said, "that's obvious."

"A home? It may be that and it may not. Whether it is that is up to you. In our world, it is customary for a child without any surviving family willing to take them in to be sent to the orphanage…"

"You're not going to send us there!" one of the girls protested. "That's medieval!"

"We're not," Andi agreed. "In the first case, the three of you are too old. An orphaned witch of your age resides at the school to which they are assigned or enrolled. For another, you are not witches and our orphanage would not take you."

"So where will we go then?" the first asked.

"You are here because a wizard destroyed your lives," Cissy said. "He did quite a thorough job of it and did it so well we can't send you back to wherever it is you came from. That is normally what we would do, but there's nothing for you there."

"I could go to my friends," one of them said hopefully.

"Could you?" Cissy asked. "You're Mary Pierce, right?"

She nodded.

"How old are your friends?"

"My age, of course."

"You think after all this time they'd be willing to take you in?"

"It's only been a few months!"

"It's November 3rd," Cissy began.

"Okay, six months then. It was May when he took me."

"You didn't let me finish," Cissy retorted. "Today is November 3rd, 1993."

"WHAT?" all four girls said.

"We've been gone years?" one added.

"That's impossible!" Mary said. "I can't've been gone that long!"

"Witches," Elizabeth Mabry, the youngest of the girls said. "We've been with witches and wizards. We don't know what they can and can't do, do we?"

"So we travelled through time?" Angela Hammer asked.

"That's one way to look at it," Cissy said. "Although it's not strictly accurate. When you remember the things that happened, when you slept and dreamed since you were taken, you were not travelling through time at all. Time moved as it does and it moved for you as it does for all things. But far more often, you were frozen in time."

"He froze us?" Jenny Stanely said.

"In a manner of speaking, although that's not accurate as well. Those beds you saw the others in, remember?"

The four girls nodded although clearly it was not a pleasant memory.

"They had a charm on them. How that charm was placed there and how it works is not as important as what it did. While you were on those beds, you were quite literally frozen in time. The world moved forward, you aged not one second even if days, weeks or even months went by for the rest of the world."

"You people do that a lot?" Mary asked. "Freeze others in time, that is?"

"The Charm is not generally used for that purpose, no," Cissy replied. "But it is a commonly used one."

"What would you possibly want to use it for, except to do something nasty?" Jenny asked.

"It has lots of uses. Most of which are not nasty," Cissy said. "It's used with food all the time. You pick and apple and place it under that charm and time stops for it. Months, even years later you can remove the charm and eat the apple and it's just as fresh as it was the moment you charmed it. Bakers use it for bread. If I buy a loaf from a magical baker, it's under the charm. When I get home and remove the charm, it's still warm from the oven even if hour or days have passed since it was baked."

"I know a cook who uses it all the time," Andi added. "He's a very good cook, by the way. He cooks his dishes and places them under the charm until it's time to serve them. Sometimes he cooked them days before they're served, although you'd never know it. Healers also use it. There are times when there's not enough real time to save the patient, so the patient is placed in stasis so the Healers can fix them whereas if they were not they would die before they could be fixed.

"Magic is magic," she continued. "It is neither good nor evil, beneficial nor harmful. It just is. Whether it's good or evil, beneficial or harmful is based upon the intent of the user, not the magic itself. The wizard who did those things to you was evil. He's serving a life term in our prison and our prison is a true hell on earth. It is difficult to think of a crime he has not committed at one time or another. But he is not normal."

"Just our luck," Jenny said.

"Oh?"

"First wizard we meet happens to be a criminal psychopath."

"They still don't like us," Elizabeth said.

"Who?" Cissy asked.

"The witches we've met. They all act like we're dirty or something. Well, not all of them. Healer Parsons and another don't. You don't seem to. But other ones we've met…"

"For three hundred years, we've kept our world separate and secret from yours," Cissy said. "We had reasons to do so and there are many who believe there are still reasons to do so. Those who've lived entirely in this world don't understand the world you come from. People tend to react badly to things they don't understand and people they think are different somehow."

"Not all of us are like that," Healer Parsons interjected. "My parents could not do magic. I didn't learn that I was a witch until I was not much younger than you are. I grew up in your world, not this one so it doesn't intimidate me at all. About a third of all witches and wizards were born to non-magical parents and grew up in your world. But there are some who've had never had contact with your world and do not understand it at all. Among that group are a few who believe they are better than anyone and a smaller few, like the man who kidnapped you, who believe they can do whatever they want."

"There are people in your world like that as well," Andi said. "In both worlds, society tries to keep those people in line or send them to prison when they get out of line. As we said, the man who did this to you will die in prison sooner rather than later in all likelihood. Our law enforcement is trying to identify and build cases against the other men who … who you met there. But what we need to do today is talk about your futures, not the past."

"What's going to happen to us?" Angela asked. "I mean, we have no place to go, really, do we?"

"I could still go with friends," Elizabeth began.

"And how would you explain the fact that you haven't aged?" Cissy asked. "That would raise questions and the truth in this case is not an option. No one in this room has the authority to reveal this world to your world. It's a crime for us to do so or to allow others to do so if we could stop it. And we can't just erase your memories…"

"That sounds like you can, or could if you wanted to," Mary said.

"Some of us can," Andi said.

"But in your cases it would do far more harm than good," Healer Parsons said. "It would keep our world secret. But deep down, a part of you would remember what happened and it would eat you up. It would destroy you in time and that's not what we hope for any of you."

"Besides," Andi said, "most of your neighborhood was destroyed that night, Elizabeth. There were few survivors. The official cause was a gas leak but we think it was the wizard who took you or his 'friends'."

"So what now?" Jenny asked.

"A group of magical families has decided to take care of all of you. They are … well … highly placed in our society which means that in your case not even our own government can question their actions. For more ordinary witches and wizards, the government might well question the 'wisdom' of raising four orphaned girls such as yourselves. The families who have decided to take care of you, however, control a third of the votes in our legislature. It's complicated, but it means that no one can second guess them on this.

"You will be living in a house provided by one of those families: the House of Black. It's head is Mistress Black's and my cousin and he's an Earl in our world…"

"Actually," Cissy said, "he holds two Earldoms and a Baronetcy. His ancestors gained them from your kings of old and also lost them in your world. But in ours, they can only be lost if the line dies out and the Black line has not."

"Mistress Black will share the house with you girls," Andi said. "She is the head of your immediate household not unlike a parent in both your and our law. She recently lost her home, her husband and her son. Although her circumstances are not the same as yours, she is the one who can probably best relate to what you're going through."

"Is it a big, fancy house?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know," Cissy said. "My cousin acquired it very recently and I've not been there. Knowing him I can say it's not a cottage but it won't be a palace either."

"The families will see to your educations," Andi continued. "There are people like you that are under their … umbrella, as it were. There are also a fair number of witches and wizards who were raised in your world. You won't attend a school per se, rather the families will provide you with tutors up through at least the conclusion of your secondary education. Beyond that, we'll see when that time comes."

"Great!" Jenny said. "I never liked school and now I have to go again."

"It should be different," Mary noted. "Just the four of us. Right?"

"While there are young people your age at the Estates, they are witches and wizards and attend a school for such. You'll probably meet them, but they won't attend classes with you."

"Will we be allowed clothes?" Mary asked.

"Why wouldn't you be allowed?" Cissy replied.

"He … he said we didn't …"

"We don't have any," Jenny added.

"You will dress as you wish within reason," Cissy said. "Whatever that man may have told you … well, I have no reason to believe he ever told you the truth about anything."

"We and a few other ladies will be taking you shopping in London Saturday for new wardrobes," Andi said. "After that, we'll head for your new home."


	54. Chapter 54: New Old Memories

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I've said this before I think and will say it again. The Muggle Girls are not going to be a part of Harry or Neville's (or Ron's, or any of his brothers, or Remus or Sirius or...) families. They are victims and the Houses are going to help them. But they are and will remain peripheral characters.

**CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: NEW OLD MEMORIES**

**SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6****th**** 1993**

"Rather Spartan don't you think?" Harry commented.

He was standing in a large room filled with furnishings. Clearly, the room was intended for gatherings and sitting while one socialized, not unlike the Great Hall of his own Manor. The room was the Great Room, as Sirius called it, of the new Black Manor. The Black Estate had been joined to the Estates (Houses Potter and Longbottom) the previous afternoon which had actually been that morning Outside Time. Along with Harry were two of his wives: Hermione and Luna. Hermione's father was there as well, but her mother was off in London as one of the minders for the Four Girls From Malfoy Manor, as Luna called them. Harry's parents were there as well along with his new sister, although she was currently asleep in her pram or whatever that plastic baby carrying thing was called. It did not have wheels. Her mother called it a "car seat," although he didn't think it looked anything like the seat in any car he had ever seen, although it did have something like seat belts. The rest of his girls and their families were off somewhere else on the Estates although he had been told that Mrs. Greengrass was part of the shopping expedition to London.

"Spartan?" Sirius protested. "I'd say there's more furniture in here than in your own great hall!"

"Nothing on the walls, though," Harry noted for although the walls had fancy paneling, there were no portraits or tapestries or anything on them.

"Nope, not yet," Sirius agreed. "Not sure I want the whole family on the walls. Okay, I know I don't want all that lot. My parents are right out! Great-grandfather Sirius and that bastard bearing Phineas are out as well! Pity I can't disown the dead, you know? The rest I'm debating. Only one's made it so far but I wanted a more intimate space for him and his wife's portraits. Grandfather and Grandmother are in the North Salon. Didn't know them all that well when they were alive, but they were there for Connie and Anna when I was away. Actually, Gran's still alive I'm told. Almost certain she is considering her portrait isn't animated at all. She must've returned to her family after Grandfather passed and… Well, I'm thinking of looking her up over the hols. Anyway, Connie's got a few ideas of her own regarding wall hangings and is not too keen on cluttering it all up with dead relations. She's in London with the shopping expedition and hopes to stop in a store that sells prints and such. She dragged me to some Muggle art museums in Paris and I made the mistake of saying I enjoyed some of the works, so she wants some of those and ones like it on the walls and not stuffy old dead relatives. Can't say I disagree."

"Which works?" Hermione asked.

"Something called 'impressionists', I think."

"Really? Aren't those wonderful? We saw them too this past summer in Paris and Harry liked them. I'm thinking of getting some prints too for some of the rooms…"

"Hermione," her father said.

"Um … sorry. Got a little excited."

"At least it didn't call for library time," Luna quipped. "We wouldn't see you for hours if it did. And yes, I liked them too. Not all of them, but some were very nice. But we're talking about this room as is, right?"

"Well, it certainly isn't as stuffy as some of those Old Family manors you and I got ourselves dragged to by our parents when we were kids," James noted.

"Yep. Wanted to make invisible toads less tempting," Sirius quipped. "Not saying they won't happen here. I'd rather not be needing them, unless they're my idea of course. Besides, I don't do stuffy."

"It's still a bit much," Lily noted, "but I do like the colors."

"Connie picked them. Makes the place look more inviting but this floor is the public floor and was laid out to … um … impress the natives as it were. First Floor's the family floor. The Library's up there as are our own sitting rooms and such and my study, our private dining room. The floor above that's our bedrooms. Anna loves her suite of rooms and there's room for more. Just in case I didn't get the hint, Connie insisted that there be a nursery. Of course, I did get the hint. Should know whether the hint works in a month or so outside time."

"Outside time?" Lily asked.

Sirius nodded. "While something like pregnancy and infant child development progress on inside time, as you should be aware a woman's reproductive cycle is still tied to outside time. Thus we may have weeks and weeks before Connie's at her most … vulnerable in that regard. It's in the Owner's Manual," he added.

"We read that," Hermione agreed. "Then again, that little fact is not of immediate concern for us."

"I should think not!" Lily said.

"Mum, still bonding," Harry groaned. "We can't even start to worry about not being concerned about that until the bond stabilizes. And we have no idea when that will be."

"It is entirely conceivable Sirius and Connie will have their next child before we need to talk about that," Luna noted. "After all, if she were to get that way today, for example, it's only four and a half months outside time until the next Black joins us."

"Please!" Sirius moaned. "While we want more, I don't want to talk about it."

"Probably why she mentioned it," Hermione sniggered.

"Among other reasons," Luna agreed. "He does turn a lovely shade of pink."

"Is she like this all the time?" Sirius asked. The truth was he knew Luna as well as any of the adults at the Estates with the exception of the Grangers. He still could not figure her out.

"Oh no," Hermione said. "More often she's not wearing anything."

"Huh?"

"Okay," Robert said, "let's not pick on him too badly. We are his guests after all."

"Pooh!" Luna huffed although she was not seriously disappointed.

"They may not be into pranks as you were," Robert said, "but they can drive you barmy just the same when they choose to."

"I know," Sirius said. "Ham sandwich," he added.

"I preferred the thinking you snuffed it," Harry said. "But that was Mum and Dad's idea."

"It's a lovely place, Siri," Lily said trying to change the topic.

"Thanks. Oh! That reminds me! And don't ask me how it reminds me 'cause I don't know. Got something rather interesting from Gringotts when I was there Wednesday…"

"Proof that Minister Fudge bakes Goblins into pies?" Luna asked.

"Uh… no."

"Drat! Daddy's so hoping he can publish that."

"I think the Ministry's having enough difficulty with the Goblins as it is," Lily remarked.

"ICW's sure dragging its heels," Hermione noted.

"More likely Dumbledore," James said. "Supreme Mugwump can do that, you know?"

"Don't you want to see what I got from Gringotts?" Sirius asked.

"It better not be contagious," Hermione said.

"There is a baby here," Lily added.

"It's not and I know," Sirius moaned. "Stanley? The box, if you please." An elf dressed not unlike the House staff at Potter Manor appeared, although what colors he wore on the tie were different. He held a polished, wooden box and handed it to Sirius. "Stanley's one of the older House Black elves," Sirius said. "Was Head Butler at the main manor when Grandfather was there. I brought him and a few other old hands to staff this Estate."

"You'd need more than a few," Harry noted. "Two hundred or more, I should say."

Sirius nodded. "I acquired fifty when I got the trunk. There was a deal on them as they're all experienced as opposed to mere apprentices. A hundred Galleons each, but it was 'as is' as it were. Most were bonded couples and they all have little ones. Still, it was a bargain. Got a few more old hands from the Black properties. There was an excess of labor in places. The difference … well, House Black used to breed elves for market."

"That's so wrong!" Hermione growled.

"I'm not about to disagree," Sirius said. "The Elf at the House I grew up at was one nasty cuss who deserved the worst, in my opinion, but that was probably my mother's doing. Still, my ancestors did breed them. They used to place 'excess' elves in stasis until they were needed or they could be transferred to … well acceptable sorts I suppose. Still have a load of them that way. I'd like to remove them all from stasis, but … well, there's not nearly enough for them to do right now but we can use that source to help staff new trunks. Mind you, 'excess' also means young and inexperienced so we'd need at least a few old hands to teach them and such. For the time being, however, elves are not a problem if we need them. Anyway, here's what I got from Gringotts…"

"A box?" James asked. Sirius had produced a wooden box. It was highly polished with brass hinges and some kind of inlay on the lid.

"What's so special about a box?" Harry added.

"Nothing," Sirius admitted. "It's what's in the box that's interesting."

"Oooh!" Luna squealed. "Is this anything like figuring out where we really are when we're Inside? Does it have its own reality?"

"No."

"Oh," she said disappointed.

"It's very rare and probably very valuable; certainly to a collector of such," Sirius said. "I got it when the Goblins went through the Lestrange Vaults after I annulled dear cousin Bella's marriage. One of them stole it from someone and as the last known owner's dead and more than thirty years have passed since her Will was published, I guess it's like spoils. From the Goblins point of view it's of negligible value. They didn't make it, for one. If they had, they'd've kept it. It's gold plated pewter, worth maybe a couple Galleons aside from its other value which means nothing to Goblins."

"You going to show this thing to us or brag about it?" Robert Granger asked.

"Right," Sirius shrugged. He opened the box and inside on a bed of what looked like red velvet was a golden goblet with some kind of embossing or something on the side. It was not all that impressive. The style was very old and plain. But the reaction of Harry and Hermione surprised all the adults. Their eyes rolled back in their heads and they began shaking as if have a seizure except they did not fall over. It lasted only a couple of seconds.

"What just happened?" James asked.

"Are you two alright?" Lily added.

"Memory uncap," Luna said.

"What?"

"You mean one of those future memory things you mentioned a while back?" Sirius asked. "Like the one that led me from Azkaban to here?"

"Similar," Harry said, "but not the same. No one's getting exonerated this time."

"I can't believe it," Hermione began.

"I think it was out of sequence," Harry said.

"It must be! It's not supposed to be for years."

"I wonder why now? I mean there was that déjà vu thing the last time when I saw that picture. Now? Nothing."

"Out of sequence," Hermione agreed. "It was there to uncap, but the key memory for doing so hasn't happened yet, I should think. My guess is we did something just in case it could trigger earlier."

Harry nodded. "Makes sense. Those things were a pain to find. The sooner the better, really."

"What are you two on about?" Sirius asked.

"Luna? Does that cup mean anything to you?" Harry asked.

"No," she replied. "Then again, I didn't have either the French Word Thing or Life Flashy Thing happen just now. Whatever memories I sent back, they were ones that neither you nor Hermione had so if you knew about that cup, there'd be no reason for me to send that back too. Of course, it's also possible I have no direct memory of it to begin with as I'm pretty sure we're talking direct memories and not something someone told us. If we did not experience it or learn it on our own, we either didn't send it back or couldn't."

"Um … I don't remember what they're called," Hermione gasped. "You Harry?"

Harry shook his head. "It's out of sequence. I know it's something he did to keep from snuffing it. That cup's one of them."

"It belonged to Helga Hufflepuff," Hermione noted.

"How'd you know that?" Sirius asked.

"Future memory," Luna said.

"Voldemort stole it from someone," Harry said. "Killed that person and did something to the cup. Whore something."

"What? The person he killed?" Robert asked.

"No, the cup. What he did's called 'whore' something or something like that."

"That's the crux of it," Hermione nodded.

"HORXCRUX!" Harry exclaimed. "That thing's a Horcrux!"

"That's the word!" Hermione agreed. "But what do we do about it? I can't remember."

Sirius paled. "How do you know about those things?"

"Future memories," Harry said. "Some of it's coming back."

"What's a … whatever you called that?" Luna asked.

"It's a name for a very dark enchantment," Hermione answered. "It's from a branch of necromancy which is the only branch of magic that's truly ever been universally outlawed."

Sirius nodded. "Even back in the day, back before the Protestant Reformation which was when things really got dicey between us and the Muggles, necromancy was condemned. The Catholic Church had no policy against magic per se. Heresy? They were all over that one and would be all over a heretical witch or wizard – especially wizards or suspected wizards or Templar Knights. They accused them of that, you know. Then again, they accused the Templar Knights of just about everything although the magic they accused them of was necromancy. Truth was it was all a scam by the French King to avoid paying his debts. He was in debt up to his eyeballs to the Knights and … well, if you kill off all the bankers, there's no one left to pay back is there?"

"Necromancy?" Robert Granger asked. "Some kind of Death Magic?"

"Any kind of magic needing dead humans or killing to work," Hermione said.

"The Muggle outlawed it 'cause the practitioner either violated the dead or killed people to do the stuff. That was right out then and now. Even on our side it was illegal."

"But what's that thing?" Robert asked.

"The enchantment somehow makes it possible for a wizard to bind or anchor his soul to … um … this plane of existence," Hermione said. "With the soul anchored as it were, it can't pass on."

"It's not a perfect death dodge," Harry added. "Your body can still die and getting a new one's not easy at all. But so long as the soul remains, it can gain a new body somehow."

"You mean like a ghost?" Robert asked. He had heard from Hermione that ghosts were real and that there were a fair few at Hogwarts.

"No, not a ghost," Hermione said.

"A disembodied soul, not a spirit," Harry added. "Ghosts can pass on if they want to. Someone who used a horcrux can't. And that spirit can take possession of living things while ghosts can't."

"That's horrible!" Lily said. "I never heard of those things."

"I've read about them," Sirius said. "Then again, my family does not exactly limit itself to Light reading, pardon the pun. They're right nasty bits."

"The wizard has to murder someone to make one," Hermione said. "I didn't read the specifics, but what I recall suggests simply killing someone's not enough. It has to be murder."

"And there's a difference?" Lily asked.

"I've killed lots of people," Sirius said. "I've murdered no one. You've killed too, Lily. But I have no reason to think you murdered anyone. The Death Eater you knocked off the Astronomy Tower was an accident and you can't accidently murder someone. Not that it mattered since killing a murderer might not count as murder either. The trick, of course, is to know without a doubt that the person's a murderer. Murder is killing for purely selfish reasons. Defending yourself or others is not murder neither is fighting in a war."

"However you define it," Hermione said, "we're talking about killing someone under such conditions that the act damages or weakens or shatters the killer's soul so it can be divided somehow. Most remains with the killer, but a bit of it can be cut off and if it is cut off, it can be placed into an object and so long as it remains in that object, it can't pass on and if it can't pass on, neither can the rest of the soul. I'm pretty sure I never learned the how about it nor do I care. We didn't learn about these things to make them. We learned about them to find them and destroy them."

"Dumbledore's most important plans – his most secret ones – ultimately focus on these things," Harry said. "I don't know if they do now, although I think they do now. Until recently, his most important plans focused on the Prophecy. Whatever his Greater Good is, it's nothing if Voldemort can succeed. The Prophecy tells him that Voldemort is not defeated and the events of my first two years merely reinforces that. Voldemort must be utterly destroyed. Dumbledore believes that destroying the being that is Voldemort means we can all live happily ever after and his Greater Good can come to pass. I could care less about his political stuff. But we know that the happily ever after bit can't happen if we don't destroy the ideas that allowed that wanker to exist in the first place. That's long term stuff. But we can't even begin to do that if he can still come back."

"So he did what he did to you – to gain control of our House – to get rid of Voldemort?" James asked.

"No. That was an opportunity that suddenly presented itself," Luna answered. "That was to make it easier for him politically to advance his long term agenda."

"But that was a plan that came from another plan that didn't exist before he thought my parents were dead," Harry said. "He suspected Voldemort had done something evil to avoid death and believed I was now a key somehow. He wanted to control the key. But I wasn't just anyone, was I? If I had been, he would have stopped at controlling where I lived and all that. But I was the last Potter and that meant one day I'd control that Estate and those votes so he did what he did to gain control of those too. But always, I think, he knew he had to get rid of Voldemort and I had become the key to that."

"So what does that have to do with this?" Robert asked referring to the cup.

"That cup's a horcrux, one of the ones that Voldemort made to become somewhat immortal," Hermione said.

"One of the ones?" Sirius asked.

"Somewhat immortal?" Lily and Robert asked.

"Well," Harry answered, "I'd think if anyone can snuff your body given the chance, you can't be truly immortal even if it's possible you can come back. Kind of inconvenient if your body can snuff it just the same as any other body. As for one of the ones, yes. Voldemort made more than one."

"I'm pretty sure that's not a horcrux, Harry," Sirius said. "The Goblins assured me it's magically inert."

"Well, you said it came from the Lestrange vault."

"It did."

"Then it was one. Either that or the Goblins couldn't tell. That reminds me. Dobby?"

There was a "pop" and Dobby appeared in front of them. "The Great Harry Potter be needings Dobby?" the elf squeaked.

Harry rolled his eyes. He could not break the elf of that habit. "If Miss Ginny is available, we need her here." Dobby popped away with barely a nod. "Should have added and presentable," Harry chuckled. Fortunately, Ginny was when she arrived moments later. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything," Harry said.

"Not really," Ginny said. "Mum's having another row with Fred and George about … you know. Ron and Katie were out for a walk. I was just there 'cause it was entertaining. Um … what's happening."

"Couple of things, I should think. First, we had a memory uncap and we definitely need to keep the information under a Fidelius or a special double one in this case. Second, we need you 'cause you're the only one here with a … um … present memory of any of this really. Could you pick up the cup?"

Harry forgot that she was still a concubine and that was an order. She picked it up and looked at him. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"No," he said. "Um … do you feel anything?"

"What do you mean? I'm a little annoyed…"

"I mean – I don't know – does that cup remind you of anything?"

"No. Never seen it before. It's not very pretty, is it? Looks old, and rather … cheap."

"The diary, perhaps?" Harry suggested.

Ginny dropped the cup as if it burned her. "That's something like the diary?"

"Um … maybe. Did it feel like it?"

"No. Not at all. That diary … I would've noticed if there was something similar."

Harry picked up the cup and looked at it for a moment. "Nothing," he said handing it to Hermione who shrugged after a few seconds. "Guess they got rid of it somehow," he said. "One less one to worry about."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked.

"One less one? There are others?" Sirius asked.

Harry then explained to Ginny what he explained thus far to the others.

"The diary was one, wasn't it?" Ginny commented when he finished bringing her up to date.

"It was," Harry said.

"He made two?" Sirius asked in horror.

"No. Two have been destroyed. He made more."

"Merlin's Beard!" Sirius exclaimed. "How many?"

"The diary was the first one he made, most likely," Harry said. "The cup is said to have once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, one of the Founders of Hogwarts. Can't tell you if it is or isn't. But Voldemort believed it was, stole it from its owner and killed the owner for good measure. He then turned it into another Horcrux. There's also a locket said to belong to Salazar Slytherin, a ring he stole from his uncle and a … some kind of women's head thingy said to have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw…"

"The lost diadem?" Luna asked. "But that's … well … lost."

"That's what it's said to have been," Harry nodded. "Lost things can be found."

"True," Luna said. "And always in the last place you look."

"Of course it's always in the last place," Ginny groaned. "Even if it's in the first place you look, it's still in the last place. So that cup's Hufflepuffs?"

"Can't tell you if any of that's true," Harry shrugged. "It's been a thousand years or so…"

"I would say the provenance is suspect," Sirius agreed. "The Goblins said that cup 'is believed to be' attributed to Hufflepuff. Goblins don't qualify a provenance if it's certain meaning that might well be just an old cup, but that's it. Still, it's believed to be and has been believed to be such for some centuries. Whether it is or is not is anyone's guess really. Maybe it had some magical properties before that made it more certain, but the Goblins tell me it's inert. Had it been one of those Horcruxes, they would have destroyed that magic before giving it to me. I guess whatever process they used to get rid of that magic might've gotten rid of any magic. Although it's also possible that even if that was a horcrux, it wasn't magical in any other way at all. You're still saying he made one; more than one?"

Harry nodded. "We think … or we thought … or we will think he wanted to split his soul into seven parts 'cause it's a magically powerful number."

"That's only five," James said.

"Six," Hermione corrected. "Five horcruxes with bits of his soul and the sixth is what's left."

"One short," Robert said.

"The sixth is, was or will be a snake," Harry said. "Can't tell you if he's made that one yet. Maybe he has, although I think he hasn't but he will sometime in the next year or two. When Hermione and I learned of these things, he had already done so. We think he made it possibly after my First Year and most likely after my Third, after this year so it hasn't happened yet. Then again, it is possible it already exists but using a living things as one of those is dicey. After all, if the thing dies the horcrux is destroyed."

"It's possible he was planning to do it after he killed Harry back in '81," Hermione said. "Course he never got around to that."

"So, where are the others?" Sirius asked. "Doesn't do much good to know that they are or might be if you don't know where they are. They could be anywhere."

"That was our problem in the future memories," Harry agreed. "Well, that and we didn't know what all of them were. Dumbledore wasn't around, but he did tell me about those things before he wasn't around and Hermione, Ron and I went looking for them."

"It was a fool's errand," Hermione said. "We had no clue about any of them other than what Dumbledore told Harry. To be honest, I don't think Dumbledore knew much more than what he told Harry either. We spent months and months on the run and getting no closer to anything while Voldemort took over and our world …"

"Went down the crapper," Harry finished. "That's something that may have to happen anyway. We can't stop Voldemort from coming back and when he does … well …"

"But, if we get to those things first…," Lily began.

"We have the same problem we did in the future memories," Harry said. "Unless Hermione remembers something I don't, or Luna does, I don't know where all the ones are; only one of them. The diadem's in a secret room in Hogwarts."

"You remember where?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded.

"Good. 'Cause the locket's on a bookshelf at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London."

"How … that's my parent's house!" Sirius said. "How do you…? A future memory?"

Harry and Hermione nodded. "We saw it there," Hermione said. "We didn't know it was important at the time. Going there hasn't happened yet. It was sometime after this year."

"So it might not be there yet?" Lily asked.

"No, it's there. It wasn't after we figured out what it was. Someone stole it and we had to find it all over again. But it's there as we speak."

"Why would it be there?" Sirius wondered.

"'Cause your brother stole it from Voldemort or at least from where he had hidden it," Hermione replied. "He died in the attempt, but his House Elf brought it back to his home and has been trying to destroy it ever since."

"Kreature…" Sirius said.

An elf appeared before them. It was older than any elf Harry or Hermione had ever seen. There were older elves on the Potter Estates, but none looked as old as the one that now stood before them. It may have been at least in part due to his attire. It was mostly naked with just a scrap of cloth at its waist not unlike a skirt. It stood there mumbling.

"Keature no be knowings this place. Mistress not be here," it said before it looked at the people. "Blood Traitor boy and filth! Mistress not be likings, not at all."

"Quite!" Sirius said.

"Who's that?" Ginny asked.

"His name is Kreature," Sirius said. "He's the elf that took care of my family home when I was a boy. Odd. He was old then too and a nasty piece of work."

"Mistress disowned vile, blood traitor," the elf muttered.

"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked.

Sirius shrugged. "Far as I can tell, nothing. He was like that before too."

"Why's he dressed that way?" her father added.

"My mother insisted, I'm pretty sure. She felt to dress them properly would give them an attitude. Well, this one has a right nasty attitude and always had so I have no idea what she was on about."

"Dobby dressed similar before he joined me," Harry said. "I think it's something families like that did."

"My cousin Cissy's elf doesn't," Sirius noted. "Elves dress the way their family wants them to."

"Why is Kreature here?" the elf mumbled.

"Is that a question?" Sirius replied.

"N-no."

"Although it's pertinent," Hermione noted.

"I am the Head of the House of Black," Sirius began.

"Mistress worst nightmare come to life," the elf muttered.

"Silence!" Sirius ordered.

"Do you have to be so mean?" Hermione asked.

"I suppose not," Sirius sighed. "I just have a bad history with this one. My mother used him to … well, he was not nice to me and … It's not important. I'd guess he's here because he thinks I called him. As Head of his House, he has to come if I need him."

"But you didn't call him, did you?" Mr. Granger asked.

"He's always been out of sorts," Sirius shrugged. "He may have interpreted it as a summons."

"He could get the locket!" Hermione said.

"Filthy Mudblood not be getting Master Regulus's locket," the elf muttered.

"You will not use that word for Muggle Born every again!" Sirius ordered. "I thought you said Voldemort turned a locket into a horcrux!" he added looking at Harry.

"He did," Harry said. "It's at that place and the elf knows why."

"What do you mean by Master Regulus's locket, Kreature?" Sirius asked.

"Master Regulus's orders," the elf replied. "He told Kreature to take it and destroy it. He wouldn't let Kreature help him."

"Explain!"

"The Dark Lord came to Master Regulus and told Master Regulus that Dark Lord needed an elf so Master Regulus be sending Kreature. Master Regulus tells Kreature to do what the Dark Lord be telling Kreature to do. Dark Lord be taking Kreature to a cave, Kreature knows not where. Dark Lord be taking Kreature to an island in a lake in the cave. There, Dark Lord be ordering Kreature to drink a potion from a bowl. Nasty potion. Painful potion. Gave Kreature bad thoughts, that potion. Makes Kreature drink it all and pain and nasty thoughts get worse. Keature wants to die to make it go away. Dark Lord than puts locket in the bowl and leaves Kreature in the cave to die. But Master Regulus is smarter than Dark Lord. Master Regulus told Kreature to come home when Dark Lord was finished and Kreature did.

"Pain and nasty thoughts not going away. Master Regulus took care of Kreature until they did. Then Master Regulus tells Kreature to take him to the cave. He tells Kreature Dark Lord must die, that Mistress is wrong about Dark Lord. Dark Lord wants to destroy everything and cannot be suffered to live to succeed. Locket is key. It be keeping Dark Lord alive. It must be destroyed. Kreature takes Master Regulus to the cave. Master Regulus explains that Kreature must give Master Regulus the potion. That Kreature must give it to Master Regulus even if Master Regulus not be wanting it anymore. Killing Dark Lord is most important thing and locket is the key. If Master Regulus is to die, Kreature must get locket and hide it and destroy it. Kreature does as Master bids. Kreature not be liking it. Not at all. But Kreature does. Kreature gets the locket and … and before Kreature can get to Master Regulus to take Master away, things come from lake and drag Master in. Kreature cannot save Master. But Master is smarter than Dark Lord. Kreature takes locket away, back to Mistress's house.

"But then Kreature fails Master. Kreature tries everything. Always tries. But Kreature cannot destroy the locket." By the time the elf had finished, it lying on the floor weeping.

"Whoa," James said. "You okay, Sirius?"

Tears were falling from Sirius's eyes.

"Who was this Master Regulus he's on about?" Mr. Granger asked.

"My younger brother," Sirius said. "He became one of them, you know. My mother wanted us to. I didn't. He did. I … We got along as kids. I was afraid one day he would be on the other side of a fight and I'd have to put him down. Then we got word he was dead, although we did not know how except that it wasn't our side that killed him. All this time I thought he had ruined his life and died a senseless death. Grandfather did as well, apparently. He cut my mother off without a knut after he learned her son died a Death Eater."

"Mistress forever shamed," the elf mumbled.

"Okay, so we have one of those things. Now what?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I destroyed the diary with a basilisk fang," Harry noted. "I'm sure we learned how to destroy them in that other time, but aside from what I did this time, I have no clue. Hermione?"

She shook her head. "No idea. Surely there's something about it somewhere. We can only check. You said you have a library here, Sirius?"

He nodded. "Some books. Pretty sure nothing on those. Then again, it's not like I brought all of the House books here. Some of them are … disturbing."

"House Black may well have what we need. I don't think Hogwarts does. My memory tells me it did, but Dumbledore's hid those books and we can't get them."

"I doubt he'd let us see them if we asked," Harry agreed.

"I can have what's still out there moved here," Sirius said. "But what if my family had nothing on those? I mean I know I read about them most likely from my family library, but I can't recall reading about destroying them."

"We know a basilisk fang worked," Harry said. "We've held a few of them back from the Goblins. The Flamels suggested it. Guess we know why now. Still, the things are nasty and I'd rather find a less … messy way to deal with them."

"It might be our only way," Luna offered.

"True," Harry agreed, "but we have time. The memory arrived out of sequence. I'm pretty sure we did not need it now so that means there's time. So long as we keep that thing safe and somewhere where it won't go missing…"

"If that cup was one, it's a fair bet the Goblins got rid of it," Lily remarked.

"Perfect!" Sirius said. "Kreature?"

The elf stood.

"Master Regulus … he brought great honor on the Ancient and Noble House of Black by what he did. You have brought great honor on the Ancient and Noble House of Black in helping him…"

"Kreature not be. Kreature be failing."

"Not through any fault of your own," Sirius replied. "The magic was beyond your ability, maybe beyond that of any elf. That you tried is all that matters. Now I want you to go to Gringotts and speak to the House Accounts Manager and ask whether they can destroy such things. You do know what it's called now, right?"

"Hor-crux," the elf replied.

"Exactly. If they can, take the locket to them and they'll finish your task. If not, come back and tell me and we'll figure out where to go from there."

"Don't bring it here," Harry said. "The thing's too nasty…"

"The horcrux will not be brought to me unless I ask. Understand?"

"Kreature understands. Kreature will do as … as L-Lord Black asks for Master Regulus." With that he popped away.

"Should've told him to get some decent clothes," Sirius mumbled. "Oh well. That may be two and the other's at Hogwarts?"

"It's safe for now," Harry said. "We can get it once we know we can destroy it."

"What's that leave?" James asked.

"The ring," Harry said. "I know I saw it in that future, but it was in Dumbledore's office. He got it somewhere but as I was never there really, I have no idea. He gets it a couple years from now and unless we get a clue between now and then, I have no idea where it is as we speak. The snake's a separate problem. For all we know, he hasn't made it yet. Even if he has, it's with him and that's nowhere near here. He keeps or will keep that thing pretty close mostly although not always. Nothing we can do about it for now."

"But we should be able to get rid of all the others, right?" Lily asked.

"All but one other one, yes," Harry answered.

"Which one didn't you tell us about?" Sirius asked.

"That's seven!" Lily said. "You said there were six!"

"He planned to make six, yes."

"And there's another one? What is it? Where?"

Harry pointed at his head and smiled.

"We know you know," Ginny said. "But what aren't you telling us?"

"Voldemort made a seventh horcrux," Harry said. "He didn't plan to nor does he even know it exists."

"How can he not know?" James asked.

"Because he keeps trying to destroy it," Harry replied. "He's tried at least four times since I started school, three that he should remember. Maybe he's a bit off or something, but I'd think someone as obsessed with not dying as he is wouldn't make it easier by getting rid of one of his safeguards."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked.

Harry tapped the scar on his forehead. "Number seven," he said.

"What? You?" his mother asked in horror.

"Not me. Not really. But the scar is the seventh one and as long as it is one he can't die."

"How could that've happened?" Lily asked.

Harry shrugged. "It happened the first time he tried to kill me and failed, that night when he also tried to kill you and Dad. I don't know how it happened."

"It could be he was planning on using Harry's death to make another one and it went wrong when he was destroyed," Hermione said. "It could also be that having made five already he was so unstable that his destruction caused it to happen. We'll never know not that it matters. The fact is Harry is one and it has to be destroyed to get rid of Voldemort once and for all."

"Okay. So how do we get rid of it?" James asked.

"In my memory it was easy, although unconventional."

"You're going to tell us," Lily growled.

"You're not going to like it…"

"TELL US!" she yelled and Harry was spared for the moment as the noise woke up his baby sister Elizabeth (whom they were calling "Beth") and her cries ended the conversation for a time. "Now look what you've done," Lily said as she gathered the child from its carrier. Harry decided it best not to point out that he was not the one who yelled and woke her up. After she quieted down, but clearly had no interest in going back to sleep, Harry decided to answer the question.

"In my future memory, I got rid of the one in my scar next to last. The snake was the last one to go. For the scar, all I had to do was take it between the eyes, as it were."

"Take what?" Lily asked.

"The Killing Curse."

"You died?"

"No. How could I have sent memories back years later if I died? The curse destroyed the horcrux but left me unharmed. Now before anyone here gets any bright ideas about that, what I can't say is whether any killing curse will do. I think it's possible that any would, but only one would get rid of the Horcrux and not kill me in the process. Only Voldemort can get rid of this one for certain and not kill me as well. I'm not too thrilled with the thought of dying anytime soon."

"Who knows this?" Sirius asked.

"Which part?" Harry replied. "Aside from us, I'm pretty sure Dumbledore knows what this scar is. As for how to get rid of it, he knows that as well. But what I do know from those memories is he does not know that it won't kill me. Everything he's done since the night Voldemort tried to wipe out my family was with the assumption that I had to die to get rid of Voldemort. That's why he set up with that brutal contract with the Weasleys for Ginny and why he went to such lengths to control House Potter. If I wasn't destined to die in his opinion, he probably wouldn't have done any of it. His plans come to nothing if I lived long enough to undo any part of them."

"They've come to nothing anyway," Ginny said.

"True, but that was by no means certain."

"What does this mean?" Lily asked with a hitch in her voice.

"Well, it helps knowing Voldemort can't snuff me," Harry said. "What it means is regardless of whether we get the other horcruxes or not, I will have to take one for the team as it were. It won't kill me. It won't even hurt as far as I recall. But until this thing's gone, Voldemort can't be killed permanently. Now what I'm thinking is I need to figure a way to… Just a thought."

"To what?" Luna asked.

"Won't be hard to get the bastard to kill me that way," Harry said. "He's too proud of himself to use something more effective…"

"What's more effective than the Killing Curse?" James asked.

"In this case, something that destroys my body's ability to live. The Killing Curse doesn't do that. So as long as he stays away from curses that cause physical harm, I should come out of it okay. And from what I recall, he really likes that curse and has no reason to think of something more damaging. He'll probably try to get rid of me as soon as he can and he will want to do it himself."

"Why?"

"The prophecy," Hermione said.

"He doesn't know the good bits," Harry said. "He doesn't know I've got some power he doesn't or that he has to kill me to win. He only knows I'm his only real rival, which is enough to get him to be the one to try and end it. After all, if I was so easy that a Death Eater could do it, why the bit about me having the power to do him in? Throw in the fact that he's tried five times and failed five times … well, four that he knows about anyway … and you know he's not about to let anyone else do it. I can pretty much count on him coming after me which means it's certain he'll use that curse and destroy that horcrux. That's the easy part as I know from the future memories that it won't kill me."

"That suggests a hard part," Lily said.

"I get one free pass on that curse that I can count on," Harry agreed. "On the one hand, it'd be amusing to get back up again and see the expression on his face when his best wasn't good enough. But doing so would give him a second chance and in addition to the fact that I don't think he deserves one there's the real problem that the second time probably would not go well for me at all. The trick is to get away before he can try again. But all of this is pointless as he has to have a body and be able to cast that curse before I can even begin to worry about that."

"How did you do it the last time?" James asked.

"I don't know. It's not one of the memories."

"That's just great!" Lily moaned.

"It may be there," Luna suggested. "It may be part of a separate uncap."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry agreed. "Kind of silly not to send that back at all unless it's truly unimportant and if it is, we'll know that when we need to. If it's not unimportant, we'll know that too."

"So what good is any of this?" Sirius asked.

"You're kidding, right?" Harry retorted.

"Not really."

"We have more information now than we did in our future memory lives," Harry said. "What Hermione and I remember we didn't learn until some years from now so we're way ahead of the game. We got one less of those things to worry about as it is and we know where two others are right now. If the Goblins can't or won't destroy them, then we'll figure out how. We did the last time, apparently. That leaves us with one other for certain aside from me. It may be we have to wait until Dumbledore digs that one up. But in my memory, he does and I don't think we've given him any reason not to do that again. There's nothing we can do about my scar until Voldemort returns as far as I know and I'm not about to experiment and find out whether any Killing Curse will do the job. So that one has to wait. Besides, we're not ready for the pros yet anyway. We've got a lot of stuff to learn before we can play in that park. That and there's stuff happening now we have to deal with such as our bonds and whatever other tricks Dumbledore'll certainly try and pull. We do what we can now and leave the rest 'til later."

"I'd rather be done with it," James said.

"So would we," Hermione agreed. "But we're not going to risk Harry just to be done with it."

"I won't either," Ginny said. "Luna and Hermione are bonding. I'm bonded, but differently. If Harry dies, Luna and Hermione will too. I won't. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to let that happen if it can be avoided. We do what we can now. We think about the rest so we'll be ready for it when that time comes."

"What's that smell?" Hermione asked instantly changing the topic.

"It's your turn, James," Lily said nicely, although to the others it seemed almost cruel.

"It can't be," James protested.

"It can and is and I'm not arguing about it!"

"Fine!" He then took the baby from his wife and a large bag they had brought with them and walked off to another room.

"What was that about?" Harry asked.

"Beth needs a nappie change," his mother said with a mischievous smile.

"OH MERLIN!" James's voice sounded from the other room.

"You better not get any of that on my stuff, Prongs," Sirius called. "Only Blacks can foul the House of Black!"

"She happens to be a Black," Lily said.

"Forth in the line of succession," Harry added.

"Um … right," Sirius nodded. "Make that only the issue from my loins can soil my house, Prongs!"

"Okay, that's nothing I want to think about," Ginny said.

"Neither is the mess in question," Sirius added.

"Says the Godfather who wouldn't change his Godson for all the gold in Gringotts," Lily huffed.

"Hey," Sirius protested. "My job was to spoil him rotten; not wipe his muck covered backside!"

"And what about your own kids?"

"I managed to miss that bit. About the only good thing about Azkaban."

"I thought you and Connie were planning…"

"I'll need another 'out' then, but I've got time to think of one."

"And if there isn't one?"

"It's why there's House Elves."

"I'm sure Connie will agree with you."

"We haven't discussed such things yet…"

"Sounds like there'll be little discussion if you can get away with it."

"And there will be if I can't. We are bonded, you know."

"Mooney never complained when he was asked."

"He's weird."

"It is supposed to be a bonding experience."

"So's giving her pony rides when she's older and that's not nearly as disgusting. I swear, if you figured out a way to get him to breast feed…"

"The thought did cross my mind, especially in the wee hours of the morning. But my guess is the old coots on the Wizengamot would outlaw such magic. After all, it would make wizards equal to witches in that regard and we can't have that."

"Interesting turn of a phrase," Hermione whispered just as James returned with the baby and the bag. He handed his daughter to her mother.

"She's a week old," he grumbled. "How can anything that small make that kind of mess?"

"They all do," Lily began.

"They all don't fart when you're wiping them and then laugh at you!"

"I'm sure she didn't…"

"Oh, your daughter certainly did!"

"She's too young."

"I know a fart when I hear one!"

"I meant to laugh about it."

"She is the daughter of Prongs," Sirius said. "Might well be in the blood."

"Harry doesn't…"

"Not now, but he was not unlike that when he was little," James said.

"Do I need to hear this?" Harry groaned.

"Actually, your specialty was tormenting the cat," Sirius said.

"Poor Mrs. Whiskers," Lily sighed.

"That thing never liked me," Sirius countered.

"You did set her tail on fire."

"That was an accident!"

"And you were the one who taught Harry to torment it."

"Um…"

"And then you had to make things worse when _against my specific instructions, _you bought Harry a training broom for his first birthday. He couldn't even walk!"

"Sure could fly, though," James mused.

"Chased that fur ball all over the house," Sirius laughed.

"You didn't!" Hermione scolded Harry. Luna and Ginny did not look too thrilled either.

"I have no memory of ever doing that!" Harry protested.

"And you better not get any ideas," Ginny growled. "Sammy's a nice cat!"

"I have no idea what I did when I was that little. But I now live with five beautiful girls any one of whom would hex me like no one's business if I was a cat tormentor. The only things scarier than having one witch angry at you is having five which is what I'd get if I even thought of doing that to any of the cats."

"At least you understand that," Hermione said primly.

The "conversation" was interrupted with a "pop." Kreature had returned and he held a locket in his hands.

"Master Regulus orders be done," he said.

"I … I thought I said not to bring that here," Sirius said in surprise.

Kreature nodded. "Master Sirius tells Kreature not to bring the horcrux to new House Black. Kreature listens. Locket was nasty horcruxess of Dark Lord and very dangerous. Kreature takes locket to Goblins and they removes the magic. Locket not being Dark Lord's horcruxes anymore."

"Really?" several voices asked.

The elf nodded.

"Have him give the locket to Ginny," Hermione suggested.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"To be sure."

"Don't you think Ginny should have a say in this?"

"I'll do it," Ginny said. "I'm the one who'll know if what he said is true. I … I need to do this."

Sirius ordered Kreature to hand the locket to Ginny. She held it for a while and looked at it. She then opened it and nothing happened.

"Um…," Harry began.

"It never opened in my other memory," Hermione said. "We tried to but it wouldn't."

"I opened it," Harry said. "Had to use Parsletongue to do so and it didn't react well to that. I guess they did get rid of any magic. Ginny?"

"Nothing," she said. "I don't feel anything. I always felt something with that Diary. Part of it was a need for it, but otherwise I was never in a good mood when I had it and if I was in one, it would go away as soon as I touched the thing. I get none of that from this."

"Goblins say locket was as Master Sirius said locket was," Kreature said. "Goblins remove magic from locket and locket died. Locket screamed and magic was gone."

"That sounds right," Harry nodded. "That's like what happened when I stabbed the diary."

"This means we can get rid of that other one too!" Hermione exclaimed with excitement. "I mean you know where it is, Harry. We could be done with it today!"

"Um…"

"You said you knew where it was."

"I do."

"Then why are you acting unsure?" Lily asked.

"It's in a room that changes into what the user wants," Harry said. "The specific form of the room… well, there's one that's used a lot when people are desperate to hide things. It's been used for centuries…"

"Blimey! I know that room!" James said. "Filch nearly caught me with something on his banned list and there it was! Never found it again, though."

"When was that?" Sirius asked.

"Second Year," James replied. "I … I don't know where."

"Seventh Floor corridor across from the tapestry of the dancing trolls," Harry replied. "According to my memory, that is. Anyway, that room's huge and stuffed with stuff. Must be the size of the Quidditch Pitch and stuff's piled everywhere. Somewhere in there is that diadem but where? That I can't tell you. Even if I call up the room, there's no telling how long it would take to search. Then there's the real possibility Voldemort put some kind of curse on the thing just in case. My memory said he did that with a few of them, but not what the curses were only that they weren't the same each time with each one. The locket didn't really have one other than the fact it was a horcrux to begin with, but Kreature did mention the cave and I was there in that future. There were traps there… Getting to it was… And that potion… It nearly killed… It was set up such that it was not likely anyone other than Voldemort would get the thing and live. I was with someone, Dumbledore I think. It nearly killed us and even then, we got there only to find someone beat us to it. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more to that diadem than just that room."

"And as things are now, we're not ready to deal with obscure curses," Hermione added. "We can't even detect them yet, not safely that is. Guess we should work on that first, after all there's time."

"I've had training," Sirius began.

"And your walking around Hogwarts is bound to raise questions," Harry replied. "Hermione's right that we aren't curse breakers and unless we know we can remove that thing without risking ourselves in the process we're best at leaving it there for now. This is not something we can tell just anyone. Voldemort cannot learn that we know about those things and are doing anything about them. Arguably, Dumbledore can't be told either."

"It would upset the time stream," Luna said. "We can only alter what we can alter and even then there are risks that the changes will so alter the future progress that our future memories become useless to us and then we're blind. Destroying those things probably doesn't change anything important. But people knowing about them being destroyed would. Those people would act differently and that won't be good."

"Dumbledore needs to find that ring," Harry nodded. "If he thinks we have a handle on it, maybe he won't try and we have no clue whatsoever where that thing might be. He never tells me anything and I have no reason to believe that will change so if he knows anything about where that thing is, we have to believe he won't tell me or any of us leaving us where we are now which is nowhere if that ring lasts. We can deal with the diadem when it suits us to do so. But that we've dealt with any of them at all must remain secret. We'll probably let some others in on it, but I would think that those people are most likely residents of the Estates or practically such and even then we'd have to consider whether their knowing is helpful. I don't like secrets. I especially don't like it when the secret is about something that affects me or my family and is kept from me. But I understand that there are times when they are necessary. All this will be placed under Fidelius. Everything we know about horcruxes, everything we learn about them and everything we've done about them must remain secret until it's too late for Voldemort to do anything about it which won't be until he's going to be finished off once and for all."


	55. Chapter 55: Through A Looking Glass

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Some may think that some stuff in this Chapter (and to some extent the three that follow) is either repetative or deviates from the plot. Repetative possibly. I have characters explaining some things from both a different point of view and to a very different audience. Thus, while the same it will be different and maybe even somewhat contradictory as such explanations can be in reality. But as umimportant as some of this stuff might seem, it has a point later on in the tale and is all part of building the world and soceity that is necessary for the tale. Hence, criticisms as above will be ignored. (Not that would matter as I'm currently finishing up Chapter 71. But as I so far down the road, I'm posting a few chapters over the next couple of days.)

**CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS**

**SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7****th**** 1993**

The four girls had never seen the beneficial or even the amusing effects of magic. Their introduction to the wizarding world had shown them magic at its worst, used to ruin and harm. All four had been abducted through magic. They had been forced to engage in sexual acts and had been unable to offer any resistance because of magic. They had been punished with magic in ways more painful than any of them could have imagined. They were robbed of their families, their lives and time through magic. They had also benefited from magic. Magic had led the Aurors to where they were being held and had transported them from that living hell, although they had no memories of that being in stasis at the time. Their physical injuries had been healed and repaired with magic, although again they had no memory of that treatment. They had been treated with mind magics as well to help them cope and survive their ordeal and, it was hoped, one day thrive despite it. But while they may have been aware the Psychomagical Healers were doing something possibly magical, the spells did not seem to do anything. Had they thought about it, they might have realized that they were calmer, less depressed, less hysterical after those spells were used. But they had not thought about it too much.

The day before they had been discharged from St. Mungos. Miss Cissy, as they called her, and Healer Tonks had escorted them from the place. Aside from some of the "injuries" they saw in the waiting room they could not easily tell that the place was all that different from other hospitals. Well, there was that and the complete absence of anything technological. The two older witches brought them outside. It was their first harmless magical experience as they had to walk through what looked like a wall to leave. They found themselves on a side street in a city standing beside a tall building that looked like a rundown department store. There they met some others who introduced themselves. One was Mrs. Granger and another was Mrs. Black. Mrs. Granger was not a witch and Mrs. Black was, but her parents were not. Also joining them was Mrs. Greengrass, another witch and a girl a couple of years younger than they were named Anna who was Mrs. Black's daughter and a young witch.

The ladies explained that Mrs. Black and her daughter lived in London, or the daughter had until she started boarding school. Mrs. Granger lived in Slough in Royal Berkshire just west of the London Metropolitan area. The other women lived elsewhere, too far away for an easy day trip to the city by car or other non-magical means. The group was taking them shopping as all four needed clothes among other things. What they were wearing were their hospital robes and gowns which had been "transfigured" into clothes. But they were told the spell was more or less temporary. It would last several days for certain, unless the clothes were laundered for some reason. They needed "real" clothes. What they were not told was why there were so many witches in the group. There were five adults plus a girl. The reason was just in case one of them thought of running off. But that had not happened.

They were not taken to Diagon Alley. Mrs. Granger said that while Diagon Alley was the best place for magical stuff, it was not much for clothes unless one wanted to dress like an old fashioned witch all the time. Everyone except Miss Cissy shopped for clothes in the "Muggle" world. There was no beating the selection. They spent hours in the shops in London which would have taxed the most accommodating males of the species, but with little real monetary concerns and an unseen House Elf to relieve them of the need to carry their packages, for the four girls and their escorts it was a thoroughly rewarding experience. They were tasked to provide the four girls with complete wardrobes, but that task did not include dressing them in the most expensive fashions nor did it include jewelry, aside from some relatively inexpensive and age appropriate accessories, so for that purpose their needs did not tax their allocated budget. Naturally the four girls were not told this.

With the shopping done and all but a handful of the shopping bags already taken away by the unseen House Elf, the girls and their escorts took the London Underground to a train station and there they boarded a train that headed west. It was not a long journey at all as they left the train at Windsor where they were taken to two cars in the nearby car park. One belonged to Mrs. Granger and the other to Mrs. Black. They then sat through the relatively short drive to the Granger home just to the north of Windor and Eton. Dinner was served almost the moment they arrived. The girls were not told that it had been the work of an unseen House Elf, but it had been for Cissy's elf Pira had been busy all day long.

The Grangers owned a large home, larger than they truly needed actually. Still, it was small when one considered the number of guests who would be staying the night. Connie and her daughter left after dinner, but Cissy, Andi and Mrs. Greengrass were staying. Although the girls did not know nor were they told, this was to keep an eye on them. Not one of them had tried to run off during the day, but the women were concerned it might happen.

With dinner out of the way and it still being relatively early, the girls asked if they could watch television. The problem was that none of their shows were on that night and in the case of Mary Pierce and Jenny Stanley, both of whom had been missing the longest, one of their favorite shows had been Dr. Who which had been off the air now for four years. It was the wrong time of the year for repeats which was about the only way one could expect to see that show now. Still, they found something to watch on a channel that had not been around before any of the abductions. Andi and Connie were witches who were quite familiar with television as they both had such Muggle technology in their homes. About all Cissy could say was that she had heard of it. For her, the experience had been a revelation ending a day filled with such revelations. Shopping in the Muggle World had surprised her. She had never been subjected to the sheer amount of choices that the average Muggle experienced and it was almost overwhelming although Andi would say later it was almost like a Hogwarts student on their first visit to Honeydukes candy shop in Hogsmeade.

Much to the relief of the adults none of the girls tried to slip away during the night, not that they could have succeeded had they tried what with two witches and one House Elf at the residence. They were introduced to Pira the next morning at breakfast. All four of them awoke to find a set of their new clothes laid out for them to wear and two had asked about that and about where the rest of their new things were.

"Pira took care of it," Cissy said at breakfast. "All of your things will be waiting for you at your new home."

"And where is that?" Elizabeth asked.

"And who's Pira?" Angela added.

Pira was called and appeared. Unlike the Malfoy elves and Kreature, she wore a proper dress even if it had once been something else.

"This is Pira," Cissy said.

"Looks like Yoda," Angela giggled.

"Nah," Elizabeth disagreed. "Yoda's not nearly as cute."

"What's a Yoda?" Cissy asked as did Mary.

"He's the strange Jedi who taught Luke Skywalker about the Force," Elizabeth said.

"I thought Obiwan did that," Mary interrupted. "There wasn't a Yoda in Star Wars."

"He was in the Empire Strikes Back but he died," Elizabeth said.

"The what?"

"The second Star Wars movie," Angela said.

"I saw that one too," Jenny added. "It came out the summer before last … or at least the summer before my last one."

"Then there was the Return of the Jedi," Angela said. "I was ten when it came out. I just loved the Ewoks."

"There're two more?" Mary asked. "What else have I missed?"

"One might say quite a bit," Mrs. Granger said. "Since you went missing in 1978, we've had a woman Prime Minister in Britain. Prince Charles and Prince Andrew got married and had children. But Prince Andrew's left his wife and it's said that Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage is not so good either. The Berlin Wall has fallen and Germany is reunited and the Soviet Union is no more."

"What happened? Was there a war?"

"Not the one you think, I should suppose. In '82 Britain went to war with Argentina over some islands in the South Atlantic."

"The Faulklands," Jenny said. "I was kidnapped a week after the news came out that we had won."

"Two years ago there was another war. This time it was with Iraq."

"We won that one too," Elizabeth said. "Well, it was a coalition of a lot of countries. Iraq took some small country and the rest of the world got mad about it and kicked them out. That was a few months before I was taken."

"And the Russians?" Jenny asked. "They didn't do anything?"

"Stayed out of both," Mrs. Granger said. "I don't understand what happened and I'm not totally sure anyone does. The Soviet Union just fell apart in a way. There was hardly any war or fighting at all, really. Well, not there anyway. Yugoslavia's a mess right now. Romania was for a time. So yes, you missed a bit, assuming it interested you at all."

The girls looked at Cissy.

"I'm as blind as you are," she said. "Our world didn't pay much attention to what went on in the rest of the world and I never gave it much thought. I'm learning that this may've been a mistake. Anyway, I don't know what a Yoda is or this Star Wars you're talking about or Prime Ministers, Princes and such. This, however, is Pira and she's a House Elf. She's been with me for as long as I can remember and I'm told practically since the day I was born…"

"You made her?" Angela asked. "Witches can do that?"

"Don't be silly," Cissy said primly and then apologized. "House Elves are a race of magical beings that have been around throughout our history. They live either in the very few places that have what we call high levels of ambient magic or with a magical family. Pira's ancestors have been a part of my family for generations and seeing that elves live longer than we do, that means for quite a long time. They are our helpers. Pira's taken care of me my entire life. She's been my one constant friend and confidant and the best thing about elves are you can tell them anything and they won't tell anyone." Cissy then explained House Elves in depth.

"But doesn't that make them slaves?" Jenny asked after the bonds and how the young were bonded and sometimes transferred to other families for money was explained.

"There are those in our society who act as if that's the case, unfortunately," Cissy replied. "The old families that have had elves for scores or more of generations generally do not act that way, nor do they mistreat their elves. There are, of course exceptions to this and newer lines, distaff lines might not be so respectful. Regretfully our laws do not protect the elves in such situations. My former husband ill treated his elves which is why Pira has no mate. I would've been expected to bond her into those elves. That would've given him the right to treat her as he wished, so I refused repeatedly. His reaction to that and other things … It is why I had that marriage ended. Any relationship can be abusive, but one should not blame the relationships of all for the abuses of a few."

"But what happens to those elves?" Mary asked. "The ones with the bad witches and wizards?"

"If they have young, the young leave as soon as they're old enough to no longer need their parents' bond to sustain them. That's always a sign of trouble. My husband was never able to keep a young elf around at all. They all wished to bond with me, but I did not have enough work for them which, as you will recall, they also need to thrive, so they went away. I don't know where. Their parents may, I don't know."

"And the older ones?" Mary asked. "They can't leave, can they?"

"Not easily, but it happens," Cissy replied. "An older elf in need of the magical bond can survive without it for a time, a couple of years or so. It is difficult for them. But if they find a new family or if they find a place with enough ambient magic, such as at the school I attended, then they'll be okay. It takes a lot to drive an elf away from its family, but if it's bad enough to them they will seek ways to break their bond and take their chances. One of my former husband's elves did this just recently. He tricked my husband into letting him go, into breaking the bond and he left. I don't know what became of him."

"I do," Andi said. "You're talking about the elf named Dobby?"

Cissy nodded.

"Now there's an odd one," Mrs. Granger laughed.

"You've seen him?" Cissy asked and the four girls looked in anticipation.

"He's the personal elf to Lord Potter," Andi said, "and Head Elf of the combined Potter Estates which are quite extensive."

"Really?"

"Why's he odd?" Angela asked.

"As I understand it," Mrs. Granger replied, "elves generally do not wear socks. He does and they never match. He'll tell you that's on purpose if you ask. He got free of his abusive wizard with a sock, a sock provided by Lord Potter so the mismatched socks are worn to honor that. Lord Potter has a lot of elves on his estates and Dobby is the only one that wears socks."

"You will be living in … well, I won't say our world," Andi said after a moment's pause. "It's not really. Not as we know it. It's new and not under the control of the old order, as it were. It is, however, magical."

"But you barely notice," Mrs. Granger said. "You almost have to think about it and would really have to if the elves weren't so commonplace. But it is magical. True, from what my daughter's told me, maybe not as much as some places. I'm pretty sure there're no unicorns there. I haven't seen any at any rate."

"Unicorns are real?" Mary asked.

"Oh yes," Andi said.

"Many creatures we believe to be myth are real, although very rare and even more rare considering they tend to be hidden by magic," Mrs. Granger said. "My daughter's seen pixies in one of her classes although she said that class was a joke and maybe the pixies were too, but they were real. She's also seen unicorns at a distance in another of her classes which includes what we'd call nature walks. Unicorns are said to be shy and retiring and they don't like boys or men for some reason. My daughter's also seen a baby dragon up close. They're not so nice, she says. Hippogriffs are real too. Her first class on magical creatures featured them. She says they're impressive and kind of pretty although you wouldn't want one mad at you."

Cissy snorted.

"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked.

"I had a son who got one mad at him," she said. "He was lucky it didn't kill him. But, you either have to be thick or really foolish to get one mad at you if you know what sets them off. He was one or the other or both."

"You had a son?" Jenny asked. "Is he dead?"

"Not that I'm aware," Cissy replied. "My marriage was annulled recently. In our world that ends any relationship I had with my husband completely as if it had never happened in the first place and I'm returned to my former family or status as it were. My son was not invited to join me. Right now, his status is … well, it's as if he were an orphan. Although you shouldn't feel sorry for him. He's his father's son, although not as smart I should think and his father is among our worst sorts. That man's lucky he's only serving life in prison without parole for the things he's done. Besides, my 'former' son has money enough to live a comfortable life unless he's foolish with it."

"So you lost your son as part of the divorce?" Jenny asked.

"It was an annulment and there is a difference," Cissy retorted.

"As you learn about that world," Mrs. Granger said, "you will find its society is very old fashioned. Well, not so much where you are going, but the society they came from. There was a time with the magical world was very progressive as compared to this one. But the shoe's on the other foot now so to speak. Many of their laws and social conventions would've fit right in back in Victorian Britain and others would've been outdated even then. So in Cissy's case, her son is the heir of the father and stays with that line when the marriage is over. I don't know what would've happened if he had been a she…"

"That depends," Cissy said.

"On what?" the girls asked.

"Marriage contracts. They still are used in our world certainly by some of the older families. If I had a daughter and there was a betrothal agreement and my marriage was annulled, the other family would decide whether they would honor the agreement or not. If they chose not to honor it, my daughter would be of no value to my former husband so she'd likely be with me. If they chose to honor it, then it would depend upon whether my family or his was the one that made it. If my family made it, the daughter would come with me. If his made it, she'd go with him. But he was a son and not a daughter so he's part of that family and I'm with my former family."

"We won't be…," Mary began.

"No. You won't be arranged into a marriage by your guardians. There are many reasons for this but the important one is that your principal guardian is opposed to such arrangements unless, of course, you're both older and it is what you want as well. My parents, however, were not so progressive. In the end that was a good thing considering the man they married me to. My marriage was annulled because he violated the contract between our families and had we simply married without one there'd be no contract to violate. But I would never have had to suffer that at all if they were willing to let me choose my husband because I never would've married him were the choise mine to make in the first place. But none of you will need worry about that."

"Then again," Mrs. Granger mused, "for the near future at least there's not much of a dating pool where you're going."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that," Elizabeth said. The others agreed.

"Which is a good thing seeing as the few boys about your age who live there are married."

"Do you mean our age as in from when we were born or our age as in how old our bodies are?" Jenny asked.

"Your physical ages," Mrs. Granger said.

"But how can a boy be married at that age?" Angela asked.

"Remember," Mrs. Granger said, "Miss Cissy said that her world is behind us in many things?" When they nodded, she continued. "Well, that's another thing. Our laws about when you can marry are recent as in within the last hundred years or so. Until 1929 or so in Scotland a girl could marry at 12 and a boy at 14. I think it was 16 with parental consent in England by then. Go back further, only a couple hundred years, and a young person could marry with their parents' permission if they were old enough to appreciate what was happening which was generally believed to be so long as they were at least seven."

"You're joking!" Mary exclaimed.

"No, I'm not. Although I might add it was not common. Typically it happened in political marriages between royals and such. I don't think it was common outside of the extended Royal family. In fact, I've found no evidence of marriages that young at all aside from Kings and such. Regular people were older, but still could be younger than 16. Even then, seven wasn't a floor but you needed special permission from Rome, I think. I read that one of the sons of Henry II was married before he was five and his bride wasn't even old enough to walk. They did that as part of a peace treaty with France that lasted maybe a few months or a year or so – the peace that is. The marriage was another matter."

"Our laws never allowed that," Cissy huffed. "For well over a thousand years, you needed to be sixteen to marry without parental consent and you needed to have reached your 'bonding age' and have parental consent and show cause as to why you should marry if you were under sixteen. The main reason a boy or girl might've been married that young was the bride to be was pregnant with their child, but we've had effective magical birth control for over two centuries and all girls attending our schools are required to use it until they've completed their Fifth Year so that reasons pretty much a thing of the past."

"Bonding age?" Elizabeth asked.

"For boys, that occurs once they've reached their thirteenth summer solstice," Mrs. Granger said. "For girls, it's after their sixth menstrual period and provided they've reached their thirteenth summer solstice."

"So the boys here somehow got their … um … wives pregnant?" Jenny asked.

"No," Mrs. Granger replied. "That was the more common reason way back when, but there were two others. Although very rare, sometimes a special, magical bond forms between a young man and young woman and it can begin to form as soon as the younger of them attains their bonding age. For witches and wizards, the bond is deemed a marriage by magic and they can formalize it anytime afterwards. My daughter is one of four witches who live at the Estates – where you'll be living – all of whom are about your age and are all magically and legally married because they share such a bond with their husbands and there's a fifth who now has such a bond and will probably legally marry her bondmate – as they're called – over the Christmas Holidays. There's another exception and that's where there is a pre-existing betrothal agreement and the young wizard is legally emancipated for some reason and is therefore an adult under the law and some of the young ladies who'll you'll meet are married under that exception."

"I'm sure you all will learn about a lot of exceptions to the wizarding world's general marriage laws in the coming months," Andi said, "but we should be getting you to where you're going to be living going forward."

"Is it far?" Angela asked.

"Um…"

"One of the more entertaining questions," Mrs. Granger asked. "The simple answer is no, the entrance is just inside the front door or at least one of the entrances is."

The four muggle girls then began their first "real" experiences with the magical world as not one of them wished to include their stay at Malfoy Manor as one of them. They were told to climb into a trunk, which confused all of them as they thought it might be some kind of muggle magician trick. Naturally, they were all surprised that the ladder led to a sizable room below. Then again, as Mary observed, it might just have been an odd design to the house they had been in by an eccentric owner. That was an opinion that died when the door from the room opened.

They stepped out into Potter House Terminal, although they could not have known that was what the space was called. It was clear to all four of them that the room they were in could not possibly be beneath the floor of the home they had been in before. The ceiling was far too high and there was no way that sunlight should be shining into what would have been a basement. It was explained to them that the trunk was a magical access to where they were now. When they asked where that was, they were told it was the Potter Estate which was part of the Estates but when they asked where that was they were told no one really knew for sure. What was certain was they were no longer in the rest of the world.

They were told that the Terminal contained many doors, most of which were portals. Some led to trunks like the one they had entered which were scattered around England and Scotland. Others led to various places within the Potter Estate and there was one door that led to what they were told was Longbottom Terminal which was more than twenty miles away from where they stood. One day soon there would also be a House Black Terminal, but that was not yet up and running. They left the building which reminded them of a strange train station without platforms or trains and exited onto the square in the Potter Elf village. Here they saw more elves like Pira who seemed to be going about their business. There were two cars parked before the terminal each with an elf driver. The cars reminded the girls of some kind of fancy car from a long time ago. They were split between the two cars with the three adults along with them. None of the girls noticed the third car parked across the square.

"I do hope they like it here," Luna said. She was in the larger third car along with Harry, Hermione, Daphne, Hannah and Ginny.

"I still think some of us should've been there to welcome them," Hermione commented.

"We were told it might not be a good idea yet," Daphne observed.

"I know, but they must be out of sorts."

"But you said it's probably easier for a Muggle to adjust to this than for a magically raised witch to adjust to the modern Muggle world," Ginny countered.

"You seemed to adjust pretty quick," Harry said.

"Please! If Mum let Daddy have his way, the lot of us would be more Muggle than magical 'bout a lot of things. Okay, maybe not considering Daddy's still very confused 'bout a lot of Muggle things. But we did have a car before Ron wrecked it and we did do most of our shopping in Ottery St. Catchpole which is mostly Muggle."

"I meant," Hermione said changing the topic, "I meant that they must be a little overwhelmed is all. I mean … well, aside from each other they really don't know anyone."

"It was that way for most of us when we started school," Daphne said. "I mean aside from Tracey I didn't know anyone."

"Susan was my only friend from before," Hannah agreed. "I dare say you and Harry knew no one before that first train ride and it turned out okay."

"But we hadn't been…," Hermione started.

"You hadn't," Harry said. "But you also didn't leave behind many friends you said. I'll admit what happened to me was very different than what happened to them, but … Well, they may well see this place the way I saw Hogwarts; as an escape from that and as a new start."

"Still, it will be different from what they knew before," Hermione observed. "I mean it is really nice here and there's lots to do if you're interested, but some things are missing like television."

"Never saw much of if to be honest," Harry said. "But I get what you're saying and that might be changing."

"Oh?"

"Had a talk with my Dad the other day when we set the date for their arrival and I said something 'bout that. He said it might not be an issue…"

"But there's no electricity here," Hermione began.

"We don't need it," Ginny observed. Hermione ignored her somewhat.

"And even if there was, the ambient magic here must be pretty high and electrical things wouldn't work!"

"Electronic things won't work well," Harry said. "Electricity is still electricity. Ambient magic has no effect on it, but electronics are far more sensitive. Still, they can work…"

"Then why aren't there any electronic things in magical homes," Hermione countered.

"You mean aside from the fact they won't work so why would we buy them?" Hannah asked.

"They work well enough in our home, the few such things we have at any rate," Daphne said.

"Mum would have kittens if Daddy bought something like that," Ginny mused. "She already has issues with the plugs and other Muggle junk he keeps in his shed. That and she'd probably worry about what it cost and whether it could survive Fred and George."

"Anyway," Harry said trying to regain control of the conversation, "I was asking about my parents' financial situation. I mean I know Dad had a trust like I did, but aside from that … well, I mean true we're not really spending a lot of money … still, how was he going to pay for my sister? Hogwarts is expensive among other things.

"He told me he had it all sorted so I pressed him. He then told me he had more than just his trust to fall back upon. Right around the time he and my Mum got married he invested some of his trust money in a company his accounts manager suggested. It's in the Americas and was said to be close to discovering a way to make electronics work in a magical environment. Of course, he was not in much of a position to keep an eye on that until recently. But when he had his meeting with his accounts manager back in August, he was told that investment had made him quite a bit of money. He didn't say how much. But that's not the point. That company did what it thought it could do and now sells all sorts of magically safe electronics. It even came up with a magical device that somehow uses ambient magic to power the things."

"But Harry," Ginny said, "I'm pretty sure they don't sell them here."

"I made the same point."

"Probably some law against it," Hermione grumbled. "After all, they've banned flying carpets and other imports."

"I made a similar point. He said most of those bans are 'protectionist.' The Ministry doesn't really have anything against flying carpets other than the fact that countries that have them don't buy nearly as many brooms – and we're the largest producer of magical brooms – and don't have much use for a floo network and that's a major revenue source for the Ministry. So the ban is to protect our businesses from competition and an important Ministry revenue source. Well, where's the competition for electronics, I asked. He said they probably don't know 'bout them yet. Muggleborns do of course; electronics that is. But the families that live entirely in our world might not nor would they see much need for them. Dad thinks the reason they're not sold here is no one sees them as being marketable. We don't 'cause we don't see people who would need such magically resistant devices as being the ones who'd buy them. The Americans don't 'cause they don't think we're interested. But the devices do exist: televisions, video machines, stereos, all sorts. My Dad thinks we may be able to get some."

"And even if we had power for them, what then?" Hermione asked. "Would we even get a signal? I mean what use are those things at all if you can't pick up a signal?"

"Signal?" Ginny asked.

"Um… something like the wireless," Hermione replied.

"Oh."

"Dad said they have something for that," Harry replied. "Something like a satellite dish. You set it up somewhere outside the area with too much magic and it sends a different signal to the devices inside the area. He says it works. He's going to try it out over the Hols and if it does, we'd be able to get stuff like that here by mail order through Gringotts."

"I doubt it'd work during time compression," Hermione commented.

"It's not like any of us are pining away for it," Harry chuckled.

"Which means it would only be available when we're in real time and in school!"

"He thinks there's a work around. But even if there isn't, there are some here who would appreciate it and don't have school to worry about. Besides, it would make people like those girls feel a little more at home, don't you think. Something tells me in time they won't be truly alone here."

**Friday, November 12****th**** 1993**

Mistress Umbridge had never been a kind mistress. Her two elves knew this but they were bonded to her and had no choice in their circumstances. Still, it takes a lot for an elf to seek a way out of their bonds and a foul tempered, rude and unappreciative witch was not reason enough to hope for an opportunity to sever the bond. But it had gotten far worse for the two elves recently.

Mistress Umbridge had never seen fit to give her two elves names and had seldom ever spoken to them. So long as they did their work, she had nothing to do with them at all and they were good elves which meant the work was done whether she ordered it or not. But Mistress Umbridge had been ill treated by the wizard she worked for and now she vented her anger and frustration on her elves. She did not care which one suffered her ire but every day one would and her methods were cruel and painful. The elves knew that had they been human, their Mistress could well face prison for what she now did to them and it hurt them not just because it was painful. It hurt them far more deeply than the magic she used against them could have hurt because they knew they had not done anything to earn such treatment from their Mistress.

"Elves!" Umbridge bellowed.

Elsewhere in the house, two elfin faces paled. They knew pain was a real possibility, but they had to obey. They popped to where their Mistress was calling. They bowed before her trying not to flinch. They both hoped she just had orders for them as she did not always call them to vent.

"I need these cleaned," Umbridge growled and she tossed them some garments. The two elves caught the soiled laundry, bowed to the witch and popped away before she could think of anything else.

"We be free," one said to the other when they arrived in a forest. They dropped the garments and waited.

**Saturday, November 13****th**** 1993**

Quidditch was still Quidditch and Hufflepuff was playing Ravenclaw. The day before had been Daphne's fourteenth birthday in outside time and they had a party at the Manor skipping dinner in the Great Hall. All of the residents of the Estates were there aside from the four Muggle girls and their minders. There had been those who thought it might be a chance for them to meet their neighbors (to the extent that people who lived miles away by road or broom could be considered neighbors) but there were others who thought it better that the occasion was not ideal. After all it was Daphne's birthday and those girls did not know her. Harry had bought Daphne's "special" gift when they were in France the past summer. It was a necklace and she was genuinely pleased with it.

But that was the evening before and now they were back at school and Quidditch was Quidditch. That meant most of the students were excited about the upcoming match even though none of the residents of the Estates were playing. Hermione, perhaps, was the only one who would rather be doing something else. Her interest in the sport went no further than the fact that Harry and some of her friends played and she supported them (and worried about them). Since they were not playing today, she saw no real reason to go aside from the fact that they were going so, as usual, she was bringing a book. Harry, Ginny and the other members of the Gryffindor team were interested as this was a chance to size up their remaining competition for the season. Hannah and Susan were going to cheer for Hufflepuff and Padma was going to do likewise for Ravenclaw. Luna was not, however, because she thought the whole thing was rather silly and Harry was not involved. Daphne and Tracy liked the game but were indifferent about the teams.

Somewhere far away, however, another member of House Potter had his own tasks to attend to. Dobby was the Head Elf for the Potter Estate which entailed far more than cooking, cleaning and other work. Among his concerns were staffing and he knew that while there was a surplus of labor at the moment, there would not be a surplus over the long term. He knew that six more trunks were planned and would be incorporated into the Estates as a whole within the next two or three months. He knew that one of the buyers had no elves and none of the buyers had enough. Besides, months ago he had spread the word that House Potter and its allies needed elves and ever since elves had come.

Every Saturday since the beginning, since Dobby had purchased the first trunk for Harry, Dobby had been here. It was a forest. It was remote enough that there had been little risk that a human would stumble into this place. Here every Saturday Dobby waited although he never had to wait long for the word was out and Elves were punctual. Every Saturday one or more elves would arrive to be brought to the Estate and would then be assigned a position. At some point, now once a month in Outside time, Harry would formally accept them into the Estate and allow them to accept the bond to House Potter.

The elves that arrived were always young ones but not children by elf standards. They were "in between" as the elves would say. They were old enough to live apart from their parents and to begin to work but young enough they could survive without a magical bond to a witch or wizard. Most of the young elves that arrived came from households that did not have enough work to sustain them when they were older. There were a handful, however, who were coming from households all too reminiscent of House Malfoy: one which no unbonded elf would choose to join if they had the choice. Those from the families without work to sustain them came to avoid the possibility of being sent to a bad family.

Deep within this particular forest far from the hiking trails the Muggles had made for their own purposes there was a standing stone. That there was such an object was unremarkable as there were numerous sites with such things throughout the isles. Such stones were erected long ago by humans for reasons long forgotten. In all probability, this lonely stone had once been in an open place – a field or meadow or some such – but the trees had returned at some point and at some later point some Muggle chose not to cut the trees probably to encourage wild animals to live here so that the landowner might hunt them. The stone had stood the centuries forgotten.

But Dobby knew of it. He had found it in the weeks between his bonding with the Great Harry Potter and his Master coming to the new Estate. Actually, he had found it within a couple of days. He did not know how except if asked he would probably say it had been old elf magic for there could be no other explanation. He wanted a secret place where elves could be gathered to join the estate of his Great Harry Potter and his magic brought him to the forgotten standing stone in the forest. Perhaps there was another reason. Perhaps the stone had once been important to elves or to House Potter. But if there was another more interesting reason why Dobby's magic had brought him to the stone in the forest Dobby was unaware of it. All that mattered was that it was a place that other elves could find with their magic and it was a place where curious humans were unlikely. So it was to this standing stone in the forest that the young elves came and waited for Dobby.

Dobby arrived near the stone at noon. It was not noon by a clock, but true noon when the sun had reached its highest point in the sky for that day and would then began its slow descent into night. Dobby could not see that it was noon for the day was overcast and a light rain was falling as it had been since before the sun rose. But Dobby did not need to see the sun to know when real local noon was. True noon was a magical time of the day, just as moon rise and set had magical significance, particularly for the full and new moons each month and the solstices and equinoxes had magical significance during the year. As an Elf, Dobby might not observe the stars and planets for greater cycles, but elves did understand the days and seasons for the days and seasons defined their working lives.

Every other time Dobby had arrived at the stone there had been at least one elf waiting for him but not since the first couple of weeks had there been more than three elves. Now there were scores of them. Moreover, this was the first time he had met elves here who were not in their in between age. Seventy-six elves awaited Dobby in the rain. Three were in their in between ages. Nineteen were still children by elf standards and the rest were beyond their normal bonding age. Something had changed but Dobby was not about to think about what that might have been. Dobby was not about to turn elves away, but he knew this would take longer than he had planned.

"_I am called Dobby_," he said in the speech of the elves. "_I am bonded to a great wizard known to many as _Harry Potter." Most elves knew this, although not every one of them. Most elves also understood their ancestral language, but not necessarily every one of them. "Dobby beings the name what Great Master Harry Potter Sir be callings Dobby," he added in English.

"_Well, I hope you don't think you're something special," _a voice said.

Dobby recognized the voice. He had not heard it in some months and he looked into the crowd of faces and recognized the face and several others. _"Papa?"_

_"Aye," _the older elf said.

"_We were so worried when you were cast out," _another voice added with a hint of tears.

"_Mama?"_

"_It is," _"Papa" replied. _"And we were worried."_

"_I couldn't stay," _Dobby replied.

"_We know," _his mother replied for it was his mother. _"We never understood why the wizard was so much harsher towards you…"_

"_That wizard was hardly 'kind' to any elf," _Papa snorted. _"It's a wonder more of us didn't scamper."_

"_Well, it's not like we had anywhere to go," _another voice said. _"Dobby was the only one brave enough to take the risk at being cast out. We were all so worried he'd come to an awful end unbonded and wasting away."_

Dobby had forgotten the female elf's elf name. She had been bonded to House Malfoy under the name Mira and worked in the kitchens and on some secret matter for Master Lucius which she clearly did not like at all. Dobby had liked Mira. They were around the same age and had grown up together.

"_I don't understand. How…?"_

"_Former Master Malfoy got into trouble with their Ministry and the Goblins," _his father replied. _"His wife left him and the marriage is ended. Only her personal elf Pira left with her. Former Master Malfoy lost all of his property and is now sitting in the wizard's holding place where there can be no elves. There's no Manor to clean, no meals to cook, no grounds to tend. We're unemployed and our bond to that family has broken."_

"_There's enough magic and work left for two," _Mira said. "_The boy still could support it. But he's too young it's said and even if not, he has not designated which two should remain to serve him so all were cast out when the magic faded."_

"_But not all here were Malfoy," _Dobby observed.

"_Umbridge," _a female elf Dobby had never seen before said. _"The witch was never kind to us. We were once Mulciber elves, but our former Master transferred us to Umbridge. She was disgraced in her life recently and tortured us for her failings. We tricked her into giving us clothes."_

"_Lestrange, formerly Black," _another said. _"We came to Lestrange when a daughter of House Black married into that … den of Garden Gnomes!" _Elves did not like Garden Gnomes after all the creatures made a mess of formal gardens. Fortunately, Garden Gnomes did not care and Elves liked the extra work or there might have been real problems between the two. "_Lord Black ended the marriage and the Goblins seized the lands. We too found ourselves unemployed." _There were several other elves in similar circumstances. Had Dobby known, he would have realized that that aside from the House Umbridge and Lestrange elves, the others were all from wizards involved in Lucuis Malfoy's illegal enterprises and had recently been cast into Azkaban and had their properties confiscated. What the Ministry failed to seize, the Goblins had as most owed money to the Goblins or had otherwise run afoul of some Goblin law or another such that imprisonment allowed the Goblins to collect under the old treaties.

"_What's with all them fancy clothes…," _a voice added.

"_I am Head Elf of the Potter Estates," _Dobby replied. _"This is Potter Livery for such work."_

"_Real clothes?" _another elf said in awe.

"_We have three seamstresses whose sole job is to make working and other attire for the Elves of the Estates," _Dobby replied. _"They're very busy."_

"_Estates?" _a voice asked.

"_There are three," _Dobby replied. _"Potter, Longbottom and Black. There will be a fourth soon: Weasley. As of today, there are a total of 2,984 working elves and 1,597 younglings between the three Estates not including yourselves."_

There were gasps at the numbers. Outside of Hogwarts, a couple of score of working elves was a large community. "_And there's work? Your wizards can use more elves?" _a voice asked.

"_We have plenty of work for more elves," _Dobby replied. "_And we will have a need for at least a thousand more in a few months."_

"_Must be a lot of witches and wizards," _Dobby's father said.

"_Not many," _Dobby replied. _"Potter estate has but nine, only two of whom are adults. Longbottom has eight with one adult and Black has eight with three adults. There's much more when one counts the regular guests, but it is still not many."_

"_And yet they need so many elves?" _another voice asked.

"_Need? No. They probably do not need what they currently employ, much less the younglings. But they can use and employ what they have and more. It's not the humans that need the work but the land. Right now, there's 600,000 acres and most of it's farms, pastures and gardens and such. The livestock needs tending as well. Second harvest is in, but there'll be a third before it is springtime there and the harvest needs to be preserved and processed so it can be sold or used and most is sold. Then there's the houses and such and there's always work to do there. The families plan to add another 240,000 acres to that in the next couple of months and more as needed in the future. There's plenty of work for those who need it and the bond will hold with the families whether there's but one elf or a thousand or more."_

"_And you're in charge of it all?" _his father asked.

"_Just the Potter Estates and there are others more experienced and knowledgeable who handle the details such as the crops and such. But I am in charge of many things and finding labor is one and for that I find for all the Estates."_

"_So we might not work with your family?" _the elf he knew as Mira asked clearly disappointed with the prospect.

"_It's possible," _Dobby said. "_Before today, I was bringing in only those who were in between and needed a family. It was never this many except when I first sent out word and then we did need that and more. But since then, one to three a week was all that I found waiting here at the stone. I can't say what my wizard will do except that you will all be welcome to the Estates and there will be plenty of work for you. While there are more than one family, the Estates do not prevent their elves from being and meeting with elves from the other Estates. Even if you do not work for House Potter, you live at the Estates so nothing is said that would prevent you from seeing friends or family that live at the Estates even if they work for another wizard family."_

"_And younglings?" _another asked.

"_The Estates existed in some form long before Master Harry Potter bonded with me. The Potter Estates belonged to his parents before him and his grandparents before that and the same is true of the Longbottom Estates. Black is new, but Black follows the old practice and the old practice is to place no restrictions on elf families and younglings. When enough younglings are in between, when there are more elves than work; the Estates acquire more land for the elves to work rather than send the elves off."_

"_Sounds like and elf paradise," _a voice said.

"_Any place with work and a bond is paradise after House Lestrange," _another commented critically.

"_True," _the first said, _"but we've never heard of one."_

"_Not even that school of theirs," _another said, "_although I've heard they never have enough elves."_

"_That and it's been an age since that place allowed matings," _a voice added. _"And this new place, these Estates allow that and younglings and will have work for younglings when they're old enough. That is what you're telling us? We won't have to send our in betweens away?"_

"_The Houses do not require in betweens to stay on, but they do not send them away and none have left or so I've been told. None have been sent away since I've been there nor are there any plans to do so. Master Harry Potter's orders are to gather all elves who wish to join us and so that is what I do here at the stone."_

"_And why are we waiting, then?" _Dobby's father asked.

Dobby could only shrug. _"I need to bring you there one at a time. I can't tell you where it is and you need me to do so to pass through the wards. So it will take some time. I've never brought in a family before, much less so many. I should think that parents and their younglings should go first. One parent is to go and then await the others, then the younglings, then the next parent and so on. I will try to be as quick as I can be seeing as the weather there is much nicer than here today."_

The elves arranged themselves and Dobby faced the first family. There were two parent elves and two younglings. He took the father's hand and popped away from the stone, reappearing in the center of the square of the Elf Village. He did not explain where they were, only told the new elf to wait there until all the others had arrived meaning all the elves at the stone, not just his mate and younglings and so it began. One by one the elves at the standing stone were brought to the square in the village. For the elves who had already arrived, there was nothing to do but wait and look around. Many were nervous as the village had a look to it that suggested there may be Muggles about. Perhaps it was one of the cars or the new lorry that drove through. None of the new elves could know that such vehicles were now used by other elves to help with the work on the farms and bring the crops from the fields to the processing facilities in the village. They were nervous because they knew they were supposed to hide from Muggles and yet here they were clearly visible to any who passed by the square and told in effect they had to stay there rather than hide.

"_We've visible!" _a panicked voice said once Dobby brought the last of the elves to the square. _"The Muggles will know!"_

"_The only Muggles who will see are those who know anyway," _Dobby said. "_Only Muggles whose families are part of the Estate can come here and as those Muggles have daughters who are witches, they know about magic. Only humans with the permission of Harry Potter can come here. Elves here do not hide for there is no need especially because this village is not for humans but for elves. This is where we live and this is where you will live."_

"_No cubby holes?" _a voice asked.

"_Cottages for families," _Dobby replied. "_A large place for those without families and in betweens. No small places or cubby holes."_

"_This is a paradise," _the elf named Mira said.

A/N: As harsh or unfair as the laws in this story sound, they are based upon real ones. The disposition of children from a prior marraige is derived from old common law and laws that at the time of this story were still on the books in some central and south american countries. By derived I mean based upon, not directly used. So if the story is different, it's different not wrong. After all, magical britain does not truly exist so who's to say what their laws really are?


	56. Chapter 56: Office Politics

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And because you either read repetative stuff or skimed through the last chapter, something with more meat.

**CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: OFFICE POLITICS**

**TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23****rd**** 1993  
**  
"Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked outside the gargoyles that stood a form of sentry before the entrance to the stair leading to the Headmaster's office, "I wasn't expecting you here."

"I wasn't expecting to be here," Albus Dumbledore sighed. "Not at this time for certain. But here I am, unexpected. We can speak in my office."

The two of them passed the stone gargoyle sentries and rode the rising spiral stair to the level of the door to his office. He opened the door and allowed her entry before following and walking to take his seat on a chair behind his very large desk. The walls contained the sleeping portraits of past Headmasters. There were bookshelves lines with books mostly, but also some odd gifts and devices that only he knew the full story behind. A golden perch stood near where he sat upon which was a scarlet bird unknown to Muggle science but not unknown to their myths. The Phoenix cooed when it saw Dumbledore enter, but then tucked its head beneath its wing and presumably went back to sleep.

"A most trying day," Albus said shaking his head. "You would not believe the inconveniences of international travel even with magic. I have often wondered why it is considered worth the bother by some. Were it not for the necessity of it from time to time, I would pass on such misadventure."

"Do you want my report?" Minerva asked.

"Is there anything in it that demands my attention going forward?"

"No. Not really. Some matters of interest to be sure, but nothing that I can't handle."

"I am glad to hear of it. It is always comforting to know there is one place in this world that is not descending into incomprehensible chaos. I would say two, for in my opinion our government made such a descent some years ago and seems most reluctant to climb out of that abyss. It seems that world affairs are taking a similar turn. Perhaps it's just me," he finished with a sigh.

"What are you saying, Albus?"

He sighed. "It will be in the papers tomorrow and if not then than certainly the day after. Unless certain of our more creative members of the press pen the article, I would say that what is likely to appear with be true, but not truthful."

"That would be a contradiction, I should think."

"The paper should report that after forty-six years of honorable service and sage leadership in our international affairs, I have decided now is the time to step down as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and have submitted my request for retirement which has been accepted. Depending upon who pens the report, it may well be laced with a list of accolades and the usual plaudits one might expect at the sunset of such a long career as a statesman or some such. Then again, should the task fall to one of the more sensationalist reporters maybe not."

"You retired?"

"That is the truth of the matter, but it is also not truthful."

"How … how can it be both?"

"I did in fact retire. That was this morning when it was clear that far more was to be lost unless I accepted that fate. A coalition of ambassadors made it clear that they had met and had the votes behind them to remove me from my position and cast me out of the ICW in disgrace if need be or I could do the honorable thing, protect my reputation and legacy, and remove myself voluntarily."

Minerva gasped. After all, Dumbledore had been Supreme Mugwump since 1947 longer than he had been Chief Warlock, longer than he had been Headmaster. His tenure in that mostly honorary yet coveted and influential position had been the longest in history. That body seldom ever played hard politics regarding its delegates. Of his three positions, it was one she felt was least at risk. After all, although the circumstances were clearly suspect Dumbledore had been removed as Headmaster briefly just this past year and had been censured as Chief Warlock only recently narrowly avoiding a call for a vote for his removal.

"How…? Why…?" she stammered.

"Ambassador Giraldi, whom I think was merely the spokesman, said that the consensus was my position within our Wizengamot was now in conflict with my position as Supreme Mugwump."

"But there were those who said that during the War, and yet you remained!"

"Indeed there were. It was a minority position. True, it was a very loud and outspoken minority, but a minority nonetheless. What I faced most recently was a very quiet majority and a fairly substantial one at that. The only delegate whose vote might have been secure for my continued retention was our own British Ambassador and that assumes he voted on behalf of Britain and not for his own personal beliefs as he and I have never seen eye to eye on any issue on this side of the Channel. I regret I had not seen this coming…"

"How can they have said…?"

"The matter of Gringotts has been before the ICW for two months and remains undecided. It is possible that the Goblins have put pressure upon certain member states to do something – it certainly has been suggested by certain parties – but I doubt that. The Goblins do not truly care about such things; that Britain is discomforted for the actions of the Minister and others is more than enough in their view unless they have undergone a fundamental transformation of late. After all, if they were truly serious about actual sanctions they would have done something before submitting the matter to the ICW for consideration. But there are countries who feel something had to be done and the fact that this matter has yet to be debated on the floor of the chamber, which rankles countries who wish ill of us. I had hoped that this matter could wait until the passions of the moment had subsided and true diplomacy was viable, but it was not to be."

"But … but didn't the Minister…?"

"He eventually did as I suggested which under other circumstances might've been enough. I have it on good authority that the Goblins are … accepting of that resolution for their honor is assuaged at least to an acceptable degree. Doubtless they would have preferred that we handed over the miscreant to their headsman; but they understand why that might prove difficult. As the Goblins have withdrawn further demands or complaints since the Senior Undersecretary in questions was stripped and demoted, one normally would expect the rest of this matter to have resolved forthwith. Except obviously it has not."

"Why hasn't it?"

"My dear, there is no one reason. The reasons are as varied as the individual ambassadors' personal predilections and the individual nations' strategic aims. Suffices to say there are some nations and individuals who were opposed to my selection as Supreme Mugwump when it was offered back in '47 and they have remained steadfast in such opposition ever since. There are others who have no personal complaint against me either as a wizard or Supreme Mugwump but are concerned as to my length of tenure which is merely a manifestation of their or their nation's political ideology. There are certainly certain vanities at issue, members whose objection is strictly because the Supreme Mugwump is not themselves. There are nations opposed to the structure of the ICW and that position, believing that the tenure of office should be fixed or that the position should be rotated as between each of the member states. Then there are those opposed not to me personally, but to support me could be viewed as supporting the policies of the British government which they are not inclined to do for any reason. Finally, there are certainly some who believe with or without any reason that they or their country or both stand to gain should I or Britain or both suffer as a result of this crisis. It is fair to say such has been the circumstances for quite some time."

"Then what changed?"

"If we were to say that each of the various objections to my continued tenure as Supreme Mugwump constituted a faction, then it's fair to say that never before have the various factions been willing to either agree or otherwise work together for their common purpose; that being ending my tenure. For whatever reason that changed. I was told that I either retire from the field, as it was stated, or I would be removed most harshly. I was told that the votes for my removal were split on several points most notably what to do about the actions of our own government officials, but should I insist upon remaining as Supreme Mugwump or resisting an ouster, those factions inclined to show mercy and which had been arguing for such would abandon their position and let the thing play out however it may. It is fair to say it would not go well for us if the more vindictive States were to control the outcome."

"You're talking about France?"

"There is no love lost between our governments. We have been historical adversaries since before the Muggle Norman Conquest which, as you should know, only made a bad situation worse. The French were most disappointed with our neutrality during Grindewald's time and our inaction during Voldemort's. They would reduce us to a province or Trust Territory governed and policed from without given the chance as we both suspect. But it was not just the French. The Americans, the Japanese and to some degree the Chinese are inclined to seek restrictions on our sovereignty; specifically to punish states such as ours for our restrictive trade laws. African nations are opposed to our immigration laws as applied to their people. The colonies are opposed to our emigration laws as applied to their countries. We have few true friends beyond our shores and I fear much of that animosity is our own doing. Doubtless, those differences were a factor in what has happened for in my retirement one can rest assured that the next Supreme Mugwump will neither be British nor a friend of Britain."

"It doesn't sound good…"

"Indeed it would not have turned out well at all had I not quietly stepped down. In so doing, the moderate elements whose opposition is merely to my 'conflict of interest' or my length of tenure or my desire to let things simmer down before opening debate, but not to my person, abilities, perceived beliefs or the internal politics of our country which are clearly not my politics; it is those moderate elements that prevailed. The next Supreme Mugwump will not be from Britain, although one of the incentives was neither will France or America fill the position. Our ambassador might face a period of censure for our Minister's foolish actions, but that will be the extent of any sanction imposed which is far less than many wished and certainly far less than could have been imposed. More important, France has withdrawn its objections to our plans for next year as an added incentive. Given the importance of those plans and the risks of trying to avoid the inevitable, it seemed prudent to step down. Naturally, I made certain that there would be no reconsideration of the concessions we received or of the sanctions imposed and discussed. But I will advise the Minister and the Wizengamot that while we certainly avoided a Bludger, the international community is not likely to be as accommodating should we cross such a line again."

"You're telling me you gave in to keep that tournament?" Minerva asked in shock.

"It is important. One might say it's more important than my continued tenure as Supreme Mugwump. But it was by no means the only concession I received for my former chair."

"But the only one that mattered," she grumbled.

"In the near and long term, it very well may be the only one that matters or will be remembered."

"It still strikes me as it always has, Albus: an unnecessary frivolity, an amusement, a trifle and nothing more."

"In the short term, it may well be that especially if it is not renewed. But the long term benefits are real enough and as a Muggle American once said we must stand together or we will certainly hang separately."

"I doubt he was talking about a tournament with that toll on the contestants … children!"

"It is still apt."

"I still think that tournament was best left in the dustbin of history where it belongs!"

"It is not so much the events themselves that can be important, but the bridging of divides of space and language."

"There are other ways…"

"None with the prestige sufficient to generate interest both here and abroad."

"My position on this remains unchanged, Albus."

"It has been noted. I do not expect you to agree."

"Then we are at least agreed on that point. Might I say that I don't expect you to agree with certain things I deem necessary as acting Headmistress?"

Albus nodded. "I was in no way in favor of humoring Harry with that Manor Court…"

"You can call that what you will. I call it justice as does Madam Bones, most of the Wizengamot and the press."

"I take it there've been other developments."

"Not from that, at least not to my knowledge; but yes there have been and I trust you will allow me to handle them within the discretion allowed as Acting Headmistress."

"Such as?" Albus said nodding as if he agreed.

"There is the Malfoy matter," Minerva began.

"Yes, most distressing. I am aware of what has happened in regards to Lucius. I dare say I would have thought that given a second chance at life he would have made a better go of it. That being said, had I and others been aware of his more unsavory business propensities he might well not have been believed when he claimed he had been coerced into service during the War. I am rather surprised he confessed although relieved given the circumstances as it spares the Wizengamot the need to conduct a trial. Still, it should be of little concern here at Hogwarts except for those who enjoy such titillating details."

"I would agree that ordinarily it would not, Albus," Minerva replied. "But circumstances are not ordinary. This turn will have a direct bearing on young Mr. Malfoy."

"And why would it? His father will spend the rest of his miserable life in Azkaban for misery is all he can reasonably expect. The young man, however, should not be tainted by his father's failings."

"There have been unexpected developments," Minerva began.

"Oh?"

"I have not been fully appraised of the details and am not surprised as many such details are not school business, but I received notice that Mr. Malfoy's guardianship arrangements have changed."

"I was unaware of anything in regards to his mother," Albus began. "She is well?"

"I have no reason to feel the need to inquire. But she is no longer his mother. Lord Black annulled the marriage not days after Malfoy senior was carted off to prison. I was informed that Malfoy senior's activities during and since the war were contrary to the terms of his betrothal agreement and against the explicit desires of Lord Arcturus Black. The former Lord Black left it to his heir to decide the fate of that marriage and it is now annulled."

"Completely?"

Minerva nodded. "Narcissa's location and whereabouts are unknown. I have mailed her and the posts are returned. She is alive, that much is certain. But she is not responding to any inquiries I've made in regards to her son. Severus informs me he has been unable to contact her as well. I am not certain if the boy has been successful. Severus is not aware that the boy has even tried."

"So the boy is an orphan?"

"And a bastard," Minerva nodded.

"He has no expectancy?"

"That is generally the case with bastards, Albus."

"I have tried…"

"And failed and given the foibles of more than a few Heads of the older families in our history, it is not surprising they are reluctant to change those laws such that there's any chance the fruits of their dalliances might find grounds to dissipate their estates."

"So he has nothing, then?"

"I have not been appraised of the specifics of his finances. I have been advised that had there been a trust in place, the annulment confiscations would not have touched those funds. Then again, his tuition was paid in full years ago and the confiscations did not seek to recover those payments either."

"Still, this school is not an orphanage…"

"Another battle you've fought and lost," Minerva grumbled.

"The Board of Governors have at least rescinded their former policy regarding attendance," Dumbledore replied. "Their way would have barred perhaps a fifth of our current enrollment for one reason or another. That would now include Mr. Malfoy had I not managed to change that policy. Does he know this?"

"Not from any on the staff. Severus is of the opinion that things in his House will not be pleasant should that information become generally known. Apparently, Mr. Malfoy's behavior to date has not endeared him with most of his Housemates. They might take advantage, or so Severus fears."

"And his arrangements for the holidays?" Dumbledore asked.

"He is betrothed to the daughter of House Parkinson. There was apparently a pre-existing agreement that in the event he should be orphaned he was to go to them unless he was otherwise of age. My guess is that arrangement was in anticipation of the possibilities that were quite real during and after the War, but I have been advised that they implicitly cover the current situation as well."

"Is he aware…?"

"I can't say. If he is, it is not from the staff."

Albus nodded. "Such agreements are fairly common."

"As I said, he's not been informed of his change in circumstances, not by us in any event. It remains possible that he has had contact from either Mr. Parkinson or his family – or I should say former family solicitor. I have not noted such contact, but I cannot say that it has not occurred. There was a Hogsmeade weekend last weekend and it's possible there was some contact but the staff has not been informed of any such contact. Severus will be contacting Mr. Parkinson regarding the boy's arrangements for the Holidays if he has not done so already."

"I assumed keeping him ignorant is prudent?"

"Mr. Malfoy has few friends in his own House, according to Severus. It is Severus's opinion that it is best to keep the information quiet for as long as practicable which he thinks should be until the day of the Christmas Holidays provided that the Parkinsons choose to bring him to their home. Mr. Malfoy has already suffered some retribution…"

"Retribution?"

"His arm was broken under suspect circumstances. There were no witnesses. But the fall that sent him to the Hospital Wing could just as well have sent him to his grave had it been his neck rather than his arm that absorbed the fall."

"I had hoped such actions were a thing of the past," Dumbledore said shaking his head.

"The War is not yet so distant, Albus. There are children here old enough to remember that time even if they were very young then and there are children here who have older siblings who might well remember those times and families who still have scores to settle. I never agreed with the policy that let so many of his supporters walk free without even an investigation."

"It was necessary…"

"Do not try and convince me! I did not support your merciful stance then and I have seen nothing since to change my mind. It preserved nothing! It was not necessary! It was a fool's errand as recent events have shown! Each and every one of them should have been tried and if convicted incarcerated! Perhaps, had we been less merciful and allowed justice to take its proper course, the children of those who suffered in that war would not be trying to get even with the children of those who caused that suffering!"

"They should learn to be…"

"But they haven't! Mr. Malfoy seems to have his own learning disability! Then again, it has not helped that you've interfered with his discipline."

"I felt he was being set upon because of his father."

"He was being set upon, as you put it, not for what his father had done, but for his own words and actions Albus! He seems to believe there are rules that do not apply to him because he is a Malfoy. Perhaps that was his upbringing in which case we can hope he learned a lesson from his father's incarceration for believing himself above the laws of the rest of us mere mortals. But I don't think we should wait and see nor allow him to sit back in contemplation and hope he sees the truth. I will not go easy on him…"

"After all that's happened?"

"Especially after all that's happened! I will not let him think we will sit idly by while he seeks his revenge for any slight real or perceived! Don't misunderstand me, Albus. That goes for any student in this school, not just the son of a fool Death Eater!"

"We have had this discussion before," Albus began as a counter.

"When you are here and acting as Headmaster, I am obliged to follow your lead even if I may have disagreed with it. Are you telling me you're resuming you duties full time now that you're not distracted with the business with the ICW?"

"There's still much beyond these walls that demands my attention…"

"So I'm still Acting Headmistress?"

Albus nodded.

"Then," Minerva said, "unless you're also thinking of retiring from the Wisengamot, kindly allow me to run this school!"

**WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24****th**** 1993**

For the young residents of the Estates, the last few weeks had seemed to be the least exciting perhaps since June. There were no new revelations, no bondings, no secrets learned, no trials, no memory uncaps; nothing out of what some considered ordinary. For Harry, the lack of excitement included the fact that so far has he knew and for the first time since he started Hogwarts, no one was actively trying to kill him. Then again, it was possible someone was plotting it. After all it had taken Voldemort all year to get to that bit last year although Dobby's help that year could be misunderstood as a separate plot. But so far there had been no truly life threatening experiences, not that Harry was complaining.

The last few weeks had been rather dull in that regard. Following Daphne's birthday Hufflepuff had surprised just about everyone including themselves when they slipped past Ravenclaw in their Quidditch match. Harry and the others on the team considered it fortunate that Wood believed it had been more accident than design as they were losing by 110 points when Cedric Diggory, their Seeker and Captain, flew into the Snitch. That was not some turn of the phrase nor was it anything remotely related to Harry's "eating the Snitch" his very first match two years ago. Harry had been chasing the thing when he fell from his broom and almost swallowed it whereas Diggory probably had no idea it was anywhere nearby when he flew into it. As Wood had not thought the Puffs won on the skill of their play he had not tortured his team with significantly more demanding practices. Then again, his team was fairly certain that just about any of the other teams would disagree with their assessment of his usual practices as being relatively torture-less.

The biggest event since the match had been the Hogsmeade Weekend. Of course, it had the advantage that most students considered a visit to the otherwise sleepy little village a big event. For the residents of the Estate is was bigger than normal in that Ron and Katie had used the time to go to London and fill out paperwork so that they could marry over the Chistmas Holidays. Unlike Harry, Hermione, Luna and Neville, Sally-Anne and Padma; Ron and Katie did not have the convenience of a Ministry certificate stating they might bond and a pre-existing betrothal contract so there were forms that needed to be prepared, verified, signed, sworn to and filed with various places. For their friends, it meant a day in Diagon Alley which was certainly more of an adventure than Hogsmeade.

But aside from that trip, it was more of their new normal. Their weeks were now eight days longer what with Oliver's extra practice day and the added week which continued as much for the Muggle girls they had yet to meet as for themselves. They were spending some of this extra time researching and training as the Parker / Flamels and others were teaching them magic beyond what was offered at school. They did want to be rid of that other horcrux sooner rather than later which meant they were all being taught the first step in curse breaking which was curse detecting. They were also being taught how to fight both with and without magic. They knew one day they would have to most likely and while Professor Lupin (now a regular Estate guest) was by far the best Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor any of them had ever had, dueling was not taught until OWL Year and even then it was formal dueling, not combat magic and there was a difference.

"_The major difference between formal dueling and combat magic is this," Sirius had told them. "In dueling, there are rules and if you break them you lose. In combat magic the only rule is if you lose, you die. There is no such thing as a fair fight; just the fight you walk away from in the end."_ Thus, while it might seem unfair, driving one's wand into the opponents eye and brain was acceptable as was just about anything that put the opponent down. Naturally, such a tactic while discussed was not something one did in practice; but the point was made.

Ron had finally been told in detail about the future knowledge. Katie had known about that, the Fidelius and Ginny's part in it because that information had been revealed on the Hogwarts Express when Ron had been off in another compartment with Dean and Seamus. The group was more and more comfortable with their versions of the charm, which included the secret Secret Keeper who could not reveal the Secret even of her own free will. Thus, once Ron was in on the future knowledge bit, he learned the truth about how Harry and the others had figured out that Sirius was not the crazed mass murdering psycho the rest of their world had thought he was.

"_That was my cousin Bellatrix," Sirius said. "There's no misunderstanding about her."_

"_But you said they learned about you through research," Ron protested. "Are you saying that Goblin thing was a fake?"_

"_It was real, Ron," Hermione said. "You can't tell a lie with it. But, you can tell a falsehood."_

"_There's a difference?"_

"_A lie is not the truth," Hermione nodded. "What I mean by falsehood is different. Everything Sirius said was true, but it left a false impression. We did learn about Sirius through research … after Harry and my future memory told us what we had known in that time. Sirius knew we had researched his past in detail and in so doing came up with the evidence that freed him. He was never asked if he knew what set us off to do such research."_

"_I would've objected had it been asked," Daphne added. "Sirius had no firsthand knowledge of that. He did, however, see our research so he could testify to that."_

"_They haven't tried Pettigrew yet," Ron observed. He had a tendency to move on once he was satisfied and felt he understood things._

"_Susan tells me her Aunt wants the undivided attention of the Wizengamot for that," Hannah said. "Right now, they've got that ICW business hanging over all of us and that stuff about the Malfoys. She hopes it will be soon."_

There were some loose ends from the memory uncaps. Some clearly fell within a category of unanticipated consequences. Harry and the others believed that those loose ends were what they were because nothing like them had happened in that last timeline. None of those with future memories had any sense of déjà vu about them and this included the current imprisonment of Lucius Malofy and all that had been discovered and revealed about his post War activities. The stuff between Gringotts and the Ministry also drew a blank in that regard as did, most recently, the four Muggle girls. As Sirius had noted, everything came from a stray ham sandwich. Harry said it truly came from when they each started to do something that did not result in déjà vu which had led to the ham sandwich and everything else.

"_The problem is, have we changed too much?" Harry asked. "I mean what if certain things that were supposed to happen don't now?"_

"_Like what?" Ginny had asked._

"_Obviously, if we knew that there'd be nothing to worry about," Hermione said. "Still, I'd like to think we thought this through before we did it – whoever we were in that other time."_

"_I'm sure we did," Luna said. "I don't think Sirius being free changes all that much that matters. Things may happen differently and maybe even in a different order, but my guess is that certain key elements will be substantially similar even if they don't seem that way at all before we have another uncap. Just 'cause there isn't that French Word thing happening, doesn't mean it's all down to wrackspurts." _

They really had little choice but to accept that whatever was truly important would happen more or less as it had before. But that did not mean they would happen anytime soon or that the changes were over and done with.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. He was looking at the morning copy of the Daily Prophet.

"What is it?" Ginny chided. "Don't tell me the Cannons are leading the League."

"You see me dancing 'round the Hall?" Ron snarked. "No? Then the Cannons are still not there. Tied for last, truth be told. Odd. They do have some good players. It said yesterday that two of them made the cut for World Cup play. Devlin's made the England team and Moran made the Irish one. Doesn't seem to help the Cannon's 'though."

"Then what was with that language?" Hermione asked in a near scolding tone.

"Oh come on!" Ron complained. "That was barely a swear word!"

"But it was and you're off topic! What's in the paper?"

"Oh, um says here that Dumbledore's retired from being Supreme Mugwump."

"What?"

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Doesn't say," Ron shrugged. "Most of its stuff 'bout all the great things he did. Doesn't say why he retired. It does say he's not retiring from Chief Warlock or Headmaster though. Why not Chief Warlock? I mean they almost gave him the sack a few weeks ago."

"He probably doesn't want to give them the satisfaction," Daphne observed.

"Still, I wonder if this means anything."

"He was there forever," Harry said. "Might not mean anything at all. All I know is it's new, if you know what I mean."

"Just 'cause it's new doesn't mean it means anything," Luna commented. "I think we'd have some kind of warning if it did."

"If it had been thought about and that stuff works that way," Ron said worried.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Harry said. "I don't see it as having any importance, not in any way that matters." He then opened a letter and read it.

"What's that about?" Hermione asked.

"My guess indirectly it's about Dumbledore," Harry replied. "Madam Bones want to arrange the transfer of Pettigrew to DMLE custody pending trial. She says she has it scheduled for a week from Monday."

"Is that a problem?" Ginny asked.

"Shouldn't be."

"But doesn't he need to escape?"

"We don't know that," Hermione said. "He was the one in that timeline, but there were others who could've done that too."

"Not my call," Harry said. "We have him and DMLE will get him. If he scampers, I'd rather it be their fault and not ours. Hermione's right, there are others if he should remain in custody. I want that rat tried."

**MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29****th**** 1993.**

There had been a debate about who should go. After all, his wife and Lily had been raised Muggle and this trip required more than a passing acquaintance with that culture. Sirius Black told them he had loads of training back during the War and reminded Lily Potter that she was as clueless about any changes as he was. Connie had to work, so she was out. Lily had only mild intentions of going anyway as she had a newborn to care for and would rather attend to that. And as Lily observed the only thing worse than one blind man stumbling about Central London would be two blind men, as it were; which would be the case if James went along. They were not worried about the secret. The Fidelius had worked exceedingly well. They had not truly tested it. It was not like they walked up to Dumbledore and introduced themselves or attempted to proclaim their former identities outside of Gringotts. But for the elder Potters a trip to Diagon Alley was not a problem. It's not like any of the stores or such asked for identification so long as the money was good. In the end, however, it was decided Sirius would go on his own. After all, it was House Black business.

It had taken Sirius a few weeks to get ready for this trip. While most of his new attire looked Muggle, it was purchased through magical vendors on his now infamous trip to Gringotts. He favored the Italian ones which were the least wizarding in appearance in his opinion, but for this trip he, his wife and the elder Potters agreed it might be best to wear the real thing and not "some magical knock-off." So as part of his preparation, he had gone to Gringotts to obtain the means to make purchases on the Muggle side. They gave him a small card. The card made less sense than Muggle money which was worth nothing really. After all, paper was not worth much, certainly not what was printed upon it and their coins were made of metals that had little value as well. Gold and Silver had real value. Muggle money was not worth anything unless you believed it was worth what it said it was worth. More vexing, a Muggle could not go to his bank, ask to see his money and then actually be allowed to see it. Mr. Granger had tried to explain Muggle money to him, but it made no sense. The thought that most money did not exist at all except as numbers on some account statement was almost incomprehensible. Then there was the idea that it was somehow more stable and therefore move valuable when it was not tied to anything gold or silver. Then there was this card thing. The Goblins had told him it would automatically pay for his purchases in the Muggle world. His choices were that the card would instantly transfer his money from his account to the account of the seller (actually, the seller's company) or it could instantly loan him the money which he paid back later (with hefty interest).

Sirius decided it was best not to think about such things. There was something to be said about the card. It was easier to carry around than gold or silver and the venders always gave it back after wiping it on something and then handing him a printed receipt from another machine. If Sirius did not know better, he would have thought it was some kind of magic.

With his Muggle Money Card, Sirius had gone to a store in London. Mr. Granger had recommended a few, but had added which ones catered to what types of people. He went to one that catered to more wealthy clients. It was called Harrys or Harrolds or some such and was in a huge, reddish building that looked old on the outside but brand new on the inside. It easily had more stuff for sale inside that Diagon Alley in terms of just about everything. It took him some time to find the part that sold Muggle Suits, but once he found it, it was surprisingly easy. The sales person or clerk pretty much outfitted him from head to toe and he walked out not knowing how much he had spent, only that he now had four Muggle business suits with shirts, ties, shoes, socks and various "accessories." Of course he had to return for the trousers as they needed to be hemmed and that was something their "magic" could not do immediately. Still, Diagon Alley could learn a thing or two about catering to customers, he thought.

Getting his fancy Muggle attire was the easy part. Setting up this meeting was what had taken much of the time. He had to find the person he needed to meet and then set up the meeting all the while avoiding the true nature of the meeting and, of course, the fact that he was a wizard. But it had worked out and he did not even have to use any magic to get things set up. He now stood in front of an older office building not far from Whitehall in London. There was little to notice about the place as it had no sign on the outside announcing its purpose or at least who its major tenant might be. But it did have the number on it above a large pair of glass doors that seemed to magically open when someone walked up to them on either side. That number was the same as the number he had received and it was on the same street so this had to be the place.

He walked in. The Muggle "magic" doors opening without a sound before he could even touch them. It was a large atrium with some kind of polished stone walls that had all kinds of swirling colors, although they were very subtle. At one end of the atrium was a desk with a man in a uniform of some kind. Sirius walked to the desk.

"Yes Sir?" the man behind the desk said when he looked up.

"I'm Mr. Black," Sirius said. "I have a scheduled meeting with…"

"You're expected, Sir," the man said cutting him off. "Take the lift to fifteen and you'll be met."

"Um … thank you."

"You're quite welcome."

"You must be Mr. Black," a man in a suit said pleasantly as Sirius stepped off the lift and offered Sirius his hand. "I am Sir John Fitzedward, assistant to Lord Denworth. This way please."

"Um … I was expecting," Sirius began.

"It's been arranged," the man said. "Here we are," he added opening a door. They entered a large office with a large window that looked out over London and the Thames. Two other men in suits rose as they entered. "This is Mr. Black," Sir John said. "Mr. Black, this is Lord Denworth and his son Commander Fitch-Fletchly Royal Navy."

"We have been looking forward to this, Mr. Black," the older man said.

"Um…"

"You inquired in regards to my son," the man introduced as Commander Fitch-Fletchley said. "You must understand that might provoke my personal interest."

"I had, but … well, the information is sensitive."

"Indeed it is," Sir John said once the door was closed. "To be honest, you intrigued us even before we received word of your inquiry."

"I did? How?"

"You are, are you not, Sirius Orion Black?" the Earl asked.

Sirius was surprised. He had not used that name in any of his inquiries.

"Sirius Orion Black," Sir John said reading from a file he opened just after he took a seat in the room, "born 19 December 1959, St. Mungo's Hospital of Magical Injuries and Maladies, known to our side as the ever under refurbishment department store Purge & Dowse, Ltd., London, eldest son of Orion Black and the former Walburga Black (same last name), who were second cousins. Younger brother Regulus joined known terrorist organization and disappeared, presumed dead, 1979. Parents were unemployed socialites. Aforesaid Orion Black was next in line and heir to the Earldoms of Hangleton and Falthsome and the Baronetcy of Savoy, all hereditary titles and all having been attainted by the Crown, the most recent being the Baronetcy being attainted by Charles I and not restored. Orion Black died 1979, making subject next in line after his Grandfather Arcturus who passed away 1991. Subject finished Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (see current report of Treaty education) 1978 and joined Hit Wizard Corps, Greater Britannia Ministry of Magic (see current report regarding OOB, Treaty equivalent roughly corresponding to weapons response teams of Special Branches or Counterterrorism Assault teams of MI5 or similar sections in Armed Forces.) Transferred to Auror training in the fall of 1980. Completed training and assigned to Auror Corps (see reports of Treaty law enforcement). Subject married the former Miss Constance Donovan (non Treaty parents, witch, Hogwarts Class 1981, Healer) August 1981 in Bordeaux France. They have a daughter, Anna Fitzhugh (reason for surname unknown but came from maternal grandmother), born June, 1982 St. Bartholomew's Hospital London. Do we need to go on?"

"How did you…?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"We know who and what you are, Sir," Sir John said. "We have quite the dossier on you as you are a person of interest to this office."

"It is the only reason you're here at all," Earl Denworth added. "As we knew who you are, what you are and why you are here, it was not necessary for security to run its usual thorough job. Had you not been expected, you would've been surrounded by men with guns moments after entering the lobby. Because you were expected and we've had some coverage such that we knew what you look like and our files do not label you as a threat, you were not even asked to present identification."

"But… How could you know?"

"Indeed," the Earl said smiling. "Sir John?"

"This is an office of Her Majesty's government," Sir John said. "We call ourselves the Loony Bin, 'cause most everyone would think we're nutters if we told them what we do. Officially, we don't have any name or designation. As far as the government is truly concerned, we don't exist. If asked, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary – both of whom we technically answer to – can honestly say they have no idea about us. If Her Majesty was asked, she would look the person dead in the eye and lie."

"Then again, she does make Maggie Thatcher look like a harmless housewife," Commander Fitch-Fletchley said, "but most people do not know that."

"And few would believe it," Earl Denworth added. "We're off the books, hidden in obscure line items in some government accountant's ledger. Our Director answers directly to Her Majesty."

"You're not this Director?" Sirius asked.

The Earl snorted. "I am a recent hire. I was brought onboard in 1980. Before then I was with the Ministry of Defense and before then an Army officer. I'm still too junior to head this nuthouse, as we say. Besides, I need a modicum of plausible deniability seeing as I do hold a seat in the House of Lords. Sir John's been with this office since he left the Army."

"Sixteen years," Sir John said.

"But you know about magic?"

"Indeed," Sir John said. "As you know Earl Denworth's grandson is a wizard. His son has officially known since the school official paid a visit and he learned this detail not long after at which time he was transferred to this office. The Earl was informed when this office learned that detail back in 1980."

"How could you have…?"

"We have our ways," and Sir John left it at that.

"And yourself?"

"Ah. Well, I've known all my life. I am a wizard, Lord Black."

"I don't recall a family Fitzedward."

"We left your world centuries ago and have been working for the Crown ever since – well, aside from that time when Cromwell and his lot took over. I would not qualify as what you call Pureblood, but my magical bone fides date back centuries and through most of that time we have worked for some incarnation of this office. The Director is my grandfather and my ancestors have served in that capacity since the reign of Elizabeth I, although this office has existed in some form since the Treaty of Separation with England. You are aware of that, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Really," Earl Denworth said with some disbelief. "It is my understanding your people are remarkably ignorant of it. My own grandson is only aware of it because we are. He asked about it in class once. The professor told him it was of no importance."

"That professor does not consider the Muggle world of much relevance," Sirius said. "My family was aware of that oversight and it was part of my education as an Auror."

"That was my impression," Earl Denworth said. "While the Treaty did not create this office itself, it is the reason for our employment."

"The Treaty of Separation was before my family's time magically speaking as it were," Sir John said, "or at least before our time in England. My magical roots came from a part of Flanders in what is now Belgium. Or was it Burgundy? Borders shifted like ripples on a pond back then. The Treaty was made around the time – actually about a decade before the Magna Carta which most Muggles know about. The two had many things in common, except the fact that the wizards who wanted King John off their backs could turn him into a toad without so much as a by your leave and the barons could not force him to capitulate so easily."

"Took almost all the nobility telling him that they would go over to the French King whom they had let land in England with an army to get him to sign that," Earl Denworth said. "Only William Marshal and two others remained loyal in the end, although their loyalty did not extend to advising him not to sign."

"Our archives show that Earl Marshal did not trust King John at all and had reason not to," Sir John said. "That being said, he vowed to support the King so he did. Ear Marshal was instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of Separation and then was very successful in keeping John in line, unlike the situation some years later with the Magna Carta. But Earl Marshal also saw the risks and formed a special council to keep an eye on Treaty affairs, which over the centuries became this office. To keep this somewhat short, in other words we have had our eyes and ears within your world since the thirteenth century even if your people were blissfully ignorant of that fact."

"But how? Why?"

"The 'why' should be obvious," Earl Denworth said. "There is a secret, parallel society living amongst us. While we do not believe magic and its users are threats to us in the general sense, it does not follow that no witch or wizard has ever been a threat since the Treaty. Far from it and given your former occupation you should be aware that there has been a small minority of individuals who have been and remain a threat to us. Ever since the Treaty the existence of a hidden society could harbor a threat and, naturally, the Crown would rather to learn of and deal with such a threat before it could truly become a problem."

"Witch burnings…," Sirius began.

"That was a continental phenomena," Sir John said. "The few such burnings in England either occurred under the auspices of that raving lunatic Cromwell or some similarly delusional religious zealot. If the Crown dealt with a real wizard or witch, the methods were the same as any other criminal of similar notoriety."

"There was Joan of Arc," Commander Finch-Fletchly noted.

"Burnt as a heretic in Rouen in Normandy on the Continent where they preferred to roast their 'alleged' heretics," Sir John said. "One must remember, she was convicted by a corrupt court of mostly French clerics for the English who'd've hanged her regardless probably as a brigand. She did, after all, thoroughly embarrass the English forces and as a woman at that time technically could neither be a soldier nor a true combatant regardless of whatever license she may have obtained from France or of what she accomplished. Probably made them question their masculinity losing to a teenage peasant girl time and again in battle. We don't count that as a true witchcraft trial because first off it was clearly political and more importantly she was clearly not a witch to begin with. Lest you forget, their King did nothing and could've and been done with it. Then again, he was French and it had been less than a hundred and fifty years since a predecessor of his burnt his creditors at the stake rather than try to renegotiate his debts. The French kings seemed to dislike being beholding to anyone. They had, after all, set up their own Pope rather than listen to pronouncements contrary to their interests and desires from Rome. At least when England reached such an impasse they simply told Rome to bugger off. Why not let the English burn the girl who was more popular than the French King?"

"Especially if you could blame it on your enemy," Earl Denworth snorted. "But we're off topic. Her Majesty's government has had an eye on your world from the off. As such, we do keep dossiers on persons of interest."

"People you deem threats," Sirius said nervously.

"And others who we deem of interest, Lord Black," the Earl said. "You hold a hereditary seat on your Wizengamot and come from a very old and very independently minded family. You fought against the terrorists several years back which on your side would seem out of character given your family. That makes you interesting to us, if only as it gives a name and face to someone who represents a faction or an idea within your world."

"You are hardly alone in our files," Sir John said. "We have files on over seven thousand of your compatriots. Some are watched because they are threats or appear to be in league with them. The rest are watched because what they do and such may give us insights into trends for good or ill."

"If it was your desire to remain unknown to us," the Earl said, "then it was ill advised to have been mentioned in dispatches, as it were."

"You are quite the figure in your press," Sir John added. "We found the early reports in regards to your incarceration highly suspect at the time and your side never resolved that matter to our satisfaction until recently. A scion of an Ancient and Noble House turns against his parents and their beliefs most publically and then is that which he railed against? And agent provocateur perhaps? That might've made sense but for the little detail that there was no trial, something we've known from our sources since the beginning, I might add. I was one of the case officers back then."

"Aside from reading our papers … well, including that how do you do this? I'm pretty sure we'd know if Muggles were crawling about Diagon Alley or the Ministry…"

"Would you?" Earl Denworth asked. "I'm certain as long as you don't expect me to cast a spell or brew a potion, I could pass as a wizard in your world."

"While it is somewhat quaint and antiquated," Commander Finch-Fletchley, "one might say we Muggles are acquainted with your world from a young age. All you need to do to read our first sources of intelligence is check out our children's literature, and I don't mean the picture books. It might take a moment to accept that what we later learned as make believe is very real, there are those who can and will accept it when confronted and so long as we accept, we can pass as it were. As inconvenient and uncomfortable as your robes are, we can wear them."

"That being said," Sir John added, "when it comes to Diagon Alley and such places, we usually do not use our Muggle resources on the off chance that magic is necessary. We have more than enough witches and wizards in our employ as agents to conduct such tasks."

"And where'd you get them?" Sirius asked. He was at a loss as to what to think about this.

"According to your last Ministry census, there were about 70,000 witches and wizards in Greater Britannia which includes what for us is the separate country of the Republic of Ireland," Sir John said. "This office as nothing to do with Ireland directly although we do have a small office in our embassy to keep watch. The Irish may have a similar office but if they do we are unaware of it. But according to our own figures, there are more than 80,000 witches and wizards in Britain, which is England, Wales, Scotland and Ulster in Ireland but not the rest of what you still call Hibernia. Now, if your numbers are accurate and there about 70,000 magicals throughout the British Isles and our numbers are accurate and there are more than that in Great Britain and Northern Ireland alone, what does that tell you?"

"Our ministry missed some?"

Sir John nodded. "More than some. They don't count some fifteen thousand who reside under our jurisdiction. Some are those who married Muggles and crossed over to avoid the fuss, as it were, and some of those might reappear on your ledger when their children are of school age."

"Not if we get to them first," Earl Denworth said.

Sir John nodded. "We have our own school for those who reside on this side of the Treaty Line, as we call it. I went to it as a lad and we think it's on par with your Hogwarts in many areas and better in others, namely Art, History, Maths, Science and Literature which your side does not truly teach at all. We also have a large immigrant population, most of whom would find society on your side of the Treaty Line less than inviting. Finally, we sweep in a fair few of your Muggle Borns once they finish school and realize just how little opportunity there is for them on your side. Now, I won't say this office employs all or even most of them. But we are certainly the largest single magical employer on this side of the Line. Then there's those such as myself: an old magical family that chose to live on this side of this Line long ago."

"You still haven't told me what this office is about," Sirius said. "I hope you can understand my concerns."

"After the loyalty your world had shown to you," Earl Denworth scoffed, "it is admirable in a way to see that you are still loyal to them."

"It is a valid question, my lord," Sir John said. "And we can only ask forgiveness, Lord Black. Our line of work tends to encourage us to talk cryptically and evasively about it. We are quite literally our side of the Treaty Line's Aurors. Our primary task is to prevent our people from violating the treaty. We are to prevent insofar as possible our people from causing harm to yours. Is that not among what your Aurors do?"

"It is," Sirius said. "But we don't spy on you!"

"That's handled by another office of your Ministry, I can assure you," Sir John replied. "For security reasons, we're not as compartmentalized although some may argue the opposite should be the case. On this side of the line, treaty enforcement includes monitoring compliance; hence our office's interest in the people of note and events on your side of the line."

"That's it then? You have no nefarious intent?"

"Had we such intent, I can assure you that question would've been entirely unnecessary assuming you were alive to ask it," Earl Denworth said.

"Our more direct actions against wizards have historically been limited to those malcontents, criminals and terrorists who crossed the line and preyed upon our people," Sir John said. "We did manage to kill more than a few Death Eaters during your last war."

"I hadn't heard that."

"Doubtful that you would seeing as our policy was not to take prisoners alive and not to keep them alive if taken. The fates of those terrorists are unknown even to their comrades and yes, we do know that to be the case. I dare say had we caught you after that incident in Camden Towne, I can't say you would not have been added to those statistics."

"Giving you a proper trial would have necessitated revealing your true nature in a very public setting," Earl Denworth said. "One must remember that evolutions in the law do not apply to Treaty violations and violators. For transgressors, the law is little different than it was in 1207 due to certain language in the treaty itself. Neither side wanted the other to change the law in ways it might consider undesirable to its interests. The language is such that any change in law since the treaty need not be honored by either side. It is why Muggles have no rights in your courts. It is why we can treat your transgressors as enemies of the crown in ways which other Muggle enemies cannot be treated. We could have them hung, drawn and quartered, but a firing party is more efficient and having them wind up as little more than a number in our traffic accidents statistics these days is more convenient."

"Do not forget an incident concerning one of your ancestors," Sir John added. "Phineas Nigelus Black was gunned down in broad daylight in Diagon Alley in 1925, was he not? His assailant was a Muggle whom felt slighted in some way…"

Sirius snorted. "My ancestor got his daughter pregnant or so it is said. But considering how many young women bore his bastards over his lifetime, it is entirely likely the man was spot on."

"Interesting," Sir John said. "Anyway, Mr. Lionel Williams – that was the Muggle's name – was dead before the sun rose the next day, was he not? You're people may have abolished the death penalty, but it was the law in such cases in 1207 and it was the fate of that Muggle about 720 years later. In 1925 we would've waited three weeks for a successful appeal before hanging him. But he would've been hung the same day in 1205 unless the King was present and commuted the sentence."


	57. Chapter 57: Not So Secret

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: I was hoping to post this yesterday as I said I'd post a few in quick succession, and then I didn't. I wrote the next two chapters and then thought they were too long, perhaps too repetative, and too dry for many readers. I spent weeks trying to rewrite them in a way that got rid of the too's and was never satsified with any of the results and finally thought I liked the first way better and had fun doing it that way so the hell with it. It's not like I'm getting paid for this or need to keep some editor happy. (Some of you might not like it, but you can always skip forward or skim...)

**CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: NOT SO SECRET  
**

**MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29****th**** 1993.**

Sirius did not know what to think. It did make sense that the Muggles had some organization to protect and enforce the Treaty, but the idea that they knew so much was still disturbing. Could the Wizards have done the same? Part of him doubted it. Another part thought that maybe they had and were as secretive as this lot seemed to be. But if it was such a secret on this side of what they called the Treaty Line, why had they told him anything?

"None of this has anything to do with my son and whatever it is this man wants," Commander Finch-Fletchley growled.

"Nigel," the Earl said, "you've been read into this program. It does not yet follow that you understand it."

"Must not be much of a secret if you tell every witch or wizard who wanders in about it," the Commander countered.

"We don't," Sir John said calmly. "On those rare occasions when the odd and unexpected witch or wizard tripped our detectors, they were dealt with without revealing who it was precisely who was doing the dealing as it were. Most returned to their lives as clueless as the Muggles who stumble upon magic."

"We have our own wizards who are as adept at memory alteration as the ones in the employ of the magical government," Earl Denworth added more for Sirius's benefit than his son's. "We are judicious in revealing any information in regards to this office and, Nigel, do not think that just because you are my son and this meeting is ultimately about your son that we will leave your memories intact if we even think you may be a security risk."

"Sorry," the Commander said. "It's just…"

"It was our assumption that Lord Black assumes that I know nothing about magic," the Earl continued. "It is further our assumption that he would do some kind of impressive light show to convince us that it is real so that we might be inclined to listen. After all, magic was officially revealed to you, your son and Sarah, not to me. This meeting was structured as it has been to let him know that such theatrics are not necessary and, moreover, that it would not be appreciated. That was your plan, was it not Lord Black? Wave your wand and such?"

"Actually, I was going to turn into a dog," Sirius said. "A professor at my school could turn into a cat and that was her convincing show for Muggle parents. I recall her once saying it beat any spell casting hands down for those who were reluctant to believe."

"Ah yes," Sir John nodded. "Your dossier does say you are an animagus."

"Pretty common that?" Commander Finch-Fletchley asked. "I mean your Professor McGonagall was the one who visited us and she most certainly turned into a cat. That was hard to rationalize any other way except to accept the truth of her otherwise unbelievable assertion that she and my son were magical."

"Not common at all," Sirius replied relaxing just a little. "While in theory most of us could become such, the reality is it lacks practicality and it can be dangerous for us to attempt it."

"Lacks practicality?"

"My best friend was one too. He was a stag. That form's not much use unless you like being shot at by Muggle hunters. We can't choose what form that transformation will take. It is what it is and in many cases it is of little use other than as an ice breaker at parties."

"Or convincing us that magic is real," the Commander added. "But what has any of this to do about my son and why did you seek my father?"

Sirius nodded and reached into his suit jacket in as non-threatening a manner as he could. He suspected that at least two of these men might suspect he was going for his wand, although that was actually up his left sleeve. He withdrew from the inside pocket a couple of documents. "It is our custom," he said more to the Commander than the other two, "that matters of this nature be broached with the Head of a family. Again, our custom is such that the Head of Family is not necessarily the parent of a child."

"It is somewhat similar to the old notion of Clans," Sir John commented.

"That is my understanding," Sirius agreed. "When I was a boy, my Grandfather was the Head of Family, not my father. Any decisions my father made regarding certain matters could be overruled by my Grandfather with no recourse. For example, had my father insisted I attend a certain school, his wishes were at the discretion of my Grandfather and if my Grandfather disagreed that was the end of it. Per custom, I will hand this to the Earl although I will also provide a copy to you as it is polite if not customary to do so." With that he handed a document to the Earl and to the Commander.

The two men read the documents. The Earl was nonplused. "What is the meaning of this rubbish?" the Commander asked. "You knew about this I take it?" he added turning to the Earl.

"I'll let Lord Black explain as I can assume he's more conversant than I am," the Earl replied. "But yes, Nigel, I knew and have known since not long after joining this office. Although I will admit it slipped my mind until now. And before you say something about keeping this from you and Sarah, what I know by virtue of my position here – anything I know – is subject to the State Secrets Act and until today you were not read in."

The Commander snorted. "A hell of a way to run a ship, or a family for that matter!"

The Earl merely shrugged.

"Well?" the Commander asked Sirius.

"That document was issued by our Ministry of Magic the day my daughter was born," Sirius said. "Ordinarily I would've been made aware of it not long thereafter but my living arrangements at the time were such that I was not able to receive any such posts."

"It appears that he was incarcerated for political reasons seeing as he was never tried nor convicted of any crime," Sir John said in case the Commander missed the significance.

"The distribution," Sirius continued, "is to the parents of the named child and the Head of that child's family, if different."

"Why would it be different?" the Commander asked.

"In your world, you son is in the line of succession to an Earldom, is he not?"

"He is."

"Then his Head of Family is the current Earl and no one else by our traditions. When my daughter was born, my Grandfather received this notification as he was then Earls and Baron and I was merely the heir apparent. Had I not been incommunicado, I would have also received such notification. My wife did in my absence."

"And her Head of Family?" the Commander asked.

"There was not a legacy at stake from her side," Sirius said. "As she was not due an estate from her parents or such, there was no Head of Family above her to notify. Don't ask me to explain the basis for the rules. They don't make sense to me either and I'm not here to justify them, only to fulfill what I believe is my obligation in light of this notice."

"Her parents were destitute?"

"Estate is more than a mere inheritance," the Earl said. "In their world it's not strictly monetary. Estate in this case means a right to accede to a hereditary seat in their government…"

"Or in the case of your grandson, sir," Sirius continued, "the right to establish a new one following the first vacancy after your grandson passes his twenty-first birthday."

"That requires explanation," the Commander started.

"Does it really, Nigel?" the Earl asked rhetorically. "Assuming the absence of a further reform regarding our own House of Lords, you will gain a seat in that body when I pass on or when I step aside, will you not? Your son will likewise gain that seat in time."

"I'm not counting on that," the Commander snorted. "To be honest, I am also disinclined to enter the political fray."

"Be that as it may, Nigel, for now whether or not you take your seat as Earl when or if the time comes, the seat is there. It is similar in their world and in their world there is no equivalent to House of Commons. Their House of Lords known as the Wizengamot is their government."

"There are differences," Sirius said. "Fifty-four seats are hereditary and there are others that are held by the equivalent of our Prime Minister and his cabinet and another number that are life tenures which cannot be passed down to their heirs. The hereditary seats must be filled and if the Holder, as we call the person entitled to the seat by law, if the Holder declines to do so personally he is required to appoint a proxy to fill the seat and exercise his votes. If a hereditary line dies out, it become vacant and that vacancy is filled with a new hereditary line by agreement of the rest of our hereditary membership unless there is an unseated member of an existing British Peerage available. By that I mean someone like your son: a hereditary Earl as designated by the Crown."

"He's not an Earl yet!" the Commander said.

"As you are Muggle and he is magical, for our purposes whether you are around or not, he becomes a de facto Earl upon his twenty-first birthday."

The Commander looked at the Earl. The Earl nodded. "That has been the case throughout their history. Moreover, they do not lose their noble status simply because they displeased our sovereign at some point. Lord Black is a commoner on our side, but a member of the Peerage on his side and his Estates were bestowed by predecessors of the Crown."

"The Earldoms predate the Normans," Sirius agreed. "They were bestowed on my ancestors by Anglo-Saxon kings. The Barony was later. My family lost its noble status for a time following the Norman conquest as we were not Normans and as I understand it not particularly pleased that they had arrived. We regained it for later services to the Crown, although not our old estates on your side of things and lost it again during your Civil War. There are lines which have been magical for hundreds of years and are still members of your Peerage. My Godson, for example, holds five Estates although for now in name only for now as he's too young to exercise them. One is Scottish and two are of Anglo-Saxon origin. The Scottish one was attainted when one of his ancestors sided with the Scots against the English King or a later English king did it 'cause of that, I can't remember which. Naturally, the Anglo-Saxon ones fell out with the Norman conquest. Yet all three are still recognized on our side as valid."

"And the other two?" the Commander asked.

"Later services to the Crown which have not fallen into disfavor, although from your point of view only the most recent one is relevant. That was an Earldom bestowed by your Queen Victoria. However, from our standpoint any one of them makes his line a member of our Peerage and therefore allows him to have a seat on our assembly."

"So he could hold five seats?"

"No. The number of seats is fixed and each must be held by a specific individual," the Earl said. "Under our current system, elevation to the Peerage brings with it the right to sit in our House of Lords whether such right is exercised or not. Each separate Peer has that right. If a family has more than one title to it, it can increase its influence by dividing those titles amongst its members – within reason of course. Their system does not allow for that. Were Lord Black who has three recognized titles to have three sons, he could not split his titles to gain two more seats."

"All it would do is give two of those lines a shot at a separate seat at some remote date in the future when an existing hereditary seat died off," Sirius said. "Moreover, splitting my estate would weaken my political power without regard to the fact that two of my currently hypothetical sons could not be seated. Each of my titles comes with its own votes when we sit as a legislature: one vote merely for the seat, two votes because my line can be traced to the formation of the Wizengamot without regard to any other matters, three votes for my barony and seven votes each for the earldoms. Thus, I can cast twenty votes for or against a bill. Well, I could. Currently my seat is held by proxy although should I so indicate I can either take the seat myself or direct my proxy to vote in the manner I should wish. We call it tiered voting and yes there are those who feel it's improper. But it's been the way of things for a thousand years or more and it's the way of things now. Were your son to receive a seat, he would bring with him eight votes regardless: one for the seat and seven for his earldom."

"Makes no sense," the Commander said.

"There are many who say the same thing about our own House of Lords," the Earl said. "You have yourself on more than one occasion."

The Commander shrugged. "And what does this have to do with my son?"

"It has nothing to do with that document," Sirius conceded. "It is by custom that I discuss this matter with both you and the Earl, that's all. It has potential relevance in that there are potential political ramifications. But that is merely a contingency at this time."

"So what does this mean? What does it mean by my son sharing compatible magic with your daughter?"

"Right now, nothing but a possibility," Sirius said. "You hold in your hand a notification required under our law which merely notifies you of certain magical facts. It is, without more, less important than a notification of birth. But that's not to say it's meaningless. What it means is that it is possible – possible but not necessarily probable – that sometime in the future a magical bond may form between the two."

"What's that mean?"

"It is considered the basis for the expression a marriage made in heaven," Sir John said, "at least on the magical side of things."

"So they're…"

"No!" Sirius cut the Commander off. "It is merely a possibility for now and it might never happen. It is a possibility because even if it could happen now – which I doubt – my daughter is too young. She's eleven, if you must know."

"So is my son I'd say seeing as he's only thirteen!"

"For our purposes, he may well be old enough but it takes two to tango as it were," the Earl chuckled.

"They could…? At thirteen…?"

"If you're talking sex, which I am not, whether they can or cannot at what age is a biological question," Sirius said. "Whether society considers it appropriate is a separate question often defined by law. Our law is rather complicated and archaic in that regard, but for now they cannot due to my daughter's youth. Still, even on your side as recently as 1929 your son and my daughter would be but one year away from being able to marry on their own. Under our law, once she surpasses what we call her Bonding Age, they can consent to a … well to certain… only because he is close enough to her in age. But as I said, this is not about sex. A magical bond such as this cannot happen unless both parties have attained their bonding age. Moreover, it will not happen just because they've passed their bonding age even if they were to have sex. It requires more. It requires something deeper."

"Love?"

"In a word, yes, although that is simplistic," Sirius said. "My wife and I shared compatible magic from her birth. She's about three years younger than I am and although we went to school together, the bond did not form while we attended. It formed in an afternoon when she was eighteen and I twenty-one and it happened the day we truly first met. Before then, I guess we were aware of each other but that was it and we hadn't even seen each other even in passing – which was all it had been before – in the three years since I finished school. The authorities cite to examples of known individuals who shared compatible magic and knew each other as children who never bonded. It either happens or it does not."

"So it's possible they'll never bond?"

"That's correct," Sirius said. "Moreover there's little you or I can do to have things turn out one way or another. Families have put potential bondmates together and nothing happened. I'm aware of situations where they were together very young and then apart for years and bonded. Then there's my case where my family – my parents actually – went out of their way to keep us apart and they did until we bumped into each other one day in Diagon Alley and bonded over lunch in all likelihood. It is entirely unpredictable."

"So whatever this is, however ominous it sounds, it might never happen?" the Commander asked. "When could it happen?"

"It might not," Sirius agreed. "The earliest it could happen is June 21st, 1995 which is the earliest my daughter could reach her bonding age. That would be a little after her thirteenth birthday. The latest could be their mid-twenties although it's rare that it happens at all and even rarer at the extremes."

"What causes it to happen?"

Sirius shrugged. "No one can say with absolute certainty. The best we can say is deep down both of them want it to happen. It's subconscious. That much is fairly certain. My wife and I did not know about our bonding potential when we met that day and I was not truly intending anything when I asked her to lunch other than to have lunch with a pretty girl with a nice smile and to see where that led. Deep down, I had to have been open to far more than a dalliance or even a date. The same had to be the case with her even if neither of us was aware of it at the time and that state of being could never have happened if we disliked each other or were making purely selfish decisions. If deep down all that I could have wanted from her was a roll in the hay, the bond would never have formed. The potential, plus the right mind set by both plus some form of acknowledgement by both and the bond will begin to form. The acknowledgement could be as otherwise benign as a kiss. It takes more than that to complete the bond."

"You mean sex?"

"If they are both at the appropriate stage of magical maturation, that would do it. But if either of them had not yet reached that stage, they could do that 'til exhaustion and nothing would come of it in that regard."

"You're saying this bonding age and the state of maturation are not the same?"

Sirius nodded. "Figure three to four years' difference. For the three to four years after the youngest as reached bonding age, sexual intercourse will not complete the bond. Such bonds are potentially precarious because they cannot be fully formed with ease."

"How so?" the Commander asked.

"Until the bond is fully formed, interfering with it is not a good idea. The couple cannot be separated for long periods of time or their magic will suffer as it tries to latch onto their bondmate's magic – for simplicity sake and lack of a better term – and cannot. If separated like that, their magic will bleed away which leads to its total loss and often death for both partners. My wife and I were old enough that the bond could fully form through consummation, otherwise neither of us could've survived my incarceration."

"So how…?"

"Six hours physical intimacy most days," Sirius said. "It need not be every day although it's easier just to let it be that way. Basically, so long as they share the same bed at night, their needs are met. Hypothetically speaking, if your son and my daughter began bonding before they were old enough to shag it home, they'd sleep together far more often than not from that day forward even if nothing else was going on. How long it takes the bond to fully form varies from couple to couple, or so I've been told."

"And then they can go their own way?"

"I suppose, except they would not want to. Moreover our law sees them as married from the moment the bond begins to form and not from the moment it has formed."

"Married? You said it could happen when you're daughter's thirteen!"

Sirius nodded. "It can happen that early. That's not the same as saying it will or even that it will ever happen. But yes, once the bond begins to form they are married magically and can legally marry at any time after with or without parental involvement."

"Your law allows that?" the Commander asked incredulous.

"Not generally. The formation of a magical bond is one of three exceptions to our age law. For the vast majority of us the age is sixteen and that's only because the Muggle age for marriage in Scotland is sixteen and our side will recognize the validity of a marriage performed on your side."

"So a young girl of thirteen could find herself married to a much older man?"

"Not by bonding through compatible magic," Sirius replied. "Bonding couples are within about three years of each other age wise. A young girl could find herself married with parental consent if the man in question got her pregnant and consented to the marriage himself. That's another exception although it's practically impossible with our birth control magic and even without it was seldom ever used as grounds. We mentioned my ancestor earlier. He had children by scores of young women. He only had but one wife and that marriage was not as a result of pregnancy rather by prior arrangement. The other exception is also rare and not applicable in this discussion. I'm only aware of two marriages in the last few centuries that fell within that other exception and as I am aware of more than two bonds such as we're discussing within the last twenty years, it's fair to say the bond, as rare as it is, is more common than the other exceptions these days."

"So what are you saying?"

"There is a chance that your son and my daughter will bond. I can't tell you how much of a chance that is. It depends, I suppose, on what kind of people they are and whether they're the kind of people they'd like to be with in the first place. That's something I doubt they could tell us. I guess it would be they'd know it when they see it sort of things. But should they bond, they would be married from that point which could create issues if we were unaware of the possibility aside from the magical bleeding thing."

"Such as?"

"Such as what if either of us had entered into a betrothal agreement on the behalf of our child with someone else?"

"Don't be daft, man! That sort of thing went out with the Victorian Era!"

"It went out of favor well before you were born, Nigel," the Earl said, "but more recently than the demise of Queen Victoria amongst our class. Lest you forget that my parent's marriage was arranged for all intents and purposes. Their parents introduced them for that purpose and they agreed in short order 'cause it was expected of them to enter into an agreeable marriage."

"They could've said no."

"But they did not and the prior generations had less choice than they did."

"On our side," Sirius said, "arrangements are still made even if they are not commonplace and the desires of the couple need not be taken into consideration. The couple does have a way out and that is to elope with another before they can be forced to marry although to do so is to give up whatever inheritance or such that they might expect. I was betrothed as a youth. Fortunately, my parents' choice of bride – whom I detested – went and got herself killed before I'd even reached an age where I could consider eloping with another assuming there was another who'd agree to that. My parents arranged the marriage in part to prevent my bond from happening as they considered my wife … undesirable. Then again, it was my mother's opinion that mattered and her idea of acceptable often meant close, legitimate relations who had not lost their inheritances one way or another. Not that it would've mattered."

"Oh?" the Commander asked.

"The Bond trumps any other arrangements," Sirius said. "Had I married another and then began to bond with my bondmate, I would be married to her as well. The first wife could get out of it, but she could not prevent the second marriage and if she did not seek an annulment then I'd have two wives. I find it mildly amusing that my mother went to such lengths to see me married off for had I bonded after that marriage was made the family of my mother's chosen bride could've ruined my parents and certainly would've destroyed whatever reputation my mother believed she had. Before you ask, we generally do not allow such relationships, but that would be an exception to the general rule which is valid on our side. Likewise, were my daughter to marry another and then bond…"

"She'd have two husbands," the Commander said.

"Ah… no. In that case the first marriage is always invalidated. It's not as obvious as to who the father of a child would be as compared to who the mother would be."

The Earl snorted. "Marriage law is, after all, a definition of contract, property rights and inheritance. Were it not for that, a couple would be a couple just by saying so and not be one just by saying so and legitimacy or illegitimacy of issue would be much ado about nothing."

"I hope you never said that to mother," the Commander said.

"She said it to me," the Earl laughed. "She said it 'bout two years before we tied the knot. But that was only one part. She also said that in her heart she already saw herself as my wife and to her that was all that mattered. Then again, there was a war on, I was in the Army and I was heading off to do my bit for King and Country."

The Commander nodded and then frowned. "So, my son may have no choice in this matter?"

"That's not the way this works," Sirius said. "What differentiates this is not that it takes away his free will or my daughter's for that matter. They can't bond unless they want such a thing to happen even if that desire is not a conscious thought at the time. I like to think that's a good thing in a way because your conscious can get in the way of such things left to its own devices. If they don't want it for any reason: they're not ready for it, they don't like the other person, whatever; then the bond cannot happen compatible magic notwithstanding. The magic bit is said to make it more likely, but only to the extent that it's more likely than not at all. If deep down he doesn't want it, it won't happen. Deep down where it ultimately matters they both have to want it to happen before it can happen even if they're not aware of that desire at all consciously."

"So this might not happen at all?"

"I don't think there're any accurate studies that could tell us what the chances are, but there's no reason to assume that it must happen nor is there reason to assume it can't happen. We know only that it can, not that it will. If it happens however they will never come to regret it. That's not to say they'll always see eye to eye on everything, never have a disagreement or an argument. But it will never be a destructive relationship. My mother went out of her way (short of killing someone) to see to it I never bonded with my wife. Deep down I think it's 'cause she always regretted her marriage and didn't want me to avoid the misery she believed was somehow a necessary part of things."

"And your father?"

"Never had a thought that was not dictated by my mother, or so it seemed to me. Thankfully, I don't have that kind of marriage. If the reason I have a mutually beneficial and supportive relationship with my wife is because of the bond, well having seen the alternative I'm not about to complain about any perceived magical alterations."

"Would you have sought us out had my father not been an Earl?" the Commander asked after several moments of silence. "If we'd been on the dole, would we be talking?"

"If your father wasn't an Earl, I would not have brought this to his attention. But I would still have sought you out. My original plan was to discuss this with the Earl as is our custom in such matters and then discussed this with you and your wife. I will still need to bring this to her attention due to the magic that was cast to protect this information."

"I was unaware that discussing such things with Muggles was custom," Sir John said.

"For many it would not be," Sirius conceded. "But the law does not forbid it where the Muggles in question have a direct, familial interest in the matter such as here where the son is a wizard. There are those who would think such courtesies stop at what you call the Treaty Line and others who've been led to believe that. The truth is nothing but narrow-mindedness limits such things to just one side of the line. My best friend was heir to another Ancient and Noble House and his son was born with compatible magic with a Muggle Born witch. They made contact with that Muggle family before the son was two months old and about the time the girl turned one year of age."

"And yet you waited," the Commander observed.

"Nigel, he was incarcerated or a fugitive from their law until only recently," the Earl said.

"He still had a wife…"

"No doubt the situation was not that simple."

"It wasn't," Sirius said. "Until I was exonerated my Grandfather believed that the existence of my daughter must be kept secret from our world. I don't disagree with his reasoning given the circumstances as there was an attempt on my life by a displeased claimant barely a week after I was exonerated. He's now doing life in prison."

"That would be the Malfoy matter," Sir John said to the Earl although while looking at Sirius who nodded in confirmation.

"He was unaware of my daughter and only knew I claimed to have a wife. He believed his son was next in line – that was not the case – and tried to keep it that way. The information is still not known on our side and my guess is you only know it because of that dossier."

"Fidelius Charm, is it?" Sir John asked.

Sirius nodded. Sir John then explained the charm to the Commander as it seemed the Earl was aware of it.

"It is a pity," the Earl said, "that the Charm can't hide pre-existing documentation. But for that minor weakness, it's bloody useful."

"Seems like more than a minor weakness to me," the Commander said.

"I doubt anyone is looking for that information," the Earl said.

"We weren't," Sir John nodded. "We pulled the dossier because Lord Black asked for a meeting and his existence is not protected. That Charm would mean even with the information in our files, we would see no need to check it. The Charm is not a perfect protection. But it seriously limits deliberate attempts at obtaining the secreted information. A person could find it only if they were not looking for it in the first place, as was the case with us as I did not pull his file to find that information. I would guess that the Charm is of recent casting. We obtained the information as to Lord Black's marriage and daughter a few years ago. We would've failed to consider seeking such information if the charm was in place at that time."

"Likewise," Sirius said, "the fact of that notice is also under the Charm and I am its Secret Keeper."

"I was aware of this before," the Earl said.

"When was the last time you gave it a passing thought?" Sir John asked.

"Not recently. Perhaps around the time Justin started school but not since. There are, after all, six other magical schools in Britain not counting the one we have on our side so there was no reason to think it certain the two would be attending the same school. If they never met, the bond could never happen and the schools do not interact at all."

"As it was not something that you dwelt upon, it was easy to cast the Charm," Sir John said. "It is harder if you seek to hide information from someone else who knows, is focused upon such information and is not to be an intended recipient or retainer of the information. The fewer you're hiding it from at the outset of the Charm, the easier it is to cast, you know. For you Commander, I would say that we in this office are known to use a variant of this Charm for Most Secret type information particularly when communicating with our agents in the field. Were it not for the inconvenience of the fact that to the vast majority of Her Majesty's government we neither can nor do exist, it is fair to say this spell would have more broad applications. What I find of interest, Lord Denworth, is that Lord Black and others – I dare say a probable handful of others – have seen such utility. Our sources and files have suggested that for whatever reason our counterparts across the Treaty Line have failed to see such utility and have confined the use of that spell to safeguarding properties both on their side and a few on our side of the Line. It is an interesting development."

"The idea came from … well, I don't know who thought of it," Sirius said. "The caster is a young Muggle Born who's proven both adept and creative with the spell."

"Muggle Born, you say?" Sir John asked. "It might be interesting one day to compare notes. But all this is an aside. Necessary from a security standpoint, but an aside. My original inquiry remains unanswered. Why are you discussing what may well be a remote contingency that being a potentiality of a bond and the attendant marriage between your daughter and the wizard son of a Muggle? You have stated that it may not happen at all. My understanding is it is exceptionally rare."

"Less rare that we're led to believe, I should think," Sirius said. "Of the compatible magic bonds, I am aware of not less than five including my own. There may be others. There is a similar bond that occurs only amongst adolescents that is not particularly relevant here but is said to be rarer still, and yet I'm personally aware of three such bonds. Perhaps I just happen to know the right people, then again maybe it is not as rare as we're led to believe. Such demographical concerns aside, I am here because of the potential of such a bond between my daughter and Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"And yet your own statements suggest that as Head of an Ancient and Noble House you are negotiating, for lack of a better word, based upon such remote contingency with a Muggle family. Your statements suggest you would have done so in any event, even if the lad in questions was no more than the son of a dustman, but particularly in this event. I believe and explanation as to the particulars is in order."

"My societal standing is a consideration and I'll get to that," Sirius said. "But first and foremost is my standing as her father. My wife and I have discussed this, in case you're wondering. We know what we have as a couple and know the bond is a part of it. Why would we deny our daughter that chance? We can't make it happen for her. But we can try to clear the obstacles, as it were. Neither of us will stand in the way of this and we would hope no one else will as well. But the positions of the two young people must also be taken into consideration for their contingent future could pose problems unless steps are taken in anticipation of it occurring even if it never does."

"That is where I thought this has been leading," Sir John nodded.

"Sir John?" the Commander asked.

"Lord Black, for now, has but one child. I know this is a personal question, but you and your wife are trying for more?"

"We are," Sirius said. "Under the circumstances, it is a relevant question."

"That being said, there are no guarantees. To avoid the sticky particulars, it would be necessary for Lord Black and his wife to have a son which not even magic can make certain."

"Superstitions and old wives' tales to the contrary," Sirius agreed.

"Then there is the sticky problem of the Earldom of Denworth," Sir John added. "The Treaty of Separation and magical laws of inheritance make quite a mess in this situation were you to do nothing."

"That requires an explanation," the Commander said.

"Their laws of inheritance still follow a version of primogenitor," Sir John said. "If we were to look at their law, unchanged from before the days of William I, we might say they were quite progressive at first but now might well be seen as regressive. But that's another discussion. What it means to you today is that Lord Black needs a grandson by his daughter at the very least to continue his line. Assuming he has no other children, it must then be a grandson with no expectancy from his father's side of the family. To do this, a family such as House Black would prefer to rely upon a long recognized form of prenuptial agreement, one by which Lord Black's daughter's bridegroom would necessarily abandon his rights as a son and husband for inheritance purposes. In effect, the bridegroom is adopted into the bride's family."

"I would say that is unacceptable," the Earl said.

"It is not their only trick," Sir John said. "But as you can imagine, there are few bridegrooms who would accept such terms unless they have nothing to abandon in the first place. Their other common scheme, more applicable in this instance, is a variation where the bridegroom is the bride's consort husband – meaning he has no interests in her estates. But it also means their children have no interest in his."

"That's the same thing, isn't it?" the Commander asked.

"Except that under their law, the bridegroom is allowed another wife to sire his own line to pass on his estates. As Lord Black said, their law allows such plural marriages under certain rare circumstances and Line Continuation is the most common."

"It's still rare enough," Lord Black said. "There are currently two such arrangements in effect in our world involving four Ancient and Noble Houses. They are the only such arrangements in the last two centuries or more that I am aware of."

"And your suggesting a third?" the Commander asked.

"He probably is," Sir John said.

"Reluctantly," Sirius added.

"But probably unnecessary," Sir John continued. "We're not talking about a union of magical estates, are we? We are talking about a union across the Treaty Line. I am aware of such a union. There was one long ago and because of the Treaty of Separation, it created an interesting exception to the magicals' rules of inheritance."

"Okay, this I'm unaware of," Sirius said.

"Commander, as you are unaware of these laws, I will explain," Sir John said. "Essentially, the Treaty of Separation between the Crown of England and Wizengamot of Greater Britannia of 1207 states that what herein is the King's shall henceforth be the King's and that which is the Wizengamot's shall so remain. The language is more verbose than that, but that is the gist of it. It dealt with property, taxes and law enforcement. The Crown cannot tax the wizards and the Wizengamot cannot tax the Crown's subjects. Each is further tasked to prevent their citizens from infringing upon the other's lands, properties and rights; hence this office. Whether intended or not at the time, the Treaty created an impediment to the transfer of estates and rights across the Line. What is Muggle remains Muggle and what is Magical remains Magical; something my ancestors knew all too well."

Sirius nodded. "The King didn't want his Muggle taxes running off to hide in our world and we most certainly didn't want to pay his taxes."

"King John was a right bastard about that," Sir John nodded. "Then again, he was a right bastard about just about everything. It's what pushed the Wizengamot to force the issue with England first. You should know, Commander, that on the magical side the British Isles have been under one government since around the time of the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and by 1207 they'd grown tired and frustrated with the changing maps and polities of the various Muggle overlords. Persecution of their kind for being magical was all but nonexistent which is not to say there was not some zealot here or there who tried, only they truly lacked the means to really be a threat. But the magicals had accepted Muggle rule up to that point and it had grown far too complicated. Persecution for being on the wrong side of a physical line or simply for having a lot of money when the Muggle overlord found himself short of funds was more the normal state of affairs. It was either separate from Muggle rule or allow Muggle politics to divide their internal culture and economy.

"The effect if this treaty was to effectively strip Muggle Borns of their inheritance rights certainly when it came to transfer of land. Under the Treaty, Muggle land cannot become magical land by any means (short of conquest which has not happened) and vice versa. More recent monetary changes on the Muggle side limit the ability to transfer liquid capital either way. That change was when Muggle money ceased to be made from precious metals. However that complication was unrelated to the Treaty of Separation. It's based upon a separate agreement with the Wizard's Bank to prevent currency dissipation and speculation."

"That needs clarification," the Commander said.

"It is merely an aside."

"Still…"

Sir John sighed. "You know magical money is entirely coinage. Two of their coins, the Galleon and Sickle are made from gold and silver respectively. The exchange rate between pounds and Galleons is regulated by the bank and is a close approximation of the relative purchasing power of the two currencies. Today a Galleon has the same purchasing power as not quite seven pounds on our side. However, a one galleon coin is worth far more as gold. Likewise a Sickle coin is worth more as silver than as its fractional share of a Galleon."

"But I was able to Convert pounds to Galleons," the Commander countered.

"Not a lot of them," Sir John replied. "Most of that transaction was more modern in derivation. The Goblins estimate how many Pounds you are likely to spend in their economy and were you to try to exchange substantially more than their estimate, you would've been questioned and if they deemed the answers unsatisfactory they would not have allowed the exchange. They do not want more than the expected handful of coins leaving their circulation. A large conversion without an anticipated equally large transaction on their side of the line leaves to the conclusion that the conversion must be for the gold and silver as commodities and no other legitimate reason.

"But back to the point. Under Wizard's version of primogenitor, they pass the bulk of the estate to the eldest son and with that all hereditary titles. Generally, if there is no son, the estate must be split between all surviving descendants and the titles are abandoned. This results in dissipation of the former estate and the loss of prestige and, more important here, the votes in their assembly tied to those titles. Line Continuation allows the estate and the titles to pass to a grandson or great-grandson through a daughter where otherwise this would not be possible."

"At the cost of my boy's own legacy."

"At the cost of a magical legacy if your boy had one, which he does not. The impediment on your boy's legacy is not their inheritance laws so much as the limits on transfer under the Treaty of Separation and Gringotts rules for preventing currency speculation. The problem is similar but not the same."

"And you're suggesting a way around the problem?"

"I'm sure Lord Black did not come here to tell you your son has lost his legacy by being born a wizard."

"I did not," Sirius said. "And he normally would not, although his situation would not be as fluid or whatever. The problem presented is how to protect my estate as well. He left out the bit where unless steps are taken, the wife loses her estates to her husband on marriage. Had I a son, this would be of little importance. But until I have one, I have to assume my daughter is next in line and because I have a daughter unless I have a son there are no other claimants while she is alive. Thus, if I take no steps and she marries and I die, the Black Estate ceases to exist and with it go the titles, votes and a thousand years or more of history. That, and upon her death the estate passes in equal parts to her children and other 'close claimants', although in her case there would be no close claimants if she dies after I do. Our rules of primogenitor only apply to a small number of recognized lines of which House Black currently is one. If your line is not recognized, there is no such rule.

"Basically, were my daughter to marry without some form of prearrangements and were she to remain my only child, House Black would cease to exist. Your son's situation is even more precarious as unless there's a prearrangement that creates an exception, the property of the Earldom and your estates cannot be passed to him or any other magical descendant."

"The Concordant of Henry VII allows the prearrangements Lord Black mentioned. Before that, only an Act by the Wizengamot could allow a Muggle estate to pass into their world and even then it was limited to cash transfers," Sir John said.

"And that Act anticipated liberal use of inducements to 'encourage' enough votes to pass," Sirius said. "In other words you'd have to bribe the hell out of people to keep your estate."

"And the Concordant avoids that distasteful practice," Sir John said. "It was what kept my family comfortable when we crossed over and what allowed us to keep what was ours when we crossed back a couple generations later. Should the sitting Earls agree – which I assume is why Lord Black sought a meeting with the Earl – they can come to a prearrangement that would preserve both lines of inheritance."

"That was my intent," Sirius said. "I meant no disrespect to Commander Finch-Fletchley. But to preserve the Earldoms of Dentworth, Hangleton and Falthsome and Barony of Savoy; the arrangements must be between the title holders and not the heirs. Our children, Commander, can't do this while we're alive at all and my daughter can't do it in any event as without more she is merely the Regent who holds the titles for her son should she have one. Regents don't have this kind of authority."

"You're talking of arranging a marriage between my son and your daughter!" the Commander said. "I know it has happened in my family's past, but the wife would skin me alive if I even thought of doing something like that these days."

Sirius laughed. "Yes, a full on arranged marriage would do it, but there's no reason to go that far. What I'm proposing is a conditional arrangement, one that does not bind the children in any way but should they marry has the effect of a pre-existing betrothal and 'merger' of the estates. Basically, nothing would happen or be expected unless they bond; although we could include an added bit where the estates merge per our will if they should marry each other under any other circumstances seeing as the bond itself is by no means a certainty."

"That would work," Sir John said.

"It would?" the Earl and Commander asked.

"Better idea than what I was thinking," Sir John concluded. "It makes no promises right now and binds no one. But it protects both lines should the preconditions be met which cannot happen at all for either line as it now stands without such a prearrangement."

"What would such a pre-arrangement mean?" the Commander asked.

"If the children marry of their own volition," Sirius said, "and the bond is of their own volition, then your son would one day become Earl Denworth while my daughter would remain Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Black. Their son would become both in time upon the passing of his parents. He would have to be savvy in both worlds as the Denworth estates would remain Muggle and the Black estates would remain magical – well for the most part but the details are not important. But he would pick up the extra earl votes for his seat in our Wizengamot regardless as to whether his father had attained a seat or not. The agreement does not do anything at all. It does not bind us or them at all, unless that happens."

"How often is there this sort of arrangement?" the Commander asked.

"This would be the only one I'm aware of," Sirius said.

"It's rare but valid," Sir John nodded. "My family has been the primary if not only beneficiary of the exception available under the Concordant. Then again, it is rare that magic has ever manifested itself within the Muggle nobility except where, as in the case of my family, they married a witch. Muggle Borns such as your son while common place on the magical side, are exceptionally rare on the Muggle side: perhaps one in three thousand Muggle couples could give birth to magical children and maybe even less. Not including the Royal Family, there are around 800 active hereditary peerages so statistically the likelihood of any one such family going magical is about one in every century or so. Actually, it's less than that considering most peerages are since 1800. There've been but a handful which have and aside from my family, most went extinct because they failed to make the necessary arrangements. One can argue whether this was their fault or reluctance on the part of a magical family to assist; probably both."

"I'm still not getting this," the Commander said. "Perhaps I'm missing something?"

"The Treaty of Separation created legal and practical separation of magical and Muggle," Sir John said. "You were thereafter either one or the other and not and never both. The Concordant created the ability to create a hybrid family which was both. By using that framework, Lord Black can get around several laws legally and can preserve House Black in the event there is no son. More importantly, the Concordant is the only certain way to preserve your son's full legacy. Lord Black could preserve his House through a Line Continuation, effectively adopting the husband of his daughter before they married at the expense of that husband's estate or with a proviso that would allow that husband another wife. But that does not help your son because he cannot take a second wife to preserve a Muggle estate. The Concordant does not allow him the second wife either. But it allows him to keep his estates while also allowing his wife to preserve her own. Admittedly, there are easier ways. But the wizards never thought that way for whatever reason. With this arrangement, during their lives your son would become Earl Denworth in time and be allowed to pass that along to his heir. Lord Black's daughter would be Regent of the Ancient and Noble House of Black and would be able to pass that to a son and heir. No other arrangement successfully would achieve both. And it would have the added advantage that the Estate is governed by the sovereign of choice which, right now, would most likely be the magical one seeing as their taxes and inheritance laws are more advantageous for the preservation of estates over generations than ours."

"And your family had a hand in it?"

"A hand? No. We were, however, the cause of the Concordant."

"How?"

"That's another story," Sir John said.


	58. Chapter 58: The Rest of the Story

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Much of this chapter might seem unnecessary and perhaps it is, but I had fun writing it anyway. Some of this is history and some is fiction and I'll leave any historical inaccuracies to the fictional side of things.

**CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT: THE REST OF THE STORY**

**MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29****th**** 1993.**

"I'd like to hear it," the Commander said.

"So would I," Sirius added.

"It begins with the Treaty of Separation signed by King John of England and Anulf, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot of Greater Britannia in 1207…," Sir John began. "The Treaty of Separation seems to be unique to the British Isles. As far as I'm aware there's nothing similar elsewhere prior to the International Statue of Secrecy of 1692 which effectively did the same thing throughout Europe and the Americas but without prior notice to the Muggles. One of the provisions King John insisted upon was a proviso that barred a wizard from ever ruling England. There was no reason to believe that was about to happen and no historical basis for believing it had happened. Then again, King John was both capricious and more than a little paranoid. There was a similar proviso in the companion Treaty of Separation with Scotland of 1212 but such provisos do not exist in the Treaties with the various Irish and Welsh principalities. The proviso makes little sense considering it was a highly unlikely outcome. As I said, the odds of a given Muggle couple having a Muggle Born witch or wizard are incredibly slim. To that we have to add the fact that immediate heirs to the throne married for political reasons, which almost always meant to foreigners. Such marriages persisted until recently and it's said (not entirely accurately) that the Muggle First World War was really a family feud on a global scale. However, assuming it had ever been politically advantageous for a Prince to marry a witch, the Treaty of Separation ended that so there was practically no chance of a wizard ever rising to the throne. Basically, the proviso protected against a near impossibility.

"Add to it this office or rather its earlier incarnation which was set up to enforce and monitor compliance with the Treaty. That necessarily included preventing the Royal Family from marrying their kids off to a known witch or wizard and retaining any claim on the throne. Essentially, the family chose the bride and our job was to make sure she was not a witch and for the most part they were not."

"For the most part?" the Commander asked.

Sir John laughed. "Well, this wouldn't be much of a story if a problem had never arose! That problem was the chaos of succession following the usurpation of the throne by Henry Bollingbrook, cousin of King Richard II and after chucking that king into a prison of sorts, King Henry IV. Not surprisingly, he spent a fair part of his rule suppressing revolts. What few remember is that was hardly odd. Just about every Norman King before him had to do the same at one point or another. I don't think Edward III did, but he had to contend with the Black Death when he was not beating up on the French. Revolting against the King was almost a national sport. Succeeding, however, was rather rare.

"Right then. Henry V succeeded his usurper father, suppressed a half-hearted revolt and then kept the potential malcontents busy really beating up on the hapless French. He married a French princess for political reasons and rather promptly died leaving a widow and a nine month old son, Henry VI. During the boy king's minority, the people who were supposed to keep it all in order did a terrible job. They lost everything in France gained by his father, plus everything dating back to William of Normandy except Calais and the Channel Islands. Needless to say, the folks in England were not thrilled; especially those who had lost property to the French. It didn't help at all that the boy grew to be a lousy king. By all accounts he was a decent sort of person, but he was weak and indecisive as a ruler and that's giving him more credit than he's probably due. His nobility found him revolting, that is to say they found him easy to revolt against.

"His cousin, Edward, eventually deposed him. Edward was supposedly single at the time. From the standpoint of this office, prior to overthrowing Henry he was also at best a distant contender for the throne so we did not see need to either scrutinize his love life, nor advise him of the perils of marrying a witch. When he secured the throne we did so advise him and he effectively told us that sort of thing was his business and not ours. Again, not that it mattered as his advisors were busy looking for some foreign princess to set him up with and he was busy putting down revolts which might be good for begetting bastards, but hardly led to finding a wife or at least they had not in the past. Leave it to Edward to change that.

"About a generation or so before this mess my magical ancestors came to England. A distant grandmother of mine was both a witch and a daughter of a Count who had lands in a few places including Flanders. As there was no treaty of separation there, it was not unheard of for there to be magicals in the nobility on the Continent. That daughter married a son of Henry IV of England, but he died before there were any children. She then married her husband's chamberlain, a knight but a commoner. They had a brood together; fourteen kids of which all but one lived to adulthood including a daughter, another of my distant grandmothers. She married a knight and commoner (as knights were not nobility simply by being knighted) and had two sons before he bought it in battle, of which there were many at the time.

"The legend is that she caught the eye of the bachelor King Edward IV as he rode past her home with a large retinue and he married her in secret not long thereafter. Publically, he was in negotiations to marry the daughter of the King of France. That ended when he announced that it was too late, he had already married becoming the first King of England to marry a local. She was accused of using witchcraft to ensnare the King. This was the first thing our office was asked to look into. We could neither prove nor disprove the accusation but the fact that it could not be proven suggests she did not. It is more probable that as she was a real looker and would not be content being a mere mistress he married her to get in her knickers; a habit he did not give up simply 'cause he had a wife. I mean chasing skirts, not marrying them.

"But this office was convinced that she was a witch and while that alone was not a violation of the Treaty, the fact that the King had no legitimate issue made it a potential violation for if they had children, in all probability those children would be magical and as a boy of theirs would be heir to the throne, should that heir succeed to the throne it would violate the treaty which would place England under the rule of a wizard."

"You're talking about the Princes in the Tower!" the Commander said.

"Yes, but we'll get to that," Sir John continued. "Well, at first there was not much that needed to be done. After all, the Treaty of Separation did not prevent a king from marrying a witch only a wizard from becoming king. We were not worried about daughters."

"Why not?" Sirius asked.

"At that time a woman could not rule England. The Treaty made it clear that this was about ruling England in your own right, not something less. Queen Consorts had administered England in the absence of their husbands before, but that's not the same as ruling since their authority came from their husband and not their position as Queen. Besides, if the king only had a daughter the line would pass to the next closest male relative upon the king's death. This didn't change until Henry VIII changed the rules several decades after this mess so that his daughter could rule if his string of wives failed to produce a son who lived. But before Henry VIII did that; as long as there were no sons there was no potential violation. It would not have mattered at all if it were known that Edward's witch was magically barren for if she were none of her children would be magical and the Treaty could not be at risk. But this office knew that was not the case. She had two sons by her first marriage, both of them were magical if not trained as such so it was probable any children born to the King would be as well. It was six years before there was a potential for a crisis for their first three children were daughters. Then she started bearing sons.

"Now remember, it is a wizard on the throne that was the issue in all this. Unless and until that happened, nothing happened to violate the treaty. So long as the sons never took the throne, nothing happened. The easiest thing to do was to have the king bar his sons from the throne. He did not and in some ways you can't blame him. The country had been torn apart by wars for the throne because succession had been messed up when Henry IV deposed his cousin. To bar the sons could lead to another dynastic struggle. Then there was the king himself who really did not like people telling him what he could or could not do. Add to it a wife who was from a family of social climbers who stood to lose everything if her son was not there on the throne to let them keep it and … well, so much for an easy way.

"The one thing this office would not do is kill the boys. While as wizards they were the reason there was a potential mess, they did not cause it. That was their parents' doing so why should they suffer for it? If this office could get them off to Hogwarts before they could be crowned – in other words before they were both too old to attend and their father died – by attending, they would cross over the line such that they could not rise to the throne. But their mother had never attended a magical school. She had been taught by her mother and was content to teach her children herself. In her opinion magical school was for Muggle Borns or young witches and wizards born to incompetent witches and wizards. We hoped to convince her it would be better to send the lot off to Hogwarts when their time came, but we never did. Her children were more valuable to her as marriage bargaining chips than as witches and wizards.

"Nor could our office openly defy the King. Let's leave out it would be treason even if his right to rule could be debated. The fact of the matter was that we enforced the Treaty for the Crown and he was the Crown. But this was also a time where keeping the Crown on your head was easier said than done. Nothing truly prevented us from suggesting things to other claimants. With luck, Edward would be deposed before his son's were old enough to pose a true problem and the matter could be closed. The problem was: deposed by whom?

"There was a nobleman named Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. He had been a crucial player in putting Edward IV on the throne and Edward had then thanked him by marrying a local commoner while the Earl was off negotiating on Edward's behalf for the marriage to the daughter of the King of France. Warwick might've accepted this but for the fact that he was never told in advance that his negotiations were not meant to bear fruit and he took the snubbing personally whether it was meant that way or not and immediately turned on the King. This was well before the King had a son to pose problems and therefore well before this office was thinking about doing anything. Warwick wanted Edward off the throne, and by 1470 when a son was born so did we after he and his wife refused to bar their oldest son from succeeding to the throne.

"Warwick did not want the throne for himself. He had no personal claim to it. But the deposed Henry VI was still alive and, moreover, the King's brother George Duke of Clarence wanted the throne as well and Warwick was more than willing to get it for one or the other of them. He had, after all, put Edward on the throne and then had been plotting to get rid of him too for a few years. But it didn't work out to well for him and for his prime candidate the son of Henry VI. Warwick was killed in battle in 1471. Henry's son was killed in another battle not long afterwards although there was also reason to believe he was captured and summarily executed. Henry VI was captured and later murdered in captivity. It would seem that getting rid of the sitting King was not as easy as it had once been.

"There were two claimants left who seemed to want a shot at the crown. One was not a good choice. That was Edward Tudor who in addition to being very young at the time also came from a line of bastards. Like Kings Henry IV through VI, he was descended from John of Gaunt, son of Edward the III. But he was descended from a mistress, not a wife and John of Gaunt's later marriage to that mistress did not cure this defect. The other active claimant was King Edward's younger brother George, Duke of Clarence. Our records don't say why the man was intent on the throne, unless it was because he couldn't pay his bills and his brother kept him on a short leash. The only things George was really good at was getting drunk and spending his brother's money. He might've been good at other things, but being drunk most of the time hindered it. In the end he bungled it one time too many even for his forgiving brother. The legend is he was drowned in a barrel of wine which was a fitting end but aside from Shakespeare who wrote about it more than a hundred years after the fact nothing says this was truly the case only that he was executed for treason. In the opinion of this office, after Henry VI and his son were killed the best option would've been Richard Duke of York, the King's other brother. But he was loyal to the king and would not consider it."

"But that was Richard III, wasn't it?" the Commander asked. "He took the throne!"

"Not from his brother," Sir John said, "and we'll get to that. Anyway, our office needed to keep the King's sons away from the throne and the King and his wife were not about to cooperate. We were left with Richard, who was not about to go after it at least not at the expense of his brother; the other brother George who was little more than comic relief and Edward Tudor who's only supporter was his mother. The only thing we really had going for us at all was no one could stand the queen. She might've been quite popular had she not spent her efforts conniving to enrich and ennoble her numerous brothers, sisters and her two sons by prior marriage. That was not a way to win the support of the more established nobility and it did not matter a whit to the older families that so few of them had survived the decades of civil war. Perhaps that was part of the problem as it seemed to the older families that there were almost as many upstarts from the queen's commoner family as there were of them. What was known as the War of the Roses all but wiped out the English nobility when it finally came to an end.

"So, we were faced with a King who was fairly safe upon the throne; certainly safer than any in a century. He was married to a witch which was not in and of itself an issue. They had several children, including three sons although one would die in infancy all of whom were magical and should any of the sons survive their father, he would be King and the Treaty would be violated."

"And what would happen then?" Sirius asked.

"The King would then regain the right of rule over the magical realm," Sir John said. "That was a default clause King John had insisted upon knowing the magicals would hate it. It did not exist in any of the other treaties. But this office also saw nothing in the treaty that prevented the wizards from preventing that, also unlike the other treaties. It's all very disjointed and contradictory. What is certain is that wizards never believed in the divine right of kings or that they were anointed by God or some such. Muggles at the time debated this every time they thought of deposing a king. Without that barrier, what was to stop a wizard from killing the king? The Treaty of Separation had. After all, there was nothing to gain in doing so as the King was none of the wizards' business and couldn't do anything to them. But if the King were a wizard, all that changed. This could lead to problems best avoided. The proviso said the wizard King could claim the right to rule the magicals. But it did not say that would happen.

"Hypothetically, the Wizard King would demand his rights and probably impose a tax. After all, insofar as the magicals were concerned he was not hampered by the Magna Carta and other laws that said he could only tax if Parliament let him. The Wizengamot would probably refuse. To them, he was a nobody and certainly no relation to the ruling magical Houses. But the King would have one thing the wizards lacked: an Army. The English nobility might've been able to survive after wars that cost them thousands of lives. The wizards could not. Even at that time, had the Muggles made a concerted and united effort to crush the wizarding world, they might well have succeeded in the end by sheer weight of numbers and the wiser wizards knew this. But the wiser wizards would not be able to avoid the Muggles if they were ruled in turn by a wizard. Had one of Edward's sons become king, the wizards may have tried to kill him if he even thought of extending his rule into their world most likely and this would've triggered a bloody war between the two groups one which would've been far more devastating to the magicals."

"But if the King left the wizards alone…," the Earl began.

"Her Majesty Elizabeth would leave them alone," Sir John said. "There is much that she can do as Queen, but very little that she would do as Queen. Back then, however, monarchs were not nearly as judicious in their exercise of power as recent generations. Quite the opposite. It is hard to envision a King of that time not taxing the magical world simply because it might upset them. It's also hard not to envision the magicals just sitting there and taking it. The considered opinion of this office was that the wizards would kill the wizard King or die trying. Success would throw the Muggle world into chaos, which is never good. Failure would destroy the magical one. It was not a pleasant prospect at the time.

"In 1483, Edward IV died. He was only forty-one at the time but his death was natural and not by magical means as far as we were able to determine at the time and we have had no reason to revise that assessment. On his deathbed, he named his brother Richard as Lord Protector of England. We're pretty sure this was against the wishes of his wife who wanted that to go to one of her relations. Richard was now more than willing to prevent a violation of the Treaty provided it was in a way that did not involve killing the boys. He was less concerned about appearances. After all, killing rival claimants was more or less what one did in England at the time and after a brief furor, people would forget about it. So as soon as possible, the two surviving sons were sent off to Hogwarts.

"Richard then added a stroke of genius. He was concerned that wizard school or not, the boys might try and claim the throne one day. But the one thing that was unassailable in the law at the time was that a bastard could never be King. William of Normandy had been one, and he had made sure there could never be another. No one had challenged the validity of the marriage of Edward IV while he was alive. But at the time of his death, the only person who could testify as to the marriage was the widow. All of the other witnesses and the priest who had married them were dead and their deaths, while convenient, were not suspicious. The law was that the bride and groom could not give competent testimony as to a marriage or its validity. But Richard went further than just calling the widow a liar. Somehow an obscure (but real) Bishop came forward with evidence that the King was already married, or at least close enough that his marriage to the Queen was invalid. Naturally, the alleged bride of that marriage was long dead. But it was enough to convince Parliament that the marriage to the Queen was legally a sham and they independently enacted legislation to that effect. As such, the children of the marriage were born out of wedlock and therefore bastards and as no bastard had any claim to the throne…"

"So Richard didn't kill the boys?" the Commander asked.

"Why would he?"

"To secure the throne!"

"He had to kill a lot more than two boys if that was his goal," Sir John said. "There were the five sisters. While they had no claim themselves, their sons would have a stronger claim than any child of Richard's. Much of the evils foisted upon Richard had been committed centuries before by John. John killed his own nephew or at least did nothing to avoid suspicion. He chucked his niece into a prison for life 'cause her claim and the claim of any children she might have were better than his or that of his son the future Henry III. She was prevented from ever marrying or having children. In Richard's case, in addition to King Edward's numerous children, his other older brother George Duke of Clarence had surviving children who had better claims. Richard did see to it that several of the Queen's relations died, but they were direct threats to him personally and not rival claimants to the throne. In fact, when Richard's son died, King Richard named his brother George's son as heir. Not that this matters. Parliament declared the children of Edward IV bastards, not Richard. He had no need to kill them after that."

"But the sources suggest…"

"John Rous wrote with praise about Richard when he was alive. He later wrote that Richard was deformed and evil to the core. The later writings were long after Richard was dead and Henry VII was on the throne and King Henry probably had something to do with the revisions. Sir Thomas More wrote a biography which was probably the source for Shakespeare's play. One must note he was a member of Henry VIII's Privy Council at the time having come from practical obscurity. Likewise, he could not write from personal experience (unlike Rous) as he was between the ages of five and seven when Richard was king. Henry VII's claim to the throne was at best tenuous and he killed a lot of other rivals to keep it secure, those he missed his son dispatched. Neither of those men were likely to look kindly on someone who even suggested they were usurpers and even more base at that than any of their predecessor usurpers. It's kind of hard to write an objective history if the censor can take your head for disputing the party line, isn't it?"

"I … the bodies in the tower?" the Commander added.

"Okay, you lost me," Sirius said. "Where did these bodies come from?"

"It's known that sometime later two bodies were dug up at the Tower of London where it was said the two sons of Edward IV who had been imprisoned after their father's death," the Earl replied.

Sir John nodded. "They were buried outside the tower," he said. "They were found some two hundred years after the fact and it's not like people at that time could date remains at all. So little 'evidence' remained that all anyone could do even in far more recent times was estimate that the bodies were around the age of the two boys. But they could not even tell if the bodies were that of two boys much less anything else such as when they might have died. The Tower of London has stood since the late Eleventh Century and has been used as a prison for most of that time even when it was also a royal residence. Goodness knows how many people died there over the centuries. It is far more likely, absent better evidence, that the two bodies were children of staff or perhaps of a prisoner who died of illness sometime before they were found which means anytime within an almost 600 year window. In other words, it could be anyone except the princes."

"And you're sure because…?" the Commander asked.

"My surname is Fitzedward. The name dates from the time when my ancestor entered Hogwarts. His name was Richard Fitzedward (or Richard, acknowledged bastard of Edward which is the later derivation of the Norman prefix 'Fitz') formerly Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV."

"Bloody hell!" the Commander said.

"It's not like I advertise."

"And the other prince?"

"His brother's line was all girls, or at least only the girls lived to have children of their own. To the Muggles, Edward and Richard died in 1485. To the magicals, you would find that Edward and Richard Fitzedward began Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September 1485, having been residents of Hogsmeade Village for about two months prior."

"And that was the reason for the Concordant?" the Commander asked.

"That was years later," Sir John said. "We need to get there. So, the Princes who are no longer princes are off to Hogwarts to learn their craft. Their Uncle Richard is on the throne and is generally respected by anyone not related to his brother Edward's wife. But he does have enemies, among them is Henry Tudor whose mother wants him on the throne despite the fact that while a descendant of a king he has no viable claim at all. Henry had the added problem that he has no real friends or supporters in England and he's lived most of his young adult life in France and Brittany. When Richard III came to the throne, Henry's mother financed a smear campaign to gain support for her son as the rightful heir. This campaign may have started the rumor that the sons of Edward IV had been murdered, although it gained no real following. The only nobles willing to accept the rumor were no friends of Richard to begin with and were already inclined to revolt.

"Henry made two attempts at the crown. The first was an unmitigated disaster for him as his main supporter in England was captured and beheaded. Richard came close to getting Henry as well having bought the loyalty of Henry's primary sponsor the Duke of Brittany. Henry fled to the French court which was more than willing to cause internal problems in England provided France could be kept out of it. His support in England was limited to the relatives of the former Queen. I guess you can't blame them as no one liked them and the new King gave them the boot from anything they had gained under Edward IV. The French paid for a mercenary army to land in England under Henry and they also hoped for support from the Welsh who were always a good source of troops.

"It was a recipe for disaster. Richard had far more loyal troops than Henry could muster. Most of Henry's army were barely trained mercenaries loyal to their money pouches and nothing else and they were facing a battle hardened army and, more critically, they were outnumbered. The Battle of Bosworth Field, as the encounter is called, was similar to the Battle of Hastings. The side that won the battle was losing dreadfully up until almost literally the last minute when the other side's leader fell. Richard was winning and then saw an opportunity to kill his rival. At that point, Thomas and William Stanley switched sides. They had been fighting for Richard but changed and attacked. It should be noted that Thomas Stanley was now married to Henry Tudor's mother which may have been a factor. But the Stanley's had always been opportunists and they saw one here. I think it's more likely they saw this as a chance to decide the battle and reap the rewards and they saw Henry as being the more grateful seeing as the King expected them to fight for him and Henry did not. Richard was killed and Henry was crowned King.

"One of the first things Henry VII did as King was marry Elizabeth of York, oldest daughter of Edward the IV and sister to the two Fitzedward boys at Hogwarts. This had been the result of an agreement between the mothers of the bride and groom after Edward IV had died. This office had a spy with the former queen and knew the arrangement was because the former queen absolutely refused to be concerned about the Treaty and blamed her husband's death and the disappearance of her sons on this office. The later was true, but we were not about to tell the scheming witch the boys were alive and well. The former was a figment of her imagination. While this office considered the arrangement somewhat of a red herring, we had had enough fun with that witch and her kin and decided not to take any more chances with her. At the time she made her deal with Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry and wife of Thomas Stanley, my ancestor the widowed Queen Elizabeth and her daughters were in sanctuary which is sort of a self imposed prison," he added for Sirius, "that has the advantage that a reputable person will not break in and drag you out. Odd that choice."

"Oh?" the listeners asked.

"King Richard III was alleged to have violated sanctuary before if you believe Shakespeare. He was believed to have done it to kill the son of Henry VI after the Battle of Tewksbury. So what could possibly convince the wife of the beneficiary of Richard's action to assume that he would not do the same to get her and her children out of the way?

"King Richard did not violate sanctuary. He did see the widowed Queen and convinced her to turn over her younger son to him. She did and the boy was promptly sent off to Hogwarts. Aside from that, he did nothing. The widowed Queen and her daughters remained in sanctuary for close to a year. By the time they left, many thought her sons were already dead which again begs the question why would she leave with her daughters if she believed there was any truth to the rumor that her sons were dead? It's true she never said they were alive or if she did there's no record of it. But why would turn herself and the rest of her children over to the care of a man who killed her sons? As for the other tale that Richard did so because he wanted to marry Elizabeth the daughter, why would he then enter into negotiations to marry her off to the crown prince of Portugal if he intended to marry her should his ailing wife die. Richard's wife died as did his son and only child, which could be proof of a motive to marry his niece. He did not marry the girl nor take even the first steps to making that happen as he would need a dispensation from Rome for there to have been any validity to the marriage and any issue of the marriage. He never bothered to ask for one. Having a possible motive to do something does not mean that one will do it. As for the alleged crimes Richard is said to have committed against his brother's family we have weak motives, questionable opportunities and most critically no bodies to prove that the crimes had even been committed. It's one of the biggest frame up jobs in history! But I'm off topic.

"There's another reason why Richard would not marry Elizabeth of York. Like her brothers, she was magical. Richard knew about the Treaty and what might happen if it was violated and would have prevented the boys from getting the throne if it came to it. This office got them out of the picture, with some help from Richard. But he was not about to avoid the problem of the Treaty violation only to fall right back into it by marrying a witch. Not even his enemies would say that Richard was stupid. And unlike his brothers, he most certainly did not think with his dick.

"In December 1483, Henry Tudor declared his intent to marry Elizabeth of York should he take the throne. This office decided to deal with that potential problem just in case. We arranged it that a maid who was with the widowed queen and her daughters got sick. That was done by one of our wizards. The maid had to be replaced so we sent in a witch who actually was sick, although not nearly as obviously so as the maid she replaced. That witch had a mild illness whose physical symptoms could be as benign as an occasional sneeze which would hardly raise an eyebrow on its own in the damp quarters of the widowed Queen's sanctuary. It was a magical malady more than a physical one and particularly dangerous to young witches who have not yet attained magical maturity. If they catch it and it goes untreated, they will be rendered magically barren. Even at that time some four hundred years ago, that illness was well known to the magical community even if it was hardly common. Had Elizabeth Woodville, the widowed Queen attended Hogwarts she would've known about it and could've dealt with it. But her mother had refused to send her just as she had refused to send her children both believing they knew more than the school did. The result ended the potential problem as later events proved that while the girls did not lose their magic, not a single magical child was born to any of them."

"If it was that easy, why didn't this office do it sooner?" the Commander asked.

"Unlike their Muggle compatriots of the time, the magicals in this office knew they were playing with fire. They used a biological weapon as a last resort, not first. I won't say they were more moral than their Muggle peers. After all, less than a decade later the Muggles began to wipe out tens of millions unwittingly in the Americas with their diseases and this solution was deliberate. There was much debate about taking that step, but the only alternative was to depose the King … again … and this time without a clear heir. It was considered an acceptable risk, although had it gone wrong it could've devastated the magical community.

"Anyway, as I said Henry VII won the throne more by accident than design and as he had promised married the witch Elizabeth of York soon afterwards. To do this, he overturned the act of parliament that had declared her and by extension all her siblings bastards which arguably opened the way for her two brothers to make a run at the crown. To show his gratitude to his mother-in-law for arranging the match, he cut off her allowance and had her carted off to a convent and then saw to it her other daughters were married off save the youngest who was also sent to a convent. Well, at least he didn't kill them as he did with just about all of the other potential rivals. But he had enemies he could not touch.

"King Edward IV had a sister named Margaret who married Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy which historically played sides against each other for their benefit – usually England and France. Margaret effectively took over the Dukedom upon the death of her husband and had no respect for Henry Tudor. In her mind, Henry VII had destroyed her family so she wanted to make his life as difficult as possible. She was not about to raise and army and invade. That wasn't her style. It wasn't devious enough. She chanced upon a young man about the age of her nephews – the ones people thought Richard had killed – and who looked a lot like her dead brother Edward at that age. She trained him in secret and then presented him in public and told everyone he was Richard my ancestor. No one seemed to note that she had never seen her real nephew before. The boy's real name was Perkin Warbeck, a peasant from Flanders. She turned him into a lost Prince of England and used him to stir up a revolt against Henry. She must've had either an eye for talent or luck 'cause the imposter's identity was further supported by William Stanley, who had helped put Henry on the throne but had probably grown bored with things and he had seen the young Prince.

"What happened next is known to few. It's a part of my family lore and is documented in the archives of this office, but you won't find it in any other accounts. When Warbeck the imposter surfaced in Burgundy, word got back to England and to this office. We told Henry it was a lie. He told us to show him the bodies of the real Princes. He believed they were dead but he was terrified that they were not and would take the throne he had usurped fair and square. We got a promise out of him – one of the few he ever kept – that he was not to harm the boys in any way.

"By then the two boys were young men and had finished Hogwarts. The older one Edward was training to become a Healer and the younger one an Auror. Both were married and neither wanted to be King of the Muggles. They were brought before Henry and his wife who, remember, was their sister. This was done in secret and in a way that let Henry know he was dealing with real and powerful wizards. They appeared in the King's bedchamber via a means of magical travel called apparition catching the King and his wife _in flagrante dilecto _binding them with magic so they could not flee and sealing the room such that no one could enter and they could not call for help. Each then told an anecdote from their youth which their sister would remember and, moreover, no other but their sister would have known which proved they were who they said they were. This meant the young man across the Channel with Margaret of Burgundy was an imposter, much to the King's relief. Imposters were easier to deal with after all. The young wizards then made it clear they had no interest in the throne for it was too much trouble for any sane man to covet. That probably did not earn them favor with the King, but he was in no position to argue. They managed to convince the King that they were real and not ghosts, that they were who they said they were and surprisingly that they truly had no interest in the crown. At least their disinterest was surprising to the King. They offered the imposter as proof of their sincerity, should said imposter ever set foot in England.

"He did not for some time, although he did try to get the Irish and the Scots to revolt. The Irish were not about to support any contender for the English throne. The Scots were another matter as they were always eager to cause the English problems. But Henry was able to deal with both problems with ease. Then the imposter landed in England. He was barely there long enough to get over his sea sickness before the two former Princes set him and his co-conspirators up and they were captured. Among those eager to see Henry off the throne were some who had been eager to see Henry on the throne years before. It did not go well for any of them.

"The former Princes were rewarded for their efforts secretly. That reward became the Concordant that I've mentioned. There was a little more for the former Princes. They did not need wealth, although a little money was appreciated. They each received a very modest estate by Muggle standards but quite vast by Magical and this Estate while Muggle was under the protection of the Concordant and therefore exempt from usual taxation. Furthermore, the King bestowed titles on them commensurate with their former ranks. Edward became Duke of Surrey, a title which had been attainted by Henry IV and was vacant. My ancestor Richard became Duke of Exeter which was also vacant. It's last holder had been attainted by Edward IV and later drowned crossing the English Channel."

"So this Concordant, what does it do exactly?" the Earl asked. "It sounds like all it does is allow a magical to hold a title."

"Um … well, it wasn't necessary for that to have happened. Magicals have been ennobled since the Treaty of Separation. But it should be added the Crown never knowingly ennobled a wizard after the Treaty or at least never acknowledged that it had even in secret. What it allowed was for limited transfers of wealth and property between the Muggle and Magical worlds. The small estate granted to my ancestor when he became a duke was allowed to transfer across the treaty line whereas before it could not have happened as the lands were Muggle ones. The Concordant covered more than just my ancestors. It essentially made grey what had been black."

"Explain," the Commander said.

"The treaty was supposed to completely separate the two worlds and mostly it did," Sir John replied. "But to do so completely was impossible. There was and still is trade between the worlds although by the late fifteenth century it was mostly one way. Our side sold, theirs bought."

"Trade for what?"

"Lord Black," Sir John said, "can you conjure food?"

"No," Sirius said. "It can't be done. I can't conjure it. I can't turn a rock into an apple. Well, not one you can eat at any rate. Don't ask me why. There's a law you learn about in theory of transfiguration that says you can't make food with magic, but not why you can't do it."

"And yet you do have to eat," Sir John nodded. "At the time of the Treaty, there was more than enough land ceded to the magicals to feed them, assuming you could farm it and a lot of their land is not suitable for farming even today and even with magic. Kind of hard to plow a mountainside and there are other places where the climate's not ideally suited even for the Isles. That and we accepted more than a few bogs."

"Why would magicals want land like that?"

"Well, it wasn't to farm," Sir John said. "If you think about it, the one constant was a lot of the lands we took into the magical realm were lands Muggles would not covet and were not inclined to investigate. We can live quite well in a bog with magic. Muggles avoid them, which means no prying Muggle neighbors. But you can see the drawback. If we took such lands, we could not easily farm them for ourselves at all. Not that we would've thought about such things. While there were Magicals who farmed, they were a small minority of our total population. Still, we needed food and had things we could sell to get it."

"Such as?"

"Potions, for one," Sir John said. "Muggles bought them more than we did although generally they favored the medicinal kind. We were, for all intents and purposes, the forerunner of the modern day pharmaceutical trade until the Statute of Secrecy prohibited such things. The majority of Midwives running about were witches so that was another trade. We also were the primary source of lay scriveners. You wanted a book copied back then you had two choices: find a monastery or find a wizard – although you probably wouldn't be told it was a wizard. The monasteries did a good job, but they seldom took on work for anyone outside the church and they certainly would not copy works proscribed by the church. Wizards were not as fancy – you won't find much in the way of an illuminated manuscript of wizard production. Illustrated ones yes, but not the works of art that came out of the monastery scriptoriums. Wizards, however, were faster, less expensive and less concerned with theological issues. That trade was beginning to die off when the Concordant was enacted thanks to the printing press."

"And what did the wizards buy?" the Commander asked.

"Food, wool, leather and cloth," Sir John said. "Metal work as well, although not as much. They bought food 'cause they could not raise enough and certainly not in such variety. The same is true of wool and leather since you need pastures for that. By cloth I mean linen mostly. Cotton was rare if nonexistent and silk was terribly expensive. True, there were those among the wealthy who would buy such things, but your average witch or wizard wore wools, linen and leather goods. Fur was also expensive and harder to come by. True, aside from food you can transfigure stuff into clothes and shoes and such. But such transfigurations are temporary and will not survive magical stress. Kind of embarrassing to cross a ward line or something and be rendered naked. The real stuff is preferred and the primary source for it is Muggle. We do make our own clothes. You can't find wizarding robes at Marks & Spencer. But we buy the cloth and such from the Muggles.

"Anyway, the Treaty of Separation was supposed to mean no real trade between the worlds but it never worked out that way. What existed was a black market of goods and services smuggled across the line and effectively avoiding both worlds' taxes. Our side was none the wiser for the most part since the trade with the wizards was a pittance as compared with the total economy. The wizards chose to look the other way and rely on a Value Added Tax to make up for lost revenues from other sources meaning anything you buy in their stores is taxed and the tax is passed on as part of the purchase price without regard to where the goods came from or anything. That's not to say there weren't problems and by the time of the Concordant those problems were reaching a head. Less and less that wizards could offer was finding a market on the Muggle side which meant they lost money with each generation as they bought far more than they sold. The Concordant allowed them to reenter our economy quietly. For the average witch or wizard this really means next to nothing. But for the wealthy? The wealthiest families on that side own land on this side – investment properties and from those rents they can invest in businesses on their side providing goods, services, jobs, salaries and taxes. The Treaty still applies as to where a transaction occurs thus you pay Muggle taxes on taxable transactions that occur on this side and magical ones on that side. For the wizards this means to the extent they could be expected to pay income or inheritances taxes, that all occurs on their side of the fence. The Concordant modified the terms of the Treaty such that trade would continue and those with the means could transact business on both sides and pass their estates as they desire on one side, the other or both.

"This solved another growing problem…"

"You mean aside from the financial drain?" the Commander asked.

Sir John nodded. "There was also the drain I mentioned earlier: the witches and wizards who for whatever reason crossed over to this side more or less permanently. The Concordant made that move legal, for lack of a better word, and tasked this office to policing the magicals on this side of the fence."

"More than that," the Earl snorted. "We're their bloody government in all but name!"

"And this was a reward for not going for the throne?" the Commander asked.

"Well, that's the way it was put to the King at the time," Sir John said. "It was a small price to pay for peace of mind. But the former Princes went to him for the purpose of extracting such a concession. It was very little for the King, but would mean the world to the magicals of the realm because it would allow them unfettered access to the Muggle economy and, as has since been borne out, ended the one way drain of wealth. In time, it allowed thousands of magical to cross to this side for one reason or another and remain unhindered, provided they abided by the laws of the land, of course."

"And if they didn't?" Sirius asked.

"Well, if this office were convinced that a witch or wizard was engaged in felonious behavior, they would be caught, tried and if convicted dealt with. Fortunately, the vast majority of our witches and wizards are law abiding."

"I dare say," the Earl added, "we have far fewer potential violations of your Statute of Secrecy per capita from our witches and wizards than we do from your own. Most of our magical crimes originate from those on the other side of the fence who seem to have developed a rather disturbing disregard for those on this side."

"I'm sure all of this is frightfully interesting to some academic types," the Commander interjected in frustration, "but will someone please explain why I should care? And do use small words and direct language."

"Lord Black came here to advise us of a potential marriage – potential, not certain, between your son and his daughter," the Earl said. "I was aware of this potential even if I could not recall it before today. I will leave it as 'potential' as unless your son has related something to you I am not aware of in regards to this matter, I think it's fair to say the thought has not yet seriously entered his mind assuming there's anything there in this regard at all. But that being said, I was concerned about the future of our House given that I have but one son and you have but one son and that lad's a wizard. Lord Black's concern over the future of his family – understandable as it may seem – is not of immediate concern to me as Earl nor should it be to you, Nigel. But Sir John's solution – one I might add that Lord Black as considered – would certainly preserve Justin's inheritance and would if need be do the same for the future of Lord Black. It's all a question of legalities and the right agreements and documentation which, I might add, are best handled through our legal section seeing as it is this Office that oversees Concordant matters."

"One must understand," Sir John added, "the Concordant is an agreement between the Crown and its magical subjects – those that opt to fall under Crown jurisdiction as opposed to the magical one. The magical government is not a party to it."

"If they're not a party, then how can it work?" the Commander asked.

"In their world, property transfers such as this are the province of the bank, not their Wizengamot," Sir John replied. "As Gringotts is a party to the Concordant, provided the legal niceties are followed, the strict provisions of the Treaty of Separation can be avoided."

"We would've needed to arrange some such in any event," the Earl added. "Tying it to a potential marriage to one of their Noble Houses grants additional advantages and makes the whole thing less … objectionable in the eyes of their Wizengamot. That being said, we don't need a prearrangement such as this conditional betrothal to preserve our Earldom, Lord Black. I'm not saying I would stand in the way of such an arrangement but, to be blunt, what is truly in it for us?"

"Um…," Sirius began.

"As I understand things, if the bond happens without prearrangement, it is House Black at risk. I can still preserve my Earldom and Justin can still inherit although I do understand without a connection to such a house as yours he would remain Muggle Born in all other respects…"

"And, most likely would then opt for the Crown over the Wizengamot," Sir John added, "which avoids all such difficulties and impediments although he would have to give up the notion of his children attending Hogwarts. It is a small price to pay to avoid being consigned to a truly disadvantaged class."

"You may see your offer as an adequate quid pro quo to preserve both families interests," the Earl said. "I would ordinarily agree."

"I sense a but," Sirius said.

"Not really. I am inclined to take your proposal, but you can forgive me if I ask for more? My interests do extend beyond the small world of family and personal finances – and no, what I'm suggesting is not some sort of financial arrangement. But it is a real part of the reason we let this meeting occur without … difficulties."

"Your last war was a most frustrating time for our government," Sir John said. "We were forced into a shooting war in Northern Ireland in part because your lot made that place a shooting gallery of their own igniting strife between factions that might have been more open to negotiation otherwise. True, we did blame the IRA and their lot for some of the mess your war caused both there and elsewhere, but you can be assured we would've preferred not to have stirred that cauldron at all, as it were. Your government, on the other hand, left us with little choice seeing as they were insistent that there was no magical problem at all. Our government wishes to avoid that problem should it arise in the future. Unfortunately, your government does not seem to see it to be of any interest to discuss any mutual concerns despite the fact that even under the Treaty of Separation they are still answerable to the Muggle governments for unacceptable breaches of the peace. Quite frankly, aside from those agents we do have, we have no access to information and certainly no open or even intermittent channel of communication of any import across the Treaty Line. I dare say Her Majesty finds this ongoing impasse and lack of even a modicum of polite discourse … disconcerting to say the least."

"You want a spy?" Sirius almost sputtered.

"Don't be silly, Sir," the Earl said. "We have those and have had them for centuries. I would say we want an Embassy or Liaison Office or some such, but this has been suggested to your government time and again and rejected out of hand without exception. Short of an official, governmentally sanctioned mission or cooperative agreement, an unofficial one is better than nothing."

"And I fit the bill how?"

"You are Head of an Ancient and Noble House," Sir John said, "and whether you ever exercise it directly or not, you hold an influential seat in your Wizengamot. We don't need you for secrets, as it were, as in all likelihood we can get those from other sources. But you have some influence and probably a better view of the 'big picture' in many ways than any of our sources. We don't expect you to spy or do anything underhanded that way nor would we ask it of you. But we would like there to be someone across the way willing to stop by and chat openly about areas of mutual interest."

"Naturally," the Earl continued, "I shall not hold the future's of our young people over your head to force such a … friendship. I merely ask that you consider it. Much of your last war might not have gone the way it had if there had been a closer working relationship between our governments and peoples even if it had been informal. We'll draw up a draft of an agreement regarding the contingent betrothal for your solicitors to chew upon. All we ask in return is to consider our request."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sirius made no commitment to the Earl's request nor was one expected. Although he said nothing, he thought there might be some benefit to such a relationship given what he knew was coming but he wanted to speak with others before he took another step, a fact he did not reveal before he left the "Looney Bin."

"This business has me confused," the Commander said after Sirius left.

"Having just stepped through the looking glass it is best that you get used to that idea," the Earl chuckled.


	59. Chapter 59: Expectations

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Sorry. Don't have one. I do thank all of you for reading. On second thought, "Not Normal" will end with the end of Third Year and then another story will take over for Fourth Year (maybe more, we'll see…) As for when this one will end chapter wise…?

**CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: EXPECTATIONS**

**SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4****th**** 1993.**

"They wanted what?" Cissy asked incredulously. She was not the only one present. They were seated in a salon in the Black Estate. Connie was the only one present who had heard this before. The others were hearing about his trip into London in detail for the first time. Also present were James and Lily Potter, Arthur Weasley, the Tonks, the elder Greengrasses and the Grangers; in other words most of the adults. Mrs. Weasley was watching little Elizabeth Potter and, most likely, her two twin boys.

"It sounded like a … well, I don't know really," Sirius said.

"I believe it's called a 'back channel' communication," Ted Tonks said. "It's an unofficial communication that might be used in preparation for official ones or simply to pass information, compare notes, confirm ideas and such."

"It sounds like spying," Cissy said.

"Except they say they have those and from what little they did reveal, I have no reason to doubt that at all," Sirius replied.

"Blackmail of sorts?" James asked.

"Didn't seem like it to me. What do I really have to lose?"

"You estate," Cissy said. "The end of House Black."

"First off, that was never truly at risk," Sirius said. "Do you really suppose I'm fool enough to put all my eggs in one basket – to use a Muggleism? I went there in the interests of Anna, to do right by her and protect House Black. She shares compatible magic with the boy and from one I've been told by Harry and the others he's not a total berk even taking his youth into account so perhaps it's worth pursuing. But House Black could be preserved without any such meeting. After all, the bond is not certain to occur, only possible. Naturally, whatever actions I may have taken to preserve House Black, it had to assume first that Anna's my only child and that the bond is not a certainty nor that some form of Line Continuation is a realistic possibility. Unless Anna can carry forward the line as uncontested Regent, she will be well provided for but the line will pass to House Potter or, I should say, to James here. The law would allow him to claim it such under the circumstances, but my new Will leaves the Black titles and votes to Anna if there is a Line Continuation or its equivalent, to any future born son of Connie and myself and if neither of those conditions can be met, to James Potter and his heirs as he shall so designate."

"In other words to Harry," Lily huffed.

"Not necessarily," Sirius replied. "After Anna, James is next in line, not Harry and as Harry has his Estate it would be up to James to decide what would happen to House Black. Were you to set up a contingent Line Continuation for Beth, it would be to her as Regent. Should you have another son, it would be to him. It only goes to Harry if there is absolutely no other way to preserve the line. And, it might all be moot anyway, right dear?"

Connie blushed.

"You're not," Lily began.

"We found out the morning of Siri's meeting in London," Connie said.

"You're expecting?" Mrs. Greengrass asked.

Connie nodded and Sirius beamed.

"That's wonderful," Vivian Greengrass exclaimed.

"Oh my," her husband moaned, "I do hope this sort of thing isn't contagious."

"Why do you say that, David?" Robert Granger asked.

"Um…"

"We're expecting too," Vivan smiled. "We only found out a couple days ago and haven't had the chance to tell anyone yet."

"Don't you already have five daughters?" Sirius asked.

"Odds are more favorable for a son given that we've had daughters," David replied.

"Um … I don't think it works that way," Rose Granger commented. "It's now known it's the male's … um … issue that determines the sex of the child and there's nothing that I've read about that anything increases or decreases the odds of a child being a boy or a girl…"

"I did read somewhere of an epidemiological report that showed there was a statistically greater proportion of daughters as compared to the general population where the father works in a highly oxygenated environment," David noted. "High altitude pilots, professional divers and the like … but it only reported the statistical anomaly and cautioned that it might've been as random an occurrence as any other possibility which means it means next to nothing."

"I meant that five, daughters or sons or whatever, is a large family in our world," Sirius explained.

"There's nothing wrong with large families," Arthur Weasley said. "Then again, I do have a work shed to retreat to when things really get out of control. I always felt the Pureblood nonsense would truly be that if the majority of them were more prolific. After all, it's hard to feel elite if you're one of many rather than one of a few. But the old families tend not to be prolific almost to the point it's a wonder they have children at all. Molly and I kept trying for a daughter. She wanted one for her reasons, mostly she says 'cause she can related to a girl more so than the boys. I wanted one as well. After all, there hadn't been a daughter in House Weasley in generations. We don't know why. Then again, once you have a son or two there's … The Weasley's are an old family and seem to have … Well, you all know."

"We don't," Rose said.

"It's a patriarchal society," Andi said. "Old family's tend to focus on preserving their legacy and such and that's preserved through the male descendants. Girls? It is a society that still tends to arrange marriages among the old families. Girls can be expensive to marry off one way or another. Either it will cost you money, or something else of value such as independence of action or an alliance you may not have entered into but for that arrangement or votes or such. Daughters can lead to undesirable entanglements that way so many families stop once their line is assured."

"And in your case?" Robert asked David.

"What we have I've earned," he said proudly. "Vi and I come from disinherited lines so there's no House to preserve save the one we make for ourselves and our children. I have no seat in the Wizengamot nor any desire for political office. My business is largely trade and investment with the Muggle world which does not attract betrothal offers from the Older families for business reasons. That's not to say our daughters have not attracted that kind of unwanted attention from the wrong sorts as they are Purebloods and desirable as wives for that reason. Not much of a reason, if you ask me, but it is one and there have been offers from families I'd rather never deal with for that reason or any other to be honest."

"It's why we made the arrangements for our oldest two girls," Vivian said. "The Potters and Longbottoms offered an option that did not bind us at the time, that tied us quietly to honorable families, and that took Daphne and Astoria out of that market. The other three haven't attracted attention as it is assumed that whatever there is of value has already been tied up for the first two or that we've already made other arrangements."

"So you were trying for a six-pack?" Sirius asked.

"We weren't exactly trying," Vivian said, "then again, we weren't exactly not trying either."

"Vivian likes children," David said, "especially the little ones who have yet to truly learn to talk back. Then again, some of ours began that annoying trait as soon as they articulated their first words. The truth is we both wanted a large family, larger than average. With five girls … well, a son would be nice just for the change of pace I should think."

"If it's a girl, it's a girl," Vivian said.

"As long as it's not as mouthy as the younger two and I'd say it's perfect," David chuckled. "Truth is we were talking about it, but schedules being what they were and all … And now? I spend more time here just being with my family and friends than I do at work with all this time stuff they have going. Why not try for another?"

"My reasoning was that since we see our girls eight days a week they won't miss out on being big sisters just 'cause their off at school."

"When are you due?" Connie asked.

"I'm due in thirty-two weeks or so," Vivan said.

"Just under thirty-seven," Connie said.

"Isn't it a bit soon for you to know?" Lily asked. "I mean, it seems to me that Vivian had some clue as to what was happening."

"More than some," Vivian said. "I went in when I was over a week late and suffering from mild heartburn."

"She only gets that when she's expecting," David said. "So we had a pretty good idea what to expect."

"We've been trying since we reunited," Connie said. "I took a purgative potion once we set up house again, as it were, and have had weekly appointments ever since. I was a couple of days overdue, no more, when we saw Andi last Sunday for our test. Of course, we'll need to be taking Time Compression into account and all so it's thirty-seven weeks of our time regardless of what the calendar says."

"It affected us as well," Vivian said. "I admit I hadn't taken that into account. I was late on outside time forgetting I had an extra two weeks or more inside after it probably happened. So, like Connie, we can't tell you a firm date since it depends upon how often we're here and how many days the Estates add to our lives as it were."

"Twenty-eight weeks," Rose Granger said.

"Are you sure, dear?" Robert asked.

Rose nodded.

"You too?" Connie asked and Rose nodded again. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Rose sighed. "Hermione was easy, I suppose. I got pregnant easy, the pregnancy was easy, even the delivery was easy. Bob and I always wanted more children and after Hermione we both thought not so much if or when but how many. But I've had three miscarriages since and at least three other late, heavy periods which may have also been a failed pregnancy. We gave up.

"I talked about it with Madam Pomfrey and Andi not long after we began visiting these Estates this past summer. Andi suspected a disorder that is not unheard of in witches and she could think of no reason why a muggle woman might not suffer it. That disorder is preceded by what could be called a very easy pregnancy and is followed by extreme difficulties conceiving and carrying a subsequent child to term. It seems the mother can develop a hypersensitivity to magic and will reject another magical child when the child's magic first manifests or not long thereafter."

"Is that why you only had one child, Andi?" Cissy asked.

Andi shook her head. "Ted and I were all for another child and this condition if properly diagnosed can be treated easily more or less. No. My pregnancy with Nymphadora was difficult physically."

"It was a close run thing," Ted said. "I nearly lost both of them."

"My condition is also not unheard of in the Muggle world and is still dangerous there as well. It was too much to risk having another child."

After a pause, Arthur said. "Molly would skin me alive if I didn't ask. Okay, she wouldn't but she would be upset. You haven't told Hermione yet?"

"We didn't say anything 'cause I'm still at risk," Rose replied. "I'm on a couple of potions that can prevent rejection but we can't be certain they've truly worked until I'm over sixteen weeks along. Andi's said that should we get through this one the problem should resolve itself and we can have more children without risk of magical rejection. We didn't say anything 'cause we didn't want to get anyone's hopes up especially Hermione's."

"She asked for a baby brother or sister for Christmas practically from when she could talk until she was nine," Robert said.

"Actually," Rose corrected, "her … um … obsession with that began just after our memories were erased. I guess deep down she missed Harry and Luna."

"Memories erased?" Cissy asked.

"Dumbledore placed something called 'memory caps' on us – including Hermione apparently – to prevent us from remembering about our prior relationship with Harry. Somehow it seems to me that was not entirely successful with our daughter."

"Not surprising," Cissy commented. "To help with my new … um … responsibilities I've been reading all I can about psychomagical trauma. One thing is clear and until I began to learn about this I thought the case was different. Memory charms, no matter how powerful or how skillfully applied, cannot truly erase memories. Deep down, they can remain and the more powerful the memory is either because of the emotional impact or … well, it's easier to forget a brief and uneventful meeting with a stranger than months or years with a close friend or family or months and months of horror, which is what I'm having to deal with both for myself and the young ladies I'm helping (although our specific experiences are very different). Particularly powerful memories will manifest in some way even if magically suppressed. It can be even worse if suppressed as the … um … patient cannot remember after all so the root of their behavior remains a mystery. Where that suppressed memory is about a particularly traumatic event, the manifestations are often harmful. Otherwise, they would seem just as some quirk of personality. It may be part of her obsession – as you call it – could have been a result of the deeply imbedded memory of her friends. How old was she when this happened?"

"A little over two."

"My guess is the fool would've been better advised to do nothing. She probably would've forgotten all about him in fairly short order at that age. But then again, she would've probably asked about him and you would have no memory. It's difficult to say how that may have worked which, I've been finding, seems to be the case with a lot of this psychomagical stuff. It's both fascinating and infuriating seeing as it never says anything for certain about anything. So it is possible that her Christmas wish was a manifestation of that sequestered memory. It is also possible it had nothing to do with that at all, just a wish to be a big sister that would've developed in any event."

"Just don't become a full on psycho-whatsit," Robert chuckled. "There are a few Rose and I are on social terms with for one reason or another. I always feel like they're trying to get me onto the couch, as it were."

"My husband's proclivities notwithstanding," Cissy replied indignantly, "I have always respected the state of marriage both my own and that of others!"

"Um, not what I meant," Robert said apologetically. "In the Muggle world, a psychologist tries to get inside your head to learn what makes you tick and see if anything's off. In the early days of the practice many would have their patients lie on a couch to help them relax. The expression suggests that a trained psychologist or – in your case – psychomagical healer – cannot help but analyze – that's the term – just about anyone they interact with. I wasn't suggesting…"

"Sorry," Cissy replied. "It's still … it's still a sore point is all. You are planning to tell your daughter, of course."

"In a couple months it should be rather obvious, if we make it that far," Rose said.

"With the potions, there's no reason to think you shouldn't make it that far and through to the end," Andi said. "At least no magical reason and there's no reason to suspect a purely physiological impediment."

"She'll probably blame herself were she to know…"

"She will definitely blame herself if you keep it secret," Cissy added. "Sooner or later it will come out for one reason or another. If that should happen she may see your keeping it from her as some proof that she was somehow to blame regardless as to the truth of the matter."

"Which it is not," Andi said. "The condition leading to magical rejection is internal, not external. I read an American paper suggesting a similarity between that and rare physical rejections of the embryo caused by the mother's own immune system. Ordinarily, the developing child is protected from their mother's immune system. If that protection fails for some reason, well the immune system will respond to the presence of the developing child as if it were an infection or parasite. The paper suggested that the magical situation was at least analogous if not truly similar. It has nothing to do with external forces or events."

"Rationality and logic can fail under the weight of powerful emotions, however," Cissy noted. "Speaking for myself alone – goodness knows I was never much of a mother, then again neither was I given the chance – I would say it best to tell her before it becomes obvious but to tell her all the facts as well including how this had nothing to do with her being magical."

Rose nodded. "We were thinking along similar lines, Bob and I. We were also thinking of holding off until Christmas. After all, by then we should know for certain if we're out of the woods with this one and it is what she asked for all those years, although unless Harry really lays on the Time Compression in the next four weeks, I doubt the baby can arrive by then."

"Not even then unless he uses all the trunks," Sirius said. "With a full charge, he'd be several weeks short. Still, that sounds like an idea – a nice Christmas present for Hermione."

"That's our hope," Rose nodded. "Although…"

"Oh?" a few voices replied.

"I was just wondering whether my condition … I never asked. Does it run in families?"

"You mean is it genetic?" Andi clarified and Rose nodded. "It does not seem to be," she continued. "It occurs somewhat at random."

"Somewhat?" Rose asked.

Andi nodded. "It is far more common among Pureblood witches with Pureblood spouses than in any other familial context, although it's fair to say that's not a hard and fast rule either after all Arthur and his wife and David and Vivian are from old, Pureblood lines and it's obvious that neither of the ladies have been so afflicted, unless I've missed something?"

"Not on our score," David said. "It's harder to keep Vi not pregnant than pregnant."

"David!" his wife scolded. "You make it sound so … so … I know you're just trying to be funny but…"

"Sorry dear. Flippant though I was, there was a truth to it. We've had no such difficulties nor even a hint of them with the last five and none with this one."

"Once a witch gets past the second pregnancy without the issue arising, there isn't one," Andi nodded. "The truth is many of the Pureblood ladies with the condition choose to do nothing. I guess they're embarrassed although I leave that diagnosis to those in the psychomagical field. Long ago House Black had researched related issues, namely whether magic strengthens or weakens over generations and found evidence of gradual weakening. The strongest magic in a line is usually in the first few generations after its first manifestation or where there's a magical bond between witch and wizard parents which they also called a form of first manifestation. The more generations between the parents and their most recent first manifestation ancestor, the weaker their children seem to be magically. Given enough time, the line will begin to lose its magic entirely. Rose's condition is somewhat rare and random, but more common in the older lines, those more removed from first manifestation. That being said it does not follow that all 'Purebloods' are at risk of either situation. It seems to me it's more a question of an increasing lack of genetic diversity in the line than any other factor as focusing on begetting Purebloods necessarily limits one's potential genetic pool. But should there be adequate diversity – and don't ask what that means specifically – the risks are reduced it seems. After all, we have two Pureblood families here who clearly do not suffer from magical rejection and whose children are comfortably above the average in terms of magical potential. The Greengrasses had no difficulties in that regard and neither did the Weasleys apparently."

"As Molly's not here, I would be inclined to repeat David's remark, although she's managed to remain free of the other affliction since Ginny was born."

"Other affliction?" voiced asked.

"Well, we don't have eight children, do we? Actually, we did lose one…"

"You did?"

Arthur nodded. "Between Charlie and Percy there was another. It would've been a daughter and had she been born who knows if there would've been the others or not. I prefer to think there would've been. Molly does like being a Mum even with the challenges of a large family. To be honest, I was surprised at the time. Losing a child like that … well, one could understand if she was reluctant for another."

"Was it this magical rejection?" Rose asked.

"No. There are other ways to lose a child during pregnancy and being in the middle of a Death Eater attack in Diagon Alley is one way. Molly was there shopping. Not more than an innocent bystander, as it were, not that such things mattered to that lot. She was pretty banged up although the word is the attackers came off far worse for it. She killed at least one of them before they got her. She spent a week in St. Mungo's. But they couldn't save the child. Sometimes, I think we'd've had our lot regardless. She loves the lot of them, you know. But there are times when I know she had the later ones partly to get back at the bastards who took her daughter away before she could be born."

"So she was the Red Lady," Sirius said after a pause. When everyone looked at him he continued. "Mad-eye liked that war story. A mild mannered housewife in the midst of a terror attack blows the head off of a mutt with a blasting hex at close range and drops another. It took four of the bastards to put her down and even then they couldn't kill her and they were then dropped by Mad-eye and his team who had just arrived. The mutts might've gotten clean away had they not been so focused on the Red Lady who had clearly killed one of them, actually killed two – although the second was less by intent than circumstances as he was blasted into a knife display – and seemed intent on taking down the lot of them. Mad-eye said if your average witch or wizard had been like the Red Lady, the Death Eaters would never have had a chance. Odd your never mentioning that even when we were in the Order."

"It's not something she's proud of," Arthur shrugged. "She doesn't regret it, but doesn't think herself better for it either. Add to it the cost … well, she didn't do it to get recognized. The one who lost his head had just killed a mother and was torturing a young child. Molly saw red, as it were. Caused a scandal at the time. There were some in the Ministry who thought the Red Lady should be up on murder charges and others who thought she should get a medal. Neither happened, of course. We joined the Order not long after she recovered since it seemed they were the only ones who took the situation seriously at the time. It's not a chapter of our lives we talk about. Bill and Charlie were too young to remember. We don't go into details about the War. Perhaps that's been a mistake. In hindsight, it seems to be given that things are moving in that direction again. Our children might not need know the details, but they should know what they may have to face one day."

"Moving in that direction?" Cissy asked. "What do you mean? The War's over."

"If only that were true," Sirius said, "and I can't say more, Cissy. Not that I don't want to, not that you don't deserve to know what we know, I can't. It's not my secret to reveal."

"Fidelius?" Cissy asked after a pause.

Sirius nodded. "And the identity of the Keeper is also protected."

"Must be some secret."

"Some are. Some not so much. Still, when you learn it – and you will – you will understand the concern for security."

"I will?"

"Those who call the Estates their home are in on such secrets," Sirius said. "You can't live here unless you're trustworthy in that regard and you are deemed as such, Cissy, meaning once the decision was made to allow you to live here that decision necessarily included bringing you in on this in time. We haven't told you 'cause there's not been the need and the opportunity has not yet presented itself. You do have more on your plate than whatever it is I can't tell you, you know."

"The rest of you know?"

"We know what we've been told," Rose said. "I'd like to think that's everything, but I don't know for certain."

"Must be some secret, then."

Several nodded. "Well," Sirius said, "you can judge for yourself when you're told which should be soon. I think you'll find some of it surprising although other bits will make perfect sense in an odd way."

"And this is what those Muggles wanted, you think?"

"I doubt that very much."

"Rather sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"First off, one of them for certain was a wizard, just one who lives and works on that side. Secondly, none of this stuff came up even in passing. And third, I seriously doubt they think I know anything which they might deem of current or immediate use."

"And why not? How many other Ancient and Noble Houses are in their pocket?"

"None, and neither am I, Cissy. But think about it. It's not like I could be expected to have a trove of useful information. I did spend a dozen years in an informational black hole after all."

"True," Cissy began to chuckle.

"Imagine my shock on learning Fudge was Minister," Sirius continued. "That fool gave me the paper that set me on my way, you know."

"I dare say a fair few were shocked at his appointment," Cissy said. "My … Malfoy had a hand in it, I think, but can't say for certain. He was less surprised than he ought to have been otherwise. Fudge was the least undesirable contender, it seems."

"Hardly a ringing endorsement of the man," Robert snorted.

"But surely you did know some things before…," Cissy began getting back on the topic of the meeting.

"Which by now is ancient history."

Cissy nodded. "So that meeting was unnecessary?"

"If my sole purpose was to preserve House Black, it was entirely unnecessary even before we learned this news," Sirius said indicating Connie. "But I do have an interest in doing right by my daughter given this potential bond so in that vein a meeting to protect her interests was hardly uncalled for. Moreover, there is the matter of the interests of the Finch-Fletchley family, isn't there? I doubt the nuances of magical inheritance laws were part of the discussions Professor McGonagall had with the lad's parents and unless things have really changed, I doubt the school discusses those things with its Muggle Born students as a matter of course. As there is a potential that a marriage may develop between the families, I felt obliged to discuss such things with them. Turns out, they knew far more about such things than I had thought."

"Aside from being polite then," Cissy continued. "And they wanted you to … to what?"

"Be open to communication, I guess," Sirius said.

"It sounds like spying."

"On what?"

"Our world."

"As I said, I have the impression they have plenty of sources of information on that. That organization's been around nearly eight hundred years and has kept a close eye on our side from the beginning. I seriously doubt they need me for that. This struck as less underhanded, even if it did sound as if it was meant to be clandestine."

"And that's not spying because…?"

"What information do I have access to that they could not get from another source, hmm?"

"My situation, for one."

"Aside from what's in our papers, and maybe not even then, what about your situation might be of true interest to their government? They seemed to know a bit about your former …."

"The girls, for one."

"I honestly doubt the Muggle office in question is overly concerned about that," Ted Tonks said. "People go missing in their world often enough and most such incidents have no magical connection. Their families are gone. What interest do they have now?"

"They never mentioned that situation," Sirius said. "It never came up. Their concerns seem to be that no one on this side is willing to work with them when our common interests were or are at risk. That's big picture stuff."

"They would write off four lives…?"

"The cases are cold, Cissy," Ted said. "They can't spare the resources to solve what is statistically unsolvable when there are cases that can be solved. Such cases lay untouched for years, perhaps forever unless new information surfaces. I doubt that office exists to solve such cases. A better bet is they exist to try and prevent such things from happening in the future but without any cooperation from our side, it would be very difficult to do anything."

"And that's what they're asking for?" Lily asked.

Ted shrugged. "I wasn't at the meeting."

"They sound more like MI-5, not the police," Robert Granger noted.

"What's that?" the magicals asked.

"I don't know if your world has an equivalent," Robert replied. "MI-5 isn't even their real name anymore. It was their first one. 'MI' meant military intelligence although the modern organization isn't part of the military at all. It's now known as State Security although it's still called MI-5. Its job is what's known as counter-intelligence and – more relevant here probably – counter-terrorism and other quasi-law enforcement things all related to protection of national security. Murder and missing persons without more is far outside their purview. But, assuming this lot's either MI-5 or like MI-5, threats from our world against theirs would be. Most recently, the Muggle MI-5's big interests had been Russian spies and Irish terrorists and such at least the ones who're here and operating in Britain. There's another lot that deals with the ones outside of the country."

"It struck me that their role is broader than that although it would include that," Sirius said. "They seemed to emphasize they exist to enforce their side of the Treaty, which arguably gives them authority over Muggle transgressions as well. Moreover, with the migration of magicals to their side over the ages, they … the Earl said they were in effect the government for those witches and wizards. They mentioned they have their own school of magic for the children of such families. And they also had some role during our last war dealing with Death Eaters who crossed the line – at least the ones who lingered long enough to provoke their response. My guess is they could respond 'cause they had information from our side that made a response possible and the impression I have is it did not go well for the Death Eaters who ran across that lot. They don't chuck 'em into prison."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked. Sirius had just been around to discuss his meeting with the Muggles. It just so happened that Peter and Mary Parker were there for a visit. The subject of his future child and the others had not come up not that Harry or any of his ladies would have known.

"I guess I should be surprised," Harry replied. "Then again, maybe not."

"Why not?" Ginny asked.

"Well, we know there was that Treaty of Separation way back when," Harry said. "But that Treaty did not make anything secret, did it? It simply divided stuff up for tax and other reasons, right? Three hundred years ago our lot passed the Statute of Secrecy which we supposed to keep. But nothing's been said about how to make something secret that was known before. I doubt we could've completely put magic back in the bottle as it were. Seems too big a thing for the Fidelius Charm or anything like it. And it doesn't surprise me that the Muggles had some group keeping an eye on things even if it was in the name of Treaty enforcement. I doubt our collective effort to drop out of sight would've fooled a group whose job was to keep us in sight."

"The surprise to me is that they were so open about it," Hannah said. "I mean they as much said they know what's going on when most on our side think they're clueless."

"Subtle," Daphne began.

"Strikes me as fairly blatant," Hannah replied.

"They've been at this for centuries and most all of us have no clue. Based upon what Sirius said, the Finch-Fletchley family was not a part of that lot all along but joined up not long after Justin was born when somehow the Muggles in that group learned of the birth. The Earl, it seems, knew of the compatible magic but had forgotten about it for the most part. Then again, we know it's by no means a certain thing, all evidence here at the Estates to the contrary. Yet the Earl's been at that office since then and his son's now involved in some way. That's their hook, as it were. I wouldn't be surprised if the lot of them have a magical connection, those who are not witches or wizards being closely related to them and most likely to Muggle Borns like Justin and Hermione."

"My parents aren't involved, I'm sure," Hermione protested. "They're dentists!"

"And the Earl was Army," Peter/Nicholas said, "and then in some other government job, or so Sirius seemed to suggest. You're parents weren't inside, he was."

"Inside?" Hannah asked.

"Government," Peter/Nicholas said. "Or maybe intelligence. Probably intelligence or the like."

"Intelligence?" a few asked.

"Are they smart or something?" Luna added.

"I'm sure they hope they are," Peter/Nicholas replied. "Actually, it's not what they are; it's what they do. They collect information and manage it, analyze it and try to make sense of it. They try to get intelligent about it."

"What information?" Ginny asked.

"When we use that term about governments, it means about threats, rivals and the like. Governments don't like surprises so they try to know things before those things become generally known. They want to know what other countries are up to just in case it's no good that way they can be prepared to deal with it one way or another. The same's true with certain groups or organizations that they think might cause problems."

"You mean spies," Hermione said.

"For lack of a better word," Peter/Nicholas nodded. "But the popular notion of spies is far more fantasy than reality. Country A does not send super-secret agent 007 to country B to steal secrets from a heavily guarded vault. If country A needs to do something even remotely like that, invariably country A finds someone from country B with access to the heavily guarded vault to do it for them, assuming they can. Far more often, however, country A simply watches. It has people there, more or less openly, who are trained to watch and hear things but who don't truly go around seeking things. But yes, they do watch closely when they feel it's necessary and important to do so. Then again, that is human nature after all."

"Spying is human nature?"

"In a manner of speaking. Do you know where you stand amongst your classmates academically?"

"Not on a day-to-day basis," Hermione replied. "But when the marks come out, I do pay attention."

"Why?"

"Um… I want to know."

"It's important to you, yes?"

Hermione nodded.

"If you could find out on a day-to-day basis, would you?"

"Not if it broke any rules!"

"But if you didn't break any rules to do so, you would?"

Reluctantly, Hermione nodded.

"Even if you were unaware of anyone else doing something similar?"

After a pause, Hermione said primly: "If it wasn't against the rules, why not? If no one else takes their studies as seriously as I do that's their problem."

"And what we're talking about is not spying because…?"

"I'm not breaking any rules!"

"There are rules in the intelligence game as well," Peter/Nicholas said. "You might not find them written down or in a library, but they are there and the players know them and follow them for the most part. In that respect, there's no difference between what you said you would do and what they do."

"But they do break the rules, don't they?"

"On rare occasions and then only when the information is far more important than the rules. If you live as long as we have, and even if you don't, you will come to realize that few rules if any are without exception. I won't say rules are made to be broken. That attitude leads to anarchy. But the rules are not all encompassing things. Circumstances may arise where to follow the rule is to court suicide and destruction. Few humans will blindly follow a rule to the grave if another less permanent alternative exists and the same is true for human organizations. Again, there are exceptions. People have died for notions such as honor, principal and whatever rules they deem important. But such martyrdom is an individual act. I would say the circumstances would be quite different if standing by the rules or principal would require you to watch your children put to death."

"That seems to be a leap," Daphne commented. "We go from grades to life or death."

"They are analogous in kind if not degree," Nicholas replied. "Hermione's not likely to die for poor grades, but good marks are very important to her, important enough that information about them and where she stands is important. Information about threats to your country are even more critical than something as individualistic as grades for to ignore a threat can be fatal; to abide by rules and allow a threat to grow when it could be stopped can also be fatal. So countries are in the business of gathering information about such things and if it is critical enough, the niceties will go by the board.

"That being said, what Sirius revealed was unremarkable for the most part."

"But it means the Muggles know about us!" Hannah protested.

"And why not? Where in the Statute of Secrecy is such knowledge forbidden without exception? The statute is structured so that the vast majority of the Muggles live in ignorance of magic. But it does not mean that magic is unknown to some. After all, Hermione's parents know about magic, don't they?"

"They need to!" Hermione and Hannah replied.

"Indeed. And yet that is a clear exception to the general rule of Secrecy, is it not? How many other Muggles in Britain know of our world because of that exception?"

"Not many?" Ginny offered.

"A question of degree," Nicholas returned. "It is generally believed – and records support the belief – that about a third of all witches and wizards under the Statute in Britain are Muggle Borns. If only their parents know as a result of that exception, then the number of Muggles knowledge about our world is equal to two thirds of all the witches and wizards, is it not? I dare say this underestimates the true number under the exception as that rule does not preclude the knowledge from other close Muggle family members such as grandparents, aunts and uncles although many Muggles avoid expanding it without reason. Giving magic the benefit of the doubt, however, and we're still talking around forty thousand Muggles who know of our world and that's hardly 'not many' is it?"

"I never thought of it that way," Hermione concede and the others nodded in agreement.

"Still, a Muggle can't be a threat to a trained witch or wizard, can they?" Daphne suggested.

"One on one, perhaps not," Nicholas replied. "But it's not the thousands who know, but the millions who do not know yet that could be a problem for us were we to forget our weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?"

"We are few, they are many. One wizard against an unarmed Muggle would not go well for the Muggle. But what about one wizard against a hundred or a thousand unarmed Muggles? Should the wizard stand and fight against such a determined mob, they would not come out of it well. And if the Muggles were serious, one can bet it would not be the mob of unarmed villagers. There are, after all, over sixty million Muggles in the British Isles. Their armed forces – no their army which is but one component of their armed forces – outnumbers all witches and wizards three to one or more. One wizard against an unarmed Muggle is an unfair fight from the Muggle's perspective. One wizard against a trained soldier with a weapon can be unfair to the wizard as the Muggle can kill at far greater distance than can the best trained wizard. But the odds are the one wizard would face ten, fifty or more armed and trained Muggles if they truly meant us harm and that would suicide for us to stand and fight."

"That's what happened in the other timeline, right?" Luna asked.

"Our memories are not clear on the details," Nicholas said. "It's fair to say that the Muggle's as a whole learned of us and in such a way that they saw us as a threat to them. Whether it was but a few of us they saw as a threat or the whole … arguably it became the whole of our world."

"How did that happen?" Harry asked.

"Without details, all Perenelle and I are left with are educated guesses. Sirius added some details about which we were unaware, namely the existence of an office within the Muggle government that is watching our world discretely as we speak and has been for centuries. Under Treaties and our own laws, we are expected to prevent our people from causing Muggles grief. That office is tasked to do the same, but it's unsurprising their tasking expanded over time to monitoring us as well.

"Today, the thousands of witches and wizards on our side of the line have been brought up or taught to disregard the Muggles and that they are not accountable to Muggles. For the most part, while somewhat misguided, this attitude is of little concern because the vast majority of our people never do anything for which they could be called to account. But there've always been that handful of miscreants who for whatever reason feel that they can do what they please."

"Lucius Malfoy," Harry growled.

"Indeed," Nicholas agreed. "A striking example of the most dangerous sort. He does not see Muggles as being relevant in any way. Arguably, the same can be said about the vast majority if not all of the witches and wizards in the world. He is also unrepentant, as it were and it would be a fair assumption that even today, sitting in his cell in Azkaban, he does not see himself as having done anything wrong. One or two people like him would not be a problem as few who might believe that Muggles are somehow subhuman would act on such belief as he has. But if that were to change…

"Our law enforcement does try to keep that in check and it would seem so long as they are effective in doing so the Muggles are content to let us manage our affairs. But it does not follow that they would sit idly by if our efforts failed. The last war was a close call for us, it would seem. Our memories show that the next war was also a close call. But it was not our last and eventually we crossed a line the Muggles could not ignore. One can only assume that rather than a Malfoy, there were scores or hundreds and we were either unwilling or unable to deal with them. So the Muggles took action to the ultimate ruin of us all, Muggle and magical alike although far more so for our kind."

"In the end it was a biological or biomagical weapon," Mary/Perenelle said. "It was supposedly over before the weapon was employed. Our memories suggest it was released anyway by individuals who … well, who were not satisfied with mere victory – for the Muggles had won. We don't think its release was a matter of some governmental policy, but we can't say since our memories don't tell us who released it. As you know, it is this future we seek to avoid."

"And this might be a chance towards the goal," Nicholas said.

"Oh?" several voices asked.

"But this group did use biomagical stuff before," Hermione protested. "It used it to prevent a wizard from becoming king, right?"

"We don't know which Muggle government did it in that timeline," Nicholas replied. "I don't think it truly matters. But if it was the British, then building some bridge now may avert that disaster by making it unthinkable. That future was based upon a total lack of understanding on both sides. There may have been individuals who understood, but the collective sides did not. We know that there is little communication and even less cooperation between the societies which is not a good thing should there ever be a true disagreement or misunderstanding. Building a bridge now, even a small and informal one such as this, might be a small step that can avert a terrible disaster in the future."

"We could probably use some help," Ginny said, "and certainly when the time comes."

"Oh?" a few voices asked.

"We're not ready for them – the Death Eater types, I mean."

"We are training," Hannah reminded.

"We are. House Longbottom is. My brothers and their girls are. That's not many, is it? Even if we were as good as Aurors, it's not enough, is it?"

"We're not going to have to face anything like that soon," Daphne said.

"But one day," Ginny said, "and still, it's not like there's loads of us preparing! What happens when he returns? How many are ready for that? How many will be? How many can be? I can tell you from what I've heard our government isn't ready at all. Consider my Dad, for example."

"He was in the Order," Harry countered.

"I'm not saying he can't use a wand," Ginny huffed. "No, look at his job: he's Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. But the name is misleading. The office is supposed to prevent any enchanted magical items from crossing over into Muggle hands and for recovering any that do and fixing any harm those things might do in Muggle hands. I mean, the name implies that if a wizard used a football as a Quaffle, his office would be interested but it's not. It's about keeping magic out of the Muggle world! I'd say that's fairly important, isn't it? Muggles would notice such things and wouldn't think kindly of people who made such things – the harmful ones especially. I mean that's an office that arguably enforces that Treaty of Separation and the Statute of Secrecy so you'd think it's important to our government. But aside from my Dad, there's only one other person who works there – Mr. Perkins – and he's old and near retirement so it's mainly my Dad who does most of the outside work. He can ask for help from DMLE, but he really has to work to get any at all. That tells me either our government doesn't consider keeping magic out of Muggle hands important or isn't prepared or able to do that. If they can't do that, how can they stop more direct violations? If we can't do it and our government can't or won't, who will? That's been bothering me."

"What are you saying?" Daphne asked.

"We know of a future," Ginny said, "one where the Muggles learned of us and tried to destroy us. We now know they already know, or at least some do, and have known for a long, long time and have not tried to destroy us. What changed? Something did for why did they go from watching us to hunting us? And if they were to come after us, would we just sit back and let them? Would we really care about the why of it? We know he's not truly gone and he will come back and it will be the War again, which surely won't make the Muggles happy about us. If we are not ready, if we try to hide from the problem and hide the problem from the Muggles, it's hardly likely they'll respect us for it and right now that's what's likely to happen. And if the problems were to continue after we supposedly dealt with it, what then? Is it any wonder they didn't trust us in that future? Is it any wonder they didn't see that there were witches and wizards who were not a threat?

"I don't think we have time to fix our side's attitudes about things before they go pear-shaped again and I also don't think enough of us will be ready for what's coming when it comes that the Muggles will not need to be concerned. We now know they're watching. What if we can get them to help before it's too late?"

"How?" Hannah asked.

Ginny snorted. "Well, if I already had that bit figured out I'd be smarter than Hermione."

There were some chuckles and even Hermione snorted with mild amusement.

"But you have a point, Ginny," Harry said. "If the Muggles were involved from the off with us – whoever us will be – they might not see our world as a threat, just that element which truly is. I don't know how to involve them or what they can offer that we can truly use. Guns maybe?"

"They're illegal, Harry," Daphne said.

"In the Muggle world as well, mostly," Hermione added, "at least the kinds that would do any good or be of any use. I doubt fouling pieces would be much good and you can't just walk into a shop and buy those either, I've read."

"Fowling pieces?" several voices asked.

"Guns used for hunting ducks and pheasants and such," Hermione said. "Hunting fowl, in other words. They don't use bullets like other guns and they can't shoot as many times or as quickly. They also don't have the range and stuff."

"They're still illegal," Daphne said, "almost as much so as Unforgivables! Even having one, even if you don't ever use it, can get you in lots of trouble with the Ministry."

"And the problem is the bad guys have no problem using those Unforgivables," Harry said. "Nor have they any reason to be concerned. Not nearly enough of them died in that war and far too many of them just went back to their lives as if nothing had happened. They don't know that they lost in part because they didn't lose so what's to stop them from starting out again if he returns or someone like him comes along? They came close to winning and that would've been a disaster, the very one we're trying to avoid. Had that night not happened, had he not been defeated… How can any magical force face them? They have the advantage with those spells, right?"

"They can't be stopped magically," Hermione said. "A strong enough physical barrier will work, but you can't be wearing it since the spell will – I don't know – conduct through body armor. And we can't or shouldn't use them."

"Those spells require the right mind set to work as intended," Nicholas said. "I dare say any magic user of moderate ability could cast one, but it would not be nearly as effective and could be blocked and it would be magically draining without the mind set. With the mind set, the spells are unblockable and do not drain the caster. The problem is that mind set would mean you are no better than they are. To do the spells as intended, you cannot have any regard for human life at all. You must be evil to the core. The more you use those spells, the more proficient you become at them, the less human you remain and the more you become that which you're fighting. But Harry is right. Using those spells gives them an advantage in a fight one which can only be countered by a degree of skill most never attain. We are trying to help you attain that degree of skill and beyond, but that takes time and practice and we do not know if we have enough time before it becomes necessary. So, any edge we can get short of those spells cannot be dismissed out of hand. Guns have the advantage of range. A rifle is lethal at a far greater distance than any wand and pistols can be in skilled hands. They cannot be blocked either."

"I thought they could be," Daphne said. "I've heard they could be."

"The best magical shields can deflect a bullet – one shot – most of the time. They don't always do so and no one knows exactly why, but they usually work once. In the time it takes to recast the shield, however, the second shot will come and finish the job."

"Still, it takes time to reload those things," Daphne said. "That's what we were told in Muggle Studies. That one shot is dangerous, but then they have to reload."

Nicholas snorted in disgust. "What century are you studying?" he asked sarcastically. "You don't believe that rubbish," he added looking at Hermione.

"I know better even if I don't know much at all about guns," Hermione said. "I dropped that course 'cause it's so out of date it's… Well, the book doesn't even mention automobiles or a lot of things that Muggles take for granted and practically can't live without. The guns it mentioned … they haven't been used in a long, long, long time."

"The modern Muggle military firearm can fire five, ten, even fifty rounds in the time it takes a skilled wizard to cast a shield charm and can kill at several hundred yards," Nicholas said. "The soldier doesn't reload after each shot. The gun does that for him and will keep doing it so long as it has ammunition and those guns all carry far more than one shot. And it takes about as long to reload those guns as it does to cast a shield charm. Unless the wizard drops the soldier before the soldier can start shooting, it's a fair bet who will win that fight and it's not the one with the wand."

"Couldn't you transfigure the gun?" Ginny asked.

"In theory you could," Nicholas said. "In the real world? At several feet if not several yards assuming you're in wand range to begin with? And remember, he can kill you at far greater distances than you can cast a spell. In a second or two at best? If you rely on your skills at transfiguration – skills that are beyond your average NEWT scores – you'll wind up dead before anything happens."

"They're still illegal!" Daphne countered.

"The difference between the criminal and the patriot is often who wins the civil war for that is what we are talking about," Nicholas said. "If, for argument sake, we resorted to using guns and lost, well it really wouldn't matter, would it? It never goes well for the losers. If we won, it still wouldn't matter. I'm not saying we should or should not. I am saying we keep an open mind to such an idea. Such devices would level the playing field if not shift the advantage entirely and they are far easier to learn to use with an adequate degree of proficiency than your wand. But unless the Muggle government supports the idea they would probably take issue with that solution and possibly consider the gun users every bit as threatening as the magic users. Ginny's basic idea, however, is sound. If there is an opportunity to work with this Muggle group Sirius met to deal with the coming problem, we should give it very serious consideration."


	60. Chapter 60: Rat Trap

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Right. I had actually written a different Chapter at this point and then another and another and then realized: wait a second! I missed a really important bit! So I went back and wrote the next two chapters...

**CHAPTER SIXTY: RAT TRAP**

**MONDAY, DECEMBER 6****th**** 1993**

Dumbledore took only a look, but that was enough to tell his this was not going to go well. The Wizengamot had been called into judicial session. This had not come as a surprise to him at all. But they were all here and that did. While notice had been sent that this was to be a trial before "the Full Wizengamot," that was mere a term and not a state. So long as thirty-three members were present, it was considered a "Full" session for there would not be enough absent members for there to be a retrial or appeal. The proceeding before the Full Wizengamot was reserved for only the most serious cases because there could be no appeal to the decision as, in theory, everyone who could hear the appeal rendered the original decision in the first place. What made this day disturbing, from Dumbledore's perspective was that no one was absent. He could not remember the last time there were no absences. There were always those who failed to attend for one reason or another. This would not go well.

"Madam Clerk," he intoned quietly.

A witch stood and spoke in a loud voice: "The Wizengamot of Greater Britannia, Full Judicial Branch, is now in Session! Before it is the sole matter of the Wizard Peter Pettigrew charged with numerous felonies," she called.

"Call the roll," Dumbledore said. This was more tradition. He knew all were present, but the roll was called just the same. When the roll was called and all were present save the votes from the Ministry, for the Ministry could not attend such judicial sessions, he looked up. "Madam Bones? You are presenting Law Enforcement's case?"

"I am, Chief Warlock," the woman said rising from a table before the risers holding the members of magical Britain's government.

"Then I take it House Bones will not vote on this matter," Dumbledore noted.

"I will not exercise House Bones vote," Madam Bones agreed. "Naturally, were there to be any doubt in my mind, I would not be seated here, rather in the Wizengamot proper. Arguably, because there is no doubt in my mind, it would be improper for me to exercise my House prerogative as impartiality would be lacking. That being said, a properly executed proxy is on file for this proceeding. Lord Black holds the House Bones proxy."

"Indeed? I was not aware that Lord Black was exercising his rights. House Black's long standing proxy is present and answered when called and I do not see Lord Black amongst us, or have my eyes and ears deceived me?"

At that moment, there was a commotion at the back of the Chamber. "Bloody Hell! I'm a member of this body even if you dolts've never seen me before! The robes are a dead giveaway, if you have yet to figure that out!" A man then strode in with some Aurors behind him. "Amelia," he asked, "kindly tell these dogs I'm not a bone they're allowed to chew on! Oops. We're in session, aren't we?"

"Just called into session," Madam Bones nodded. "And Dawlish, this is a Head of an Ancient and Noble House you seem to be accosting. Kindly go back to your post and keep out those who are not supposed to be here, not those who are."

"You are tardy, Lord Black," Dumbledore said.

"Um… had to use the loo, you know," Sirius said.

"I was unaware that you're to exercise House Black's vote."

"Make's two of us then doesn't it? My – or I should say House Black's proxy's here and I'm not here to take his place in this. Madam Bones asked me to serve as proxy for House Bones and I agreed. It's all square, you know, forms filed and everything. Judicial session. Can't vote two seats, you know."

"The filing is here, Chief Warlock," the Clerk said.

"See? Guess I can take a seat then."

"Might I ask how this came about?" Dumbledore asked.

"How what came about? This?" Sirius snarked waving his arm about the room. "Couldn't tell you. I was told this place was made long before I was born, you know."

"I meant your being here as a proxy."

"I would assume in the usual way," Sirius said more formally. "She asked, I agreed, we filled out the forms and they were filed. Did I miss something?"

"No," Dumbledore noted. "But such an arrangement between your Houses has no precedent."

"I was unaware such was a prerequisite to offering or accepting a proxy."

"It's not. It is just unusual seeing as your Houses have been traditional rivals in this Chamber."

"And you're suggesting 'cause our ancestors didn't see eye to eye on things, we would be better off at each other's throats? Seems rather against your own stated beliefs. And you forget this is judicial, not legislative session and families opposed in legislative assembly have voted together in judicial session without the world thinking the sky was falling or suggestions that alliances were shifting or what have you. Besides, as this is judicial session, she can no more influence my vote on this matter than I can influence the vote of my own proxy, which is to say not at all. What little impartiality we can claim would be out the window if we had to vote the way others tell us to in such a matter. Amusing as this is, do I really rate such an examination for getting stuck in the loo?"

"I suppose not," Dumbledore conceded. "You may be seated. Madam Bones, are you ready to proceed," he added as Sirius took a seat.

"We are, Chief Warlock."

"Is there representation for the accused?"

"Sorry," a voice called as a young man in a Muggle looking suit came in. He looked a little disheveled as did his briefcase which seemed to have papers sticking out and about. "Brendan Bole, Bole, Bole & Goode … and associate, Sir, for the accused. Had a little trouble with the goon squad outside."

"The what?" Dumbledore asked.

"Sorry. Aurors. Seemed terribly interested in my briefcase. Told them in no uncertain terms attorney client stuff, you know? There is a such thing as confidentiality and all. Their wands seemed less convinced and I'm mindful to lodge a complaint seeing as it could have compromised my client's case in theory. Don't think it did, though. Maybe I will anyway…"

"While I'm familiar with your firm," Dumbledore continued, "I cannot say the same for you, Sir."

"Ah! Well, I'm not one of the two Boles, you see, just another one and I'm certainly not the Goode seeing as he's been dead rather a long while."

"I don't recall seeing you before the Wizengamot, is what I meant."

"I should think not!" Bole said indignantly. "My clients might engage in such behaviors that would attract such attention but I do not!"

"I meant as a solicitor, not an accused, Mr. Bole."

"Oh right. Never had the occasion. My clients have managed to avoid the pleasure. My Uncle's not been so lucky. Been here a fair few times. Helped with a few, I did, behind the scenes as it were. But my Da and Uncle felt it was high time I have the pleasure so here I am, for what it's worth."

"Madam Bones?" Dumbledore asked. She merely shrugged. "Very well, you may be seated Mr. Bole. Bring in the accused."

All eyes turned to a different door from the one that Sirius and Mr. Bole had entered, one which led to the holding cells. A body was floated out, hovering in mid air and being guided towards a severe looking wooden chair with heavy chains attached to it and to the floor. The Aurors guiding the body positioned it in the chair and the chains seemed to jump to life, wrapping the body almost to the point where only the head was visible.

"What's wrong with my client?" Mr. Bole asked.

"Stasis charm," Madam Bones answered. "A useful idea for prisoner transport. I do mean to thank House Potter for it."

"He looks dead!"

"He's not."

"Harmed?"

"Possibly a little temporal confusion, nothing more."

"And that is?"

"He's frozen in time, you dolt!" a voice called from the Wizengamot.

"There may be a moment's disorientation when he's revived," Madam Bones said. "After all, he was in his holding cell just a second ago by his recollection. Nothing more and I argue nothing that will affect his ability to understand what is going on or respond to questioning."

"You don't honestly expect me to roll over for that one, do you?" Mr. Bole asked. "The accused is not required to respond to questions!"

"Except upon motion for cause duly filed and argued before the Petit Panel, which one was a little over a month ago and opposed by your Uncle Roscoe, I believe. The motion of the Ministry was granted with the required findings."

"Oh," Mr. Bole said sounding dejected. "And that would be my Da. The other Bole is my Uncle."

"I was unaware of any such hearing," Dumbledore said.

"You were out of the country, Chief Warlock," Madam Bones replied.

"Our procedural rules do not require the participation of any one member of this body, Chief Warlock," Madam Longbottom said. "We cannot delay the wheels of justice simply because one of our number feels his time is better spent in foreign parts."

"Ungrateful foreign parts," another voice added. "Might've been clear of this matter had you not insisted on your need to be there. No idea why that matters."

"Be that as it may, requiring the accused to submit to questioning is a serious matter, one which should not be entered into on a whim."

"Cut the games, Dumbledore," another voice said. "If Madam Bones and Madam Longbottom say the Petit Panel properly considered the matter, unless you or someone else here's going to prove they're lying, as you said let's get on with it."

"I move we adopt the pretrial rulings of the Petit Panel!" a voice called.

"Seconded!" another sounded.

Dumbledore sighed. "I am unaware of their rulings."

"There's a motion pending, duly seconded," Madam Longbottom said.

"Very well. All those in favor of the motion?"

"AYE!" it seemed most of the voices answered.

"Opposed? Nay," Dumbledore said with a handful of others. He sighed again. "The motion carries, regrettably. The rulings of the Petit Panel are adopted and made part of the record. Revive the accused and read the charges."

One of the Aurors cast a spell and Peter Pettigrew seemed to wake up. He seemed to recognize where he was and began to whimper.

"Peter Alan Pettigrew," the clerk began, "Wizard, you are hereby charged with numerous capital crimes to include murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, rape, use of the Killing Curse, use of the Torture Curse, use of the Imperius Curse, conspiracy to overthrow the government of Greater Britannia, conspiracy to make war upon the Muggles and acts in furtherance thereof, Class One violations of the Statute of Secrecy and numerous other crimes to wit: …"

It took over an hour for all the charges to be read. Only a handful of them had any bearing on the events that almost killed the Potters and the days that followed and, based on the dates given, most charges stemmed from events that happened probably before he had become the Potter's Secret Keeper. The conspiracy charges all came from his role as a Death Eater. After all, there were few if any who did not believe that Voldemort wanted to take over or that he wanted to attack the Muggles. Those charges had been used many times in the past, but there had never been a conviction. "Finally, that you are and have been for some time an unregistered Animagus, specifically a form of rat, and that you have used your form in furtherance of the above charged crimes and to evade justice. How do you plead?"

Pettigrew whimpered for some moments before finally saying something. "Im…Im…Imperiused. I was Imperiused. May I go now?"

"That is not a plea," Madam Bones said.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Bole countered. "Scores used that back then and got to walk. What makes my client any different?"

"The law changed long ago," Madam Bones said somewhat irritated, "or didn't you get that memo? It's a defense if you can prove it and you need to prove it separately for each and every accusation, while confessing the actual commission of the offense alleged. Besides the obvious, this issue was raised before the Petit Panel which ruled that the amnesty law that allowed such a plea does not apply to this case. If your client wished to avail himself of the former policy, he would've been well advised to have come forward before the law changed."

"Moreover," Madam Longbottom added, "the allowance of a reprieve under that defense was extremely limited in time. It was never made a permanent feature of our law and expired after the six month amnesty period allowed by this assembly. Individuals whose otherwise criminal actions were predominantly if not entirely due to their efforts for either side during the war had to come forward, confess to at least some of their otherwise criminal conduct, and swear an oath upon forfeiture of their property and freedom that they would never engage in such acts again. Individuals who avoided custody and failed to come forward on their own before the amnesty period expired are still subject to prosecution for their actions should they ever be caught."

"That is the Ministry's understanding of the relevant law, Madam Longbottom."

"Regrettably, it is my understanding as well," Dumbledore sighed. "It was enacted to prevent people from settling old scores and acting as their own court. I would've preferred a longer grace period, but I too was mindful that there might be those few who could never forgive nor ever accept forgiveness or ever question their own decisions and actions in that war. The majority vote in this body understood that some would refuse to accept that it was over, but most likely those few unrepentant individuals would not seek the amnesty. Hence, it expired under its own terms about eleven years before it was known that your client, Mr. Bole, was still amongst the ranks of the living and had not passed on as everyone believed. I would that it were otherwise, but I am but one voice among many and the many spoke to this matter long ago. We will enter the plea of not guilty. Continue Madam Bones."

Dumbledore was pleased that his pronouncements from his chair were not given while under veritiserum or a wizard's oath. He had fought hard to keep the door open for those who came to see the light later than others, but had lost that fight. He still did not agree with the law as it applied to those who had fought for what they believed back then, as misguided as those beliefs may have been. He did not see the purpose or benefit to society in punishing people for being on the wrong side. But his colleagues decided that there must be some way to sort the misguided from the committed and felt that those who could not and would not accept the situation should not be treated as kindly as those who willingly lay down their wands and quietly returned to their lives. Dumbledore felt that the end of that grace period was sure to allow what he saw before him: a man on trial not just for what he may have done, but for all the crimes that went unanswered following the last war. Many in the Wizengamot had been victims or at least their families had been. Others might have been sympathetic, but the former Order member's behavior since the war – hiding as a rat – would probably mean that those who may have supported that cause back then would be as eager to convict as those who opposed it albeit for different reasons.

"Administer the veritiserum," Madam Bones intoned to the Auror guards.

"I object," Mr. Bole said. "Since when has veritiserum replaced the Ministry's burden of proof? No civilized society forces an accused to place his own noose over his head as it were and offer testimony!"

"It has been the custom in capital cases for centuries, Mr. Bole," Madam Bones said.

"Doesn't make it right or proper! Most countries have done away with the inquisition, as it were."

"If by countries you mean the Muggles, I will concede your point," Madam Bones replied. "But we are not Muggles. Where they have failed to devise an effective matter at revealing whether a statement is truthful or not with anything approaching consistency, we managed that long ago."

"It is still my client's right to request a ruling from the panel!"

"A motion is before us," Dumbledore said. "All of those in favor of allowing the accused to remain silent rather than offer testimony compelled under veritiserumm, say Aye! Aye!" Unfortunately as Dumbledore suspect, aside from the few members who always followed his lead, no one joined the vote. "Opposed?"

"NAY!" the vast majority called out.

"Very well. You're motion is denied, Mr. Bole. You may proceed to interrogate the accused under veritiserum, Madam Bones."

As a student at Hogwarts, Sirius like most had heard of Veritiserum. Before the War, it was taught in detail in NEWT level Potions but it was dropped from the curriculum during the war lest such knowledge be used for immoral purposes or so it was said. Thus, until Auror training he had little more than a basic understanding of the potion and he had never seen it in use. Most people thought it was a powerful truth serum, and that was a way to describe it, but it was also simplistic and misleading. Sirius learned that the "truth" is relative. If a person believes a lie to be true, Veritiserum will not expose the lie as false. If a person thought he saw Mr. Jones kill his wife, then the potion would not change that even if the killer was someone else in reality.

Testimony at a trial using the potion was therefore indistinguishable from testimony without the potion. Both sides could ask questions and it was the Wizengamot that was tasked with deciding what was the objective truth of the matter based upon all the evidence. The one advantage to the potion aside from the fact that the person will not consciously lie about anything was there was a strong compulsion element that made the witness want to answer the questions. It was said that a man known for his silence would become quite talkative if not eloquent under the influence of the potion.

Peter Pettigrew had never been much of a talker, at least not the Peter Pettigrew Sirius remembered. The man chained to the chair looked like Peter and Sirius had seen this same man in his animagus form and knew that form was Peter. Peter looked old, much older than Sirius did or Remus for that matter and much older than his thirty-three years would suggest. Despite spending a dozen years in Azkaban, Sirius looked at least a decade younger than his former friend. He smirked a little, believing it was because he did not truly have a guilty conscious. While through most of his time in prison he had blamed himself for the death of his friends, he knew he had not killed them. He made a decision which seemed appropriate at that time, one which turned over their security to a then unknown Death Eater. The Rat, on the other hand, had spent the last twelve years knowing what he had done and hiding from it as a rat. Perhaps that was why he looked so worn down. But whatever sympathy Sirius may have felt for the broken down wizard seated in the dock was tempered by the knowledge that he had tried to see two of his best friends killed so that a baby would also die and it was because of that man that Sirius had missed most of his daughter's life.

The testimony was incredible and yet Sirius knew he had to believe it, or at least believe that Pettigrew believed it to be true. As it came out, he was forced to wonder if he ever really knew Peter Pettigrew. Amelia was trying to get this man's full story out, so she had begun well before any of the events alleged.

Peter was a Halfblood which was hardly a revelation for Sirius. The Pettigrew name was from his Great-grandfather who was Muggle Born. His mother was a Pureblood from a long distaff line of a now defunct Ancient House. Both of his parents had worked as his line was not one that enjoyed trust funds or anything approaching a life of leisure. At Hogwarts, he had been a lackluster student despite being friends with Sirius, Remus, James and Lily who had all finished at or near the top of their year. Again, Sirius knew this. It was Peter's life after Hogwarts that was a surprise.

"Did you obtain employment after finishing school?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Peter replied. "Apprentice type-setter with Cuffe & Doyle Publishing. They also run the Daily Prophet. Pay wasn't bad but the hours were a bit much seeing as the Prophet was set and printed at night."

He then went on to explain his job. It sounded dull. Copy, as it was called, came down to the print shop and the type setters arranged the type for the press one letter at a time. Once a page was complete, they would run the page, making scores and even hundreds of copies. This was a daily task with the Prophet. Books were another matter since they did not change at all from day to day. In that case, the type-setters made permanent plates for each page and the books were then printed as needed. Late spring and early summer were especially busy as this was when the text books for the next school year were printed. The Daily Prophet, however, needed to be re-done every day naturally. Peter was assigned to that group.

"Why type-setting?" Amelia asked.

Peter shrugged. "They had openings and the pay wasn't bad. There weren't a lot of jobs out there that paid as well and … well, that job did not attract a lot of applicants since it was not particularly magical in nature. It also seemed safe and at that time few other jobs were. If you worked in a shop you had to hope they didn't offend the wrong people. Ministry jobs were asking for trouble. People there got knocked off all the time. Cuffe & Doyle had never been attacked, so it seemed safe enough. Once I started working there, however, I wondered why it was not a target."

"Why did you wonder that?"

"There were an awful lot of Mudbloods who worked there. My shop practically reeked of them," he said venomously.

Sirius was surprised at his use of that word. For seven years at Hogwarts, use of that word guaranteed a vicious prank from the Marauders, and Peter was one of the Marauders. Lily Evans had been a friend to Peter, and yet he still used that word which applied to her. Did he know Peter at all?

"So, you don't think much of Muggle Borns, do you?" Amelia asked.

"Why would anyone?" Peter replied. "They are a filth dumped into what should be pure water. They are a poison, an infection."

"And yet you were a member of the Order of the Phoenix, were you not?"

"I was. My friends all joined up as soon as they finished school and so did I."

"That organization did not think Muggle Borns were filth."

"Neither did I when I joined up. I was taught the error of my misguided beliefs."

"By whom?"

He gave some names, none of them meant anything to Sirius.

"They were coworkers on my shift," he went on. "Two of them – the ones that did most of the talking – were purebloods whose families had fallen on hard times a few generations back and had yet to climb out of it all the while watching as upstarts climbed ahead of them. The other was a Half-blood like me whose ancestor made the mistake of marrying a knutless, Mudblood wizard condemning themselves and the next several generations of their descendants to obscurity."

That was not true, Sirius thought. There were plenty of examples of Muggle-Borns who had done well in their world. St. Mungo's had quite a few. Many had done well in business and as solicitors and such. Ted Tonks was quite successful. Madam Bones herself was one. But the potion did not make a person see the objective truth. It was clear that Peter really believed that rubbish. He had said he wanted to join his friends as an Auror track Hit Wizard when they left school but his marks were far below the threshold. They would've taken him as a Hit Wizard. They were desperate for wands by then. But for most of the newly recruited Hit Wizards it was not a career opportunity and it was hardly a safe job.

"Were any of your new friends Death Eaters?"

"Not that I am aware," Peter replied. "They might've been. I would not be surprised if they had connections."

"So you were not one right off?"

"I took my mark about a year after leaving school," he said proudly.

"Of your own free will?"

"You can't take the mark any other way!"

"So, despite what you said earlier, you were not under the Imperius Curse?"

"No. I suppose one could be coerced into taking the mark. But it still must be an act of free will. For whatever reason, you have to want it."

"And you wanted it?"

"I wanted to be on the winning side. I knew it would not go well for the losers and I couldn't be truly neutral. Given who my friends were at school, no one would believe that."

"And you thought the Death Eaters were going to win?"

"Not at first. When I was at school, I believed my friends were right and they were convinced the Dark Lord would fail in the end. They joined the Order to see that happen; to help make that happen and I joined too 'cause I still thought like they did. But it was soon clear to me the Order was useless. All they did was talk and bemoan the failures of others. They did little or nothing – or if they did I knew nothing of it."

How true, Sirius thought. Peter had little to offer or so they thought. He wasn't combat trained and as far as they knew he had no useful contacts of any kind. He did not seem to have access to useful information or the skill or ability to act on it.

"And yet you joined the Death Eaters."

"When I realized how wrong they were; how foolish. It was obvious who would win in the end. It was only a matter of time. The Order might've had no use for me, but the Dark Lord did. I was, after all, in the Order."

"So you were a spy?"

"I reported whatever went on at Order meetings to my superiors. If that was being a spy, then so be it. What they did with that information was none of my business."

"So that was your job as a Death Eater? To spy on your friends?"

"It was not all I did for the Dark Lord. I think I was more valuable to the Cause as a type-setter than as a member of Dumbledore's cabal of Blood Traitors. I was used to send messages to the assault teams and such."

"Assault teams?"

"Groups of Death Eaters who did the Dark Lord's bidding, although it wasn't that simple. More often, the teams came up with an idea and the Dark Lord either approved it and set them to it or he did not. The 'go' order was sent through the Daily Prophet."

"So the Prophet was part of the organization?"

"Not really. It was just a medium of communication. You'd have to ask the higher ups whether they knew that or not. Maybe they did, but it wouldn't matter. It was the type setters who sent out the orders and we got the word to do so from someone else; someone with no connection to the paper or publishing house. I don't know his name. I only met him a couple of times and it was clear he was in disguise even then. Could've been the Minister for Magic for all I knew. He would tell us that a certain unit had a 'go' order and we'd misspell a word in a specific paragraph counting from the first page. That was the 'go' order for whatever was to happen."

"Did you know who those units were? Who was in them?"

"No. I knew my immediate superior and those in my group and some others high up. That was it. I couldn't even say which misspelled word did what."

"So you had no idea what those misspelled words caused?"

"Could've been orders to pick up the Dark Lord's laundry, for all I knew. I doubt that. My guess is someone did not fair too well when one of those words was misspelled. But as they were all scum and were to be dealt with one way or another in time, it didn't matter if they met their ends sooner than others."

"So it did not matter to you if people died because of those messages?"

"Why should it have? They were standing in the way of what was meant to be, weren't they? They were scum who refused to learn their place or Blood Traitors who sullied themselves with scum or those who would deny and defy the necessary order of things. They were a blight that needed to be removed to achieve what was always meant to be. No better than rats or other vermin, really, and such vermin are exterminated all the time."

Who was this man, Sirius thought. The Peter he knew wasn't like this.

"Did you kill anyone?"

"Those who deserved elimination, of course. Yes. Most certainly. Then again, I swat flies too."

"Who did you kill?"

"As I said, those who deserved it: Muggle filth and their Mudblood scum spawn, Blood Traitors, those opposed to the true order and those who stood in the way."

"That's in addition to the twenty who died in Camden Towne?"

"That many? Really? Bloody good day's work that. Oh, yes. I killed a fair few before then. Couldn't tell you what they called themselves, most of them at least. Didn't know their names. Didn't care, really."

"By name who do you remember killing?"

"Hmmm… Something-or-other Smith and his friend Johnson. Mudblood type-setters they were and questioned a misspelling so that night after work we paid them a visit. Johnson's wife was a lot of fun and killing her was even more so. I was allowed to help do the McKinnon family. They were in the Order and it was my reward for some information that was said to have been useful. That was a fun night as well."

"Fun?"

"We were allowed to play with them first – especially the females. I like it when they beg. Not that it matters. They can beg all they want, but they'd still get taken, get tortured and get killed."

"So you raped them too?"

"Just the females. There were some who where into boys, but not me. Before that night, Marlene wouldn't've given me the time of day. She put out that night 'though. It's amazing what you can get a bird to do with the Imperius Curse. A real screamer that one."

It continued on and on. While this man was hardly at the level of some like the Lestranges or Malfoy, he had done a fair bit of vile things. Sirius could not believe it, but he knew it had to be the case. What was particularly disturbing was Pettigrew sounded as if he was proud of himself. Sirius knew that Pettigrew was not Inner Circle. That lot was the scariest and worst of them all and all of them were known. Pettigrew was a low level Death Eater. Some rose from such to upper levels, but only through skill and only when casualties created a vacancy. Pettigrew never rose above the lowest rung and was little more than expendable but he was proud of it. And he was scary. He was almost gleeful when he talked about using the Imperius Curse to rape and to get family members to rape, torture and kill their spouses, children or parents. He was not a fan of the Killing Curse. He thought it too clean and said he wanted his victims to know they were dying. With that curse they were just dead. Sirius had no idea who this man was. It was Pettigrew, but this Pettigrew and the one he knew were very different people.

"We spoke some time ago about your spying on the Order of the Phoenix…," Amelia continued.

Pettigrew snorted. "It's not like they mattered or something. It's not like they were the government. Bunch of deluded, idealistic waist with misguided beliefs and notions, that's all they were. And I wasn't much of a spy or if I was I'm unaware of it. Aside from the McKinnon job, I'm not sure I gave the Dark Lord anything of value. Oh, they knew there was a spy. There were some things that got messed up and they were certain it's 'cause someone in the Order was tipping us off. But they never suspected me. Aside from the McKinnon business, if the Dark Lord was tipped off, it had to be someone else in the Order. I only learned what would've been useful after it went pear shaped for the Order. I doubt any of the fools thought I was marked. They probably thought I didn't think that way and wouldn't have the stones. But yes, to the extent my learning things in the Order could be used against that cabal of Blood Traitors, I would pass it along. Actually, I passed on everything I ever heard and knew about them and what they were doing. But there were leaks before I took the mark and probable ones after that weren't my doing 'cause I didn't know the stuff that had been leaked."

"You knew where the Potters were."

"Not until the end, really. Well, not once after they went into hiding. The Dark Lord wanted them dead. He wanted the Longbottoms dead as well. He also forbade all of us from doing them. They were his and his alone. Guess that lot survived one time too many."

"And the young boys?"

"He wanted to kill them personally for some reason. That's why we weren't allowed to do them 'cause we might do the boys as well. Don't ask me why. What could a couple of boys in nappies do? But the Dark Lord wanted them and wanted to do them personal like. Then again, we are talking 'bout two Ancient and Noble Houses that were traitors to their kind in every way. Those were two Houses that hadn't been particularly prolific in begetting heirs in recent generations. Snuff the parents and the brats and those Houses would be no more. Guess the Dark Lord figured ending them personal like would send a message to the others."

"The Potters made you their Secret Keeper."

"Last mistake they ever made," Peter said smugly. "Black was their Secret Keeper but got cold feet or something. Until then, I had no idea where they were at. They never suspected me and they were handing themselves over on a silver platter as it were. So yeah, I became their Secret Keeper."

"And you went right out and betrayed their secret."

"I did my duty to our kind," Peter replied. "James Potter, Heir of an Ancient and Noble House sullied his ancestors by marrying that Mudblood and breeding with it. He was undeserving of all he had inherited."

"So as soon as you became Secret Keeper, you went to the Dark Lord…"

"As soon as I could. I don't think Black trusted me. Oh sure. He was the one who suggested I should replace him as Secret Keeper. I smelled a trap. I figured he did that to expose me and he did seem to keep an unnaturally close eye on me once it was done. Had to wait until I knew I wasn't being watched. But once I was sure, yes, I went to the Dark Lord and told him the secret. Led him right to the house where the scum thought they were safe."

"Did you go in with him?"

"Was told it was his business and I was to go about my own. No. I stayed outside. I know he killed Potter and then … then something went wrong."

"What?"

"Explosion. Upstairs. The window and wall blew out. That wasn't the Dark Lord's style so I waited a bit and when he did not come out I went in. As soon as I got to that room I knew. I knew it had gone horribly wrong. The Mudblood was dead, but the brat lived and the Dark Lord's robes, mask and wand were there but he wasn't. Don't know what kind of dark magic the Potters had dabbled in, but it had to be bad to do that to such a powerful wizard."

"So Voldemort was dead then and…"

"Dead? I didn't say he was dead, did I?"

"Surely he was killed…"

"He was no normal wizard! A normal wizard would've been killed. He cannot be. Don't ask me how or why, but he cannot be. He was gone … is gone is all. He was defeated, but not permanently. I know."

"How?"

Peter shrugged. "I still feel him," he said rubbing his left arm. "It's barely noticeable. Not at all like before, but I still feel him faintly. It's a little stronger now than it has been, or maybe that's 'cause I haven't gone about in human form in some time, I don't know. But somehow, I think, were he truly gone I would not feel him anymore and yet I do."

There was a commotion following that revelation. Sirius doubted that many truly believed Pettigrew but there could be no doubt that Pettigrew believed Voldemort had somehow survived.

"You didn't finish the job?" Amelia asked once it was quiet again. "You didn't kill the boy?"

"The Dark Lord said only he would do so and who am I to defy the Dark Lord?" Pettigrew replied.

"So you just left the boy there?"

"Why not? He was not my responsibility, was he? Who knows? Perhaps that hovel would've collapsed and done us all a favor. But yes, I left. Wasn't about to stick around, was I? I figured the Order would be there quickly and I was right. Saw one of them coming up the walk moments after I left."

"He didn't see you?"

"He might've, but he would not've seen me for who I was. I wasn't about to walk about as Peter Pettigrew, was I? The Order had to know I was the Potter's Secret Keeper and therefore I was the one who turned them over to the Dark Lord and they would hardly be understanding about that, would they?"

"You're an unregistered animagus, is that correct?"

"The fools never thought I'd ever pull that off, but I did! Yes. Never registered. Never told anyone."

"What is your form."

"A rat."

"Appropriate," someone said from the Wizengamot.

"Useful," Pettigrew replied. "Great for sneaking around and even better if no one's the wiser."

"Did anyone know you were an animagus?"

"The Potters did, but they weren't about to tell anyone anymore, were they? Black did, but things went bad for him, didn't they? Bad enough, I should think, that had he told everyone and anyone that I was an animagus no one would've believed him – at least no one who didn't already know and there was only one other who did and he was out of the country."

Sirius was a little surprised for it seemed that all this time Peter still did not know he was there. Then he remembered that the potion affects vision such that everything is a blur.

"So you just scampered?"

"Wasn't that simple, was it? Always knew there was a chance things would go terribly wrong. Played it so they wouldn't, such that it would not matter who won in the end 'cause I was playing for the winning side, wasn't I? But there was always a chance that wouldn't work so I had an escape planned. Had a pile of money hidden away and was hoping to go on an extended holiday, if you will. Had things to do first. Insurance should the time arise, you know."

"What insurance."

"The Dark Lord's wand. Took it, I did. Figured he'd want it once he returned and who better to have kept it safe for him? He might even overlook what went wrong that night. After all, that wasn't really my fault, was it? But you can never be sure with the Dark Lord so I wanted something to put me in his favor when the time comes and keeping his wand safe and out of the hands of his enemies seemed a good idea. I've heard how he can express his disappointment and want nothing to do with that."

"What did you do with the wand?"

"Buried it."

"Where?"

"Under a large oak just outside the village where it happened. Easy enough to find 'cause it's all alone beside the road at the top of a rise."

"You blew up the street in Camden Towne two days later?"

"I suppose. About the time, I mean. I wasn't really paying attention to dates. But yes. I saw an opportunity to get rid of one of the only ones who could betray me and make an escape and took it. Don't know how the blighter survived. Must've case a shield charm or something." Peter shrugged. "Not like I stuck around to find out. The bastard must've found my stash so I had to change plans and quickly."

"Your stash?"

"Money I had collected over the months from those unfortunately enough to not stop me from taking it. I hid it in a flat I had there. Black was stepping out of it just as I arrived so I figured he beat me to it. I don't remember telling him about it, but he's a sly one, he is."

You were rather drunk at the time, Sirius thought. Nothing sly at all, although you managed not to reveal how you came by the money.

"It took you two days to bury the wand?"

"No. I was done with that in an hour or so."

"So where were you between the time of the attack on the Potters and your encounter with Sirius Black in Camden Towne."

"Trying to see which way the wind was blowing, as it were. I knew the Order might be after me. They had to know I was now the Potter's Secret Keeper and probably would not be all that friendly since the Potters' Secret was out and only I could've revealed it. I doubted the Ministry was about to give me a medal either. The real question was the Death Eaters. A few knew I had passed on information about the Potters to the Dark Lord, but would they know it all? Would they keep me safe or turn on me? I had to know."

"Did you find out?"

"They believe I somehow double-crossed the Dark Lord. They put the word out I was to be killed on sight for that. I was at the meeting or at least a rat was. That meant nowhere in Britain was safe for Peter Pettigrew so I had to leave. But then Black got to my stash so that option was gone as well. Managed to get clean away, but to where? I had no money and couldn't very well go to Gringotts or back to my job. Every Death Eater was looking for me for what they think I did to the Dark Lord and they were not about to offer be a cup of tea, were they? Everyone else and their mother would be after me for what happened to the Potters so I stayed the rat."

"Living in the sewers, no doubt."

"No. Might've used one to get clean away, but those places are nasty and there's not much to eat. A real rat might find that filth appetizing, but not me. Dustbins behind restaurants offer a much better fare and so long as the cats aren't too abundant…"

"So, you dined in dustbins all this time?"

"I would've, had I not learned about what happened."

"And what happened to change your choice of establishment?"

"Saw a copy of the Daily Prophet. Can't tell you which one, 'cept it was several days later. They said Black copped to the whole thing, was a Death Eater the whole time. Funny that. There was a price on his head. His Cousin Bellatrix Lestrange offered ten thousand Galleons to any of us who killed him and brought her the body so if he was a Death Eater, I'm Dumbledore. The paper said he killed me when I tried to bring him in. Other way around 'cept I didn't snuff it. Said they gave my Mum an Order of Merlin since I was dead and couldn't accept it. So, at least some of the heat was off. But I doubted the Death Eaters had stopped looking. Even if they had, I'd be dead as soon as I appeared in public unless the Dark Lord called them off which would only happen when he returns and if I'm in his favor and it wouldn't do for me to rise from the grave with the other lot either since they might then bother to ask real questions."

"Where did you go?"

"Weasleys," Pettigrew said. "They were in the Order and seemed tight with Dumbledore. I figured they'd be a good place to go."

"As a rat?"

Pettigrew nodded. "They live on a farm so a rat's not out of place. I'd been there often enough with the Order so I knew they didn't have a cat. Couldn't. Their garden's practically crawling with Garden Gnomes which would not be the case if there was a cat. I figured I'd find a place in the walls and knick food from their kitchen cupboards or something."

"But why go there at all?"

"Figured if the Dark Lord were returning, I'd hear it there sooner than anywhere else, at least anywhere that was no more hazardous to my health."

"Wouldn't the Death Eaters know sooner?"

"Most of them were scrambling to cover their backsides," Peter said with disgust. "Bunch of cowards! It was clear who was truly loyal. With the Dark Lord gone, few of them were willing to risk their lives or their positions for the cause. Most would sooner say it was all a mistake. Aside from a few – and they're in Azkaban – I doubt any of them wanted the Dark Lord found any time soon. Or, I should say, they were not about to risk themselves or their positions to do the finding. Besides, they're not the most trustful lot. Truth is, without the Dark Lord to bind them together the majority of them are not on social terms with each other at all and would not be inclined to invite any of their colleagues over for tea or anything else. To each other, about all the others are good for are Pureblood children for betrothals and sometimes not even then. Most of them bury their homes under layers of nasty wards and most of those wards would expose me were I to cross them. They knew the Aurors used animagus for scouting and such."

"But you were at that meeting after it happened."

"It was in a field. As I said, I doubt any of them would open their homes to all but a handful of the others without the Dark Lord around to – er – convince them to do so. The field belonged to none of them and was therefore neutral ground and as such it was not warded against much of anything and certainly not against an animagus."

"And you weren't worried about such wards at the Weasleys?"

"I knew they didn't have them. Many of the wards that concerned me are dark enough in nature that the Weasleys would never consider them. They were a trusting lot, quite unlike your average Death Eater."

"So you lived in the walls all this time?"

"Hadn't figured on the brats. No. One of them found me and asked 'Daddy' if he could keep me as a pet. Much nicer than walls and I dare say the food was better. Course recently I got passed down to a younger one and he was not as diligent 'bout cleaning my cage. Got rather ripe at times and not particularly comfortable even as a rat. But the brats got me into Hogwarts too, which meant I was closer to Dumbledore who I suspected was not as certain about the demise of one Dark Lord so I figured I'd hear the news all the sooner. It worked for years and none of the fools were any the wiser: not the Weasleys and not that addle brain Dumbledore."

"And yet here you are."

"Hadn't figured on the girl," Pettigrew said. "The youngest of the brat and of the lot of them the only one who seems to have brains. That and she managed to bring a cat into the house. I wasn't about to leave that cage with that thing skulking about. I don't know how she spotted me, but she did – the girl I mean. Set a House Elf to take me, although where she got a House Elf I can only guess. The Weasleys didn't have one, which was another reason why I chose them as I don't trust those things at all."

"Looking back, do you regret anything?"

"Getting caught. I must've gotten complacent or missed something."

"Nothing else?"

"What's to regret? I might say that we have not won, but it's not over yet, you know. It should be, but that's not my fault."

"And those people you killed?"

"They would've been killed anyway. They are a disease and we were the cure and if I hadn't done it there were many who would've. I regret the job is unfinished but again that's not my fault."

Part of Sirius wanted Amelia to ask why. Why had he done it? There had been hints here and there in his testimony, but Sirius was still unclear as to what changed in Peter Pettigrew or whether he was always like this. A part of Sirius wanted to know the motive. But he also knew that was irrelevant. You did not need to even suggest a motive to prove guilt. The law only required proof that he did the deed, that he had no legal justification for doing it and that he intended to do it, that it was not and could not have been an honest mistake or accident. The law did not concern itself with the 'why' of such things beyond that.

Motive, Means and Opportunity. These were three things investigators looked for and three things solicitors cared less about. There was a reason. By the time the case got to Madam Bones, there was evidence to support it. But when the case first got to the Aurors, often there was nothing but a victim who died from "unnatural" causes. It was rare there were any witnesses to the actual crime aside from the dead body and its killer, rarer still any who would talk and almost unheard of to catch the criminal in the act. You were left with a dead body and the whole world as suspects. Motive, Means and Opportunity was a tool to reduce your list of potential suspects from everybody to somebody. Conviction, however, was just a matter of proving the accused did the deed. It was a question answered through evidence. The why behind the deed was unnecessary and it was usually the defense that brought that into play either to put the entire case into question or to justify what happened. But unless it was a legally recognized justification, the accused would still do time.

Sirius knew a little about Muggle law and knew they recognized defenses based upon mental states such as insanity. Being insane reduced ones criminal culpability somehow, but it did not allow the accused to walk free. They might spend time in a place like St. Mungo's pychomagical ward, but they would not be set free. The wizarding world had no such defense. If you killed someone without proper legal justification (and your opinion on that was never relevant) and with the requisite intent, it did not matter if you were raving mad at all. That being said, despite what Peter had said under the influence of the potion, the case was not closed or might not be. True, his mental state would not save him assuming it could. But his testimony was about what he believed to be true, not the truth itself. Madam Bones had him dead to rights for the twenty muggles in Camden Towne. Sirius's trial testimony as well as that from others at his trial were already part of the record and corroborated Pettigrew's.

But so far there was no such evidence about anything else. A delusional wizard could be convicted for committing a crime even if he thought he was under attack by trolls and not a family of innocents out for a stroll. But one could not be convicted for believing they committed a crime when there was no crime at all. Sirius and Madam Bones both knew that James and Lily Potter had not died that night (Madam Bones being brought in on that secret before Sirius's trial). But neither of them could offer evidence of that so long as the Fidelius Charm remained in effect unless the Secret Keeper was free and willing to cooperate, which was not going to happen yet. But it highlighted the flaw with Veritserum. Pettigrew believed he led Voldemort to the Potters and the Potters were killed as a result which, if true, was a serious crime. But the Potters were not dead, so the crime was merely an attempt and not as serious. Sirius had no idea about any of the other crimes Pettigrew had confessed. He wondered about the McKinnon crime as some of the assailants had been caught and tried and none of them mentioned Pettigrew at all. He wondered how Madam Bones was going to handle that.

"Your witness, Mr. Bole," Amelia said.


	61. Chapter 61: Marauders Revisited

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: And, Part two of the trial...

**CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: MARAUDER'S REVISTED  
**

**MONDAY, DECEMBER 6****th**** 1993**

Mr. Bole rose. "I would like to begin by pointing out that I have been afforded absolutely no opportunity to consult with my client for the purposes of preparing his defense," Mr. Bole said.

"Madam Bones?" Dumbledore asked almost in an accusing manner.

"Mr. Roscoe Bole of Bole, Bole & Goode has met with the accused on numerous occasions, Chief Warlock. I believe his time with the accused is in excess of forty hours. I can produce the visitation logs. I cannot be held responsible for the internal assignments of the accused counsel's law practice."

"He met with him of course," Mr. Bole said. "But I have not!"

"Be that as it may," Madam Bones began, "our law allows an accused to obtain counsel for his defense and to consult with such counsel and for such counsel to present his defense, but does not require it. But it does not follow that the accused who has obtained such counsel can then delay this body by changing counsel at the last minute. Mr. Bole is of Bole, Bole & Goode and Bole, Bole & Goode has met with the accused and one can assume made some effort to prepare a defense and then sent this young man in here obviously in an effort to delay this proceeding."

"I object to that insinuation!"

"My apologies," Amelia said. "But unless Roscoe is ill, your appearance here and raising that argument is … unusual."

Dumbledore sighed. "The law recognizes certain situation where defense should be granted a delay of proceedings…"

"See!" Bole said.

"…but last second changes in counsel is not one of them and I doubt any here would grant such an exception where representation remains with the same firm. Besides, requests for extension must be made before the first witnessed is examined…"

"Seeing as I have yet to question the accused…"

"As cross-examination is not a requirement, Mr. Bole, once Madam Bones began her questioning the door closed on extensions. Do you have questions for the accused?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Mr. Bole said. "Mr. Pettigrew, you said earlier you were a Death Eater."

"I am. Still am."

"I see. Can you prove it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who knew you were one?"

"Um… The Dark Lord, of course. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Tiberius Carrow, Apollo Burke, Charity Pucey, I suppose. There may have been others but I don't know their names."

"All of whom are conveniently either dead or in prison."

"I wouldn't know."

"Can you show us your dark mark?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You mean aside from the fact I'm a little tied up right now?"

Bole nodded.

"It's invisible," Pettigrew answered.

"Invisible?"

"Well, I can see it of course. Other Death Eaters may be able to. But otherwise it's invisible."

"Why is it invisible?"

"Because the Dark Lord wished it to be. I guess it may be because I was in the Order, but he never told me why."

"Looking through the old records … you said you were involved with the McKinnon murders."

"Involved? I killed a couple of them. Did that Marlene bitch myself."

"Did you really? Funny."

"Yes I did and what's funny."

"Argus Travers testified before this Wizengamot that he killed the lot of them back in 1980."

"That's a lie!"

"Well, there's obviously a false statement somewhere. Was Travers even there?"

"Yes. He led the team. It was Travers, Avery and the two older Carrows and me."

"You do know that aside from you that lot's all in prison or dead."

"No. Not surprised."

"You also would know who was in on that attack if you read the papers."

"I was there!"

"And the ones who talked before they died or were sent away never mentioned you at all."

"I wasn't known to them."

"You were with them!"

"The Dark Lord sent me at the last minute. They were not told who I was and the Dark Lord forbade them from asking."

"I see. Moving along to Camden Towne. You said you were going to your flat but ran into Sirius Black before you could get there…"

"I didn't say it like that, but yeah."

"And you blew up the street killing all those muggles?"

"Yeah. Had to."

"Why?"

"'Cause Black cornered me! He was a Hit Wizard, you know, and he was not known for taking prisoners."

"So you blew up the street and killed all those Muggles 'cause Black was not known for taking prisoners?"

"He was going to kill me!"

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but everyone knew he cursed first and questioned the corpse later!"

"I see. So you feared for your life?"

"I did."

"Why didn't you take Black on?"

"He was better than me! I had to get away!"

"I see. Who told you that Black was such a vicious Hit Wizard?"

"Um… I don't know. It was common knowledge. He worked with Moody, after all and that was another cold blooded killer. We all knew he was bad news. His own Cousin put a price on his head."

"That was Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"Yeah. She really hated Black."

"'Cause he was a killer?"

"Well … no. In part, maybe. He was a traitor to his kind and a killer. He killed proper Purebloods without regret and without hesitation!"

"You knew him in school, yes?"

"In my misguided youth I thought he was a friend."

"How many proper Purebloods did he kill at school?"

"I don't know."

"Did you actually see him kill anyone while you were at school?"

"No."

"Did any proper Purebloods, as you say, die at that school while you were there?"

"At school?"

"Yes, inside the castle."

"No. No one inside the castle."

"What about on the grounds?"

"There was Flint. They found his body at the base of the Astronomy tower my Fifth Year."

"Who killed him?"

"I don't know. They said it was a suicide."

"Did Black kill him?"

"No. I know he didn't."

"Before that day in Camden Towne, did Black ever threaten to kill you?"

"Me? No."

"Did he threaten to kill anyone else?"

"He threatened to kill a boy named Snape all the time. Never actually killed him. He once said if he had his way all Death Eaters and their supporters should be put down like the diseased animals that they are."

"When did he say that?"

"After an Order meeting where Dumbledore had decided not to do something because people might be harmed. We were in a pub."

"Was he drinking?"

"Drunk. James had to carry him out of there."

"I see. So you killed all those Muggle 'cause you were convinced if you did nothing Black would kill you?"

"He would've. I could see it in his eyes."

"I see. Did he say anything to you?"

"He called my name. He snuck up on me from behind."

"I see. So he didn't shoot first and call your name later?"

"Everyone knew how cruel he could be. I wasn't about to let him torment me!"

"I see. You said earlier you were coerced into becoming a Death Eater."

"I did not!" Pettigrew protested. "I said I could see that happening, maybe. But there was no coercion in my case."

"But yet you once opposed what they believed it."

"I was a fool. I was young and impressionable and fell in with the wrong sort. Should've known better. After all, Black betrayed his own House, Potter was a Mudblood lover and Lupin was a werewolf."

There was a gasp from many in the Wizengamot.

"Lupin? Who was he?"

"One of the three of them. Was in our year at Hogwarts…"

"A werewolf was allowed to attend Hogwarts?"

"Obviously, since he was one and he was there as a student."

"And he slept in the dorms?"

"Well, he did," there were more gasps. "But not on nights with a full moon. The staff took him out before that happened and brought him back when it was over. It was why we became animagus."

"Oh?"

"It was one of the other's ideas. Werewolves don't attack animals, you see. One of them thought we could keep the creature company if we were animals."

"As amusing as werewolf students may seem, we're off topic. So, you say you fell in with the wrong sort then. By your own statement you joined the Order of the Phoenix right after finishing school. Was that before or after you started working for Cuffe & Doyle?"

"Before. I attended my first meeting a week after finishing. Potter married the Mudblood bint a month later and I got my job a few weeks after that."

"Where you met some coworkers who showed you the error of your beliefs."

"And then some, yes."

"Did they know you were in the Order?"

"I don't think it really came up. We weren't really mates or anything. They talked. I listened. What they said began making sense."

"Did you begin misspelling certain words before or after you became a Death Eater?"

"It was before. Some months, I should think, but I can't say exactly when. I wasn't really thinking of becoming one. I mean, I now believed what they believed and knew they were going to win so I was doing my part. But eventually it seemed to me a smarter idea to get in all the way. Didn't want them to think I was reluctant or anything. Having the mark would mean power and position in the new order. It would mean more than who your family was. I'd be higher than Potter or Black."

"I see. Your friends applied to become Aurors. Did you?"

"Yeah. Back when I was still deluded."

"Were you accepted?"

"My marks weren't there. Besides, they were only taking Hit Wizards at the time and that didn't sound like such a good deal."

"You went through the initial examinations, did you not?"

"They had us see some healers and some bloke who just sat there and asked a bunch of stupid questions."

"And you were rejected."

"I was. Got magic going back hundreds of years and I was rejected! I wasn't marrying a mudblood or betraying my House and I was rejected! They took on the bloody werewolf and rejected me! They said I could still be a Hit Wizard, but everyone knew that was no job. You're a spell catcher! Even if you survive, what can you do? Catch spells! I'm better than that!"

"I see. So you joined the Death Eaters because you're better than that?"

"Damn straight."

"You're better than your former friends?"

"I always was and always will be!"

"Better than the heirs to two Ancient and Noble Houses and two students who stood at the top their year?"

"What they do to get that, eh? Two of them just got born! The other two cheated, obviously!"

"You finished in the bottom third of your class, didn't you?"

"It was fixed! Everyone knows that Dumbledore rigs it for his types. Obviously he thought they were and I wasn't and fixed it so they had the chances and I never would!"

"I see. No further questions."

Interesting, Sirius thought when Bole sat down. He had wondered how anyone could put a less damning spin on the testimony Amelia had elicited and yet this guy had somehow. It was a bad case to defend, yet the guy scored some points, Sirius felt. When Amelia had sat down one would think Peter was a hard core Death Eater, possible inner circle material. Now that was questionable. A sympathetic member of the Wizengamot could see Peter as a delusional paranoid. This probably would not help him avoid Azkaban. But just about all his acts prior to that Halloween night could be painted as a figment of his imagination. Naturally, this assumed Madam Bones did not connect any dots.

"Any re-examination Madam Bones?" Dumbledore asked.

"No Chief Warlock."

"Very well. The accused is released to Auror custody."

As the Aurors came to take Pettigrew away, Dumbledore continued. "Given the late hour … You do have additional witnesses, do you not Madam Bones."

"I do. A few Aurors who participated in the relevant investigation back then. I have one expert who will be named later. We have previously submitted for inclusion the entirety of the testimony obtained during the trial of Sirius Black…"

"I would object to that," Bole said. "I know for a fact no one in the defense of my client participated in that trial nor had the opportunity to examine any of the witnesses."

"The purpose of the submission, Madam Bones?"

"As per prior ruling of the Petit Panel, the relevance of Lord Black's trial is limited to the events involving the betrayal of the Potters and thereafter. As you may recall, neither Lord Black nor any other witness offered evidence regarding the accused's associations and misdeeds outside of that context."

"I would add," Malcolm Davis spoke up, "that some two third of our members were present at that trial and the subsequent review proceeding. I move specifically that we adopt that trial record for the limited relevance regarding the events leading to the assault on the Potters and the subsequent incident in Camden Towne."

"Seconded!" a voice called.

"So noted," Dumbledore sighed. "Any opposed?" Dumbledore did not oppose the objection for some reason. Neither, apparently, did anyone else. "The record is admitted per Madam Bones's limitations. Given the late hour, perhaps it would be prudent if we recess until tomorrow morning."

"Seconded!" a voice called. The motion carried and the trial stood in recess.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well?" Connie asked. She and Sirius were seated together along James and Lily Potter and his cousin Dora, her parents and Remus who were there as guests. It was a simple dinner in their new place. Anna was not with them as this was a weeknight and she spent such nights at Hogwarts.

"Technically, I'm not supposed to talk about it," Sirius said.

"Technically?"

"Well it's not really a rule or anything. And I know for a fact many of the others do."

"How do you know that?"

"Not personally. But during my trial it was the topic of conversation throughout the Estates. True, the panel kept quiet about it. But the Wizengamot was quite talkative even though they knew that the matter would certainly come before them as soon as the Manor Court was done."

"Well," Dora said, "as I am not on the Wizengamot and therefore sitting in judgment and I was not part of the Pettigrew investigation, I can talk about it."

"You were there?" Sirius asked.

"We were given time off from training to see 'the trial of a real mutt' as our instructor told us. You made quite the entrance."

Sirius chuckled. "I was in the loo. And compared to Gringotts, it was not one of my more memorable ones."

"Still. Shows up late with three Aurors all over him his first appearance in Chambers. Must be some kind of first."

"Really?" James asked.

"The idiot in charge thought I was barred for some reason," Sirius replied. "Don't know what Amelia's like as a boss. Moody would probably send him off for Holiday guard detail at Azkaban for being stupid."

"Well, I don't know 'bout that," Dora said. "Just a trainee, you know. If I did something stupid like that it'd be exhaustion drills 'til I dropped if Daniels had any say 'bout it. Then again, he's done that just 'cause the sun rose in the morning. But he was right about the Veritiserum. I always thought you were kind of out of it under that potion. Pettigrew was real chatty."

"That was out of character for him" Sirius said. "The potion does make you want to talk."

"Anyway," Dora pressed on, "when Madam Bones was done I would've thought he was just this side of Aunt Bellatrix; one right sadistic bastard as bad as any of them. But then his defense guy had a go at him and I don't know. He just seems pathetic, now. Almost seems as if most of what he says he did he just thought up or something."

"You can't just make stuff up under Veritiserum," Lily offered.

"No," Sirius agreed, "but if you're delusional and believe in your fantasy world, Veritiserum won't stop you from living in that world. I can see how someone could reach that conclusion. Pettigrew claimed he killed Marlene McKinnon, for one."

"I thought Travers copped to that," James said.

"He did. Named his crew as well, most of whom were already dead. Never named Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew says it's 'cause You-Know-Who told that lot not to ask about their extra member," Dora said. "His guy kept asking for proof of what he said earlier and he always and an excuse as to why there wasn't any."

"Which could be the truth, or that of a delusional mind," Sirius said. "I don't think he's delusional not that it matters really. Still, it puts a lot of what he might've done before betraying us into question. But I'm sure Amelia will tie it together. They got him dead to rights on the Camden Towne killings and his advocate didn't really push that one."

"Well, he did get Pettigrew to make it seem like you were a cold blooded killer," Dora said.

"Back then and on the job, that was not far off the mark," Sirius said. "I killed quite a few of the Mutts and seldom took prisoners. Then again, most of them didn't want to go quietly and I wanted to go home so it was either them or us."

"Thought it was an open and shut case," Ted Tonks said.

"Pretty much is on the Godrics Hollow and Camden Towne stuff," Sirius said. "Knew nothing 'bout the rest of his … activities. That wasn't the Peter Pettigrew I knew, assuming I knew him at all. But his lawyer did make it sound as if a lot of it was true in his delusional mind only."

"Who's the lawyer?"

"Some young kid named Bole," Sirius said.

"The kid? Really?"

Sirius nodded. "Know him?"

"Not socially. He works almost entirely on the Muggle side for his father's firm. Get the impression he thinks wizarding law is a major step down from real law. He's pretty good on that side. Has a fair few Muggle clients."

"A wizard?" Lily asked. "I didn't know wizards practiced on that side."

"Most don't," Ted said. "I do, but only for wizarding clients. You need a degree to take on Muggles as clients so most firms with business on both sides usually use Squibs for that. He's an exception. Somehow managed to get into Cambridge. I'm surprised he took the case."

"Seems to me his father did then dumped it on him," Sirius said. "It seemed as if he walked into the office this morning and was handed the case and told to try it."

"Doubt it," Ted said. "The kid's too valuable on the Muggle side to take a magical defense case for a guy with no money to speak of. He took it for some reason. You say that old Roscoe had it?"

"That's what was said."

"The kid took it from him for some reason. Roscoe doesn't dump cases off on others."

"He outted you, you know," Dora said quietly.

"Outted who?" Andi asked.

Dora looked at Remus with a sad face.

"Me?" he asked. "What do you mean."

"I forgot that bit," Sirius said.

"He was on a rant, I guess, about how unfair life had been. Said nasty things about all his friends."

"Made Snivilus seem civil and conciliatory," Sirius said. "Polite even. I won't say any more hygienic."

"Then" Dora continued, "he said one was a werewolf. Got asked some questions about that. It seemed the lawyer didn't believe him, didn't believe there was a werewolf at Hogwarts but he wouldn't budge so the lawyer moved on. But your name came out."

"Just the last one," Sirius said.

"Still," Remus said. "It's not a common name." He sighed. "I wasn't expecting this as a career, but I've enjoyed teaching a lot. They haven't managed to keep someone in my post for more than three terms in ages and, well I knew this would happen sooner or later. I had hoped to make it to the end of the year at least."

"What makes you think you won't?" Lily asked.

"Please. We know the reality of things. Once the word gets out, the Howlers will fly and Dumbledore will have to let me go."

"Harry and the others won't like that," Lily said. "They're all on about how good you are. I swear, if some of them weren't in Gryffindor they might rank you as the best professor at the school, but…"

"It's hard to top Minerva," Remus said with a smile.

"Minerva, is it?" Sirius quipped.

"I _am _on staff … for now," he finished sadly.

"Rubbish," Sirius said. "Bunch of narrow minded idiots are not going to run our friend off unless he wants to run off. Do you?"

"No. As I said, can't say I want to spend my life at it and I have had some better paying jobs, but I do like what I'm doing now. But I don't see how it can be avoided in the end."

"True, I dare say the Board of Governors will have no choice but to listen to the concerns of the parents," Sirius began.

"Perhaps I should resign?"

"Unless, of course, there's something more persuasive than mere parents," Sirius finished with a grin.

"You only get the look when you're about to prank!" Lily scolded.

"Call it what you will, but hear me out and tell me it's not a good idea."

"It's not a good idea. Whatever it is, it's your idea. Ipso facto it can't be good!"

"Was it like this when they were younger?" Dora asked.

"Pretty much," Remus said. "So what's your idea then? I doubt it will work."

"You always say that," Sirius protested.

"And without my input, I was usually right."

"Fine!" he said with a false pout. "Right then," he continued. "what is the Board of Governor's top priority?"

"Maintaining the school's reputation," Lily said.

Andi snorted. "Then they're sleeping on the job, Lily. Hogwarts has been the second ranked of British Magical Schools for the last seven years. We've been behind in Defense for ages what with the revolving door on that job and, more recently, Potions. True, our NEWT level Potion students are probably a lot better overall than when we were there, but there are far, far fewer. We turn out the fewest of any school in Britain. Don't get me wrong. It's still a very good school. But the OWL and NEWT scores are down in those two areas as well as Muggle Studies and Divination."

"I can't believe Dumbledore would let things slip," Lily began. "I'm still getting used to this," she admitted. "He shouldn't be letting things slip."

"Might not be entirely his fault," Sirius said. "After all, he is not the final say on a lot of things. He can be overruled by the Board and has been, I've heard. They sacked him last term for a bit, remember? Harry and the others told us that.

"No. Dumbledore's not the key to this little problem. I won't say he's absolutely unimportant in the scheme of things, but he's not the key. The key is the Board and the Board can overrule Dumbledore and ignore Howlers if it suits them. Hogwarts is like any other economic thing. That being said, what is more important than quality to an economic entity?"

"What could be more important to a school?" Lily asked.

"Money," Sirius replied.

There was a pause before James laughed. "Oh that's absolutely brilliant!"

"Bribing the Board of Governors is brilliant?" Lily mocked.

"He never said bribes, he said money. You did mean what I think you meant, didn't you? An endowment of some kind?"

"I did. For shame, Lils, thinking I'd stoop to mere bribery! That's so unimaginative; so pedestrian. An endowment is harder to hide or deny and it's far more legal."

"Okay, I don't see how that helps."

"I offer the school an obscene amount of money in a conditioned endowment. They can use it for scholarships, salaries, patching the roof, whatever, but they must abide by the conditions or they lose it all. Those conditions would be that Mooney here remains on staff without regard to any external influences and any parent who objects has one option: pull out their kid and find them another school. The endowment would have to be large; large enough to offset potential losses in tuition. I could make it more palatable by saying that his term of employment is for this academic year with rights of first refusal for next year and each year after that meaning they can't hire anyone for that job unless he steps down of his own volition. Probably add something about his retaining his staff privileges as a permanent tutor. If they take a knut of the offer, they can't get rid of him 'til he says so. I could also add a bit where I have final say in any future hires for that position should Mooney step down at least for the foreseeable future."

"And that would work?"

"Well, they can always refuse and we're no worse off than we are now, are we? But if they accept, they bind themselves."

"Doesn't violate the School Charter," James added. "They can't be forced to violate that, not for all the gold in Gringotts."

"And how do you know?" Lily asked.

"Granddad was on the Board. Told me a bit about that as Potters tend to be on the Board. It's a magical charter. He said the price of violating it by those bound by it – and the Board is – can be nasty. But for those who don't believe in that stuff, there's a more tangible penalty: total lockdown of the school vaults. And we can assume the Charter is silent on the issue of Werewolves."

"Why?"

"'Cause Mooney here is one. He was admitted as a student and that did not violate the Charter and was hired on staff and that did not violate the Charter. There might be something about a Werewolf Headmaster, but it doesn't sound like Mooney's aiming for that job."

"Merlin forbid!" Remus said. "Dumbledore has a nicer office, but I don't want that work. Still, if word gets out – and it will eventually – I don't think money will change attitudes."

"Probably won't," Sirius agreed. "But they will look the other way if the price is right. True, there may be a few families who'll walk away, but most won't. Some can't give up the scholarships. Many won't want their children held back a year, which is what would happen or worse face placement examinations. Many won't want their kids to lose the historic prestige associated with attending Hogwarts. It'll make them squirm like worms, but they'll grudgingly shut their gobs. Ten million should do it."

"TEN MILLION! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Lily exclaimed.

"My husband is and can be many things," Connie chuckled. "But he is not and cannot be crazy. At his level of wealth, it's called eccentric."

"Well," Sirius said, "it might not need to be _that _much. But I'm sure by using the words 'million Galleons' I can get that lot to overlook anything that doesn't clearly violate the Charter."

"It could work," Ted said. "Would work if you move fast enough."

"Think you could set it up tomorrow while I'm stuck in my hard, cold seat in Courtroom 10?"

"Aside from your signature and final approval."

"Then we'll do it."

"I think Remus should have a say, don't you?" Lily asked.

"Thanks Padfoot," was all Remus could say.

**THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9****th**** 1993**

For two days it seemed that Madam Bones had paraded a veritable "Who's Who" of the Ministry's Auror Corps into the witness box. All had been Auror's or at least Hit Wizards back during the war and all had been involved in the various arrests and investigations of the incidents Pettigrew had spoken of when he was questioned. She included a pair who had been investigating the Daily Prophet. They said it had led nowhere, really. While they were certain the Death Eaters had someone inside, they had no idea if that was deliberate or merely a fortuitous circumstance of employment and had no idea that the paper was being used as a method of communicating orders for attacks and other nefarious activities. It seemed one of the glaring omissions in the investigation years ago was not learning how that organization communicated. Allistor Moody himself testified about that omission. They investigated such things when they could, but things being as they were they usually had to drop such inquiries to deal with more pressing cases of mass murder and such. Once the War was over, DMLE felt there was no immediate need so the resources were not allocated for what would have been an archival investigation as in something that would never be used outside of archival information.

Aside from the Camden Towne incident, Pettigrew had never been a "person of interest" to DMLE. But that was not to say his story could be nothing more than the figment of his deluded imagination. Far more often than not, DMLE was certain that while it had bagged or killed many of the Death Eaters involved in the attacks, it had not caught all of them nor did it know who the others were.

"They were very compartmentalized," Moody had said. "While there were those in the upper echelon who knew what was going to happen, the low level types often found out about other activities the way the rest of the Wizarding World did when it appeared in the papers. Low level Death Eaters seldom knew anyone outside of their operational cell and maybe a few of the high level, inner circle types; those who were already known to us anyway. And those inner circle types might know the cell leaders, but not many and certainly not all of his subordinates. When we caught a mutt, he could give us something but few could give us a lot and no mutt could give us everything."

"So it is possible that other Death Eaters would not know Pettigrew was one of them?" Madam Bones asked.

"If he was low level, I'd say probable outside of the other mutts in his little group and a handful of superiors who had a need to know."

"Is it possible he could've been assigned to another group for a job and they would not know who he was?"

"That was often done," Moody replied. "If an extra wand was needed or allowed, the extra's real identity was not revealed. Likewise that extra mutt did not have to know who he was doing the job with either. That way if one was caught, he could give up only his own cell and not the other."

"They sound like a paranoid bunch."

"That's one word," Moody said. "Security conscious are two more and vigilant is another. It certainly made our job a lot harder."

"Pettigrew claims his mark is invisible…"

"Not much of a claim. In most cases they were to the unaided eye," Moody said as he pointed to his real eye. "They had mutts in important positions that would've done them little good if all we had to do to find them was ask them to roll up their sleeves. You needed to use a rather complex detection charm to reveal a mark its wearer or You-Know-Who did not wish revealed; a spell that was beyond a fair few of our honest citizens."

"Could Aurors do such a spell?"

"We could. But rules were we needed to have reasonable grounds to suspect a person of being a Death Eater before doing so. From a security standpoint, I admit it would've been expedient to just do it whenever and to require it for anyone entering the Ministry at any time, even the Minister for Magic himself. But that was both impractical from a manpower standpoint and it would've conceded something to the mutts which was the same as conceding a defeat so we did not make such checks. Had we nipped Pettigrew at a crime scene, we'd've found his tat. But short of that or some other mutt fingering him to cut a deal, we'd've probably never known he was one of them."

Over two days, Amelia's witnesses explained away most of Pettigrew's explanations. What they did not do probably because they could not was put him unequivocally at the scene of many of the crimes he claimed to have committed. He certainly could have been there and there was testimony to the effect that in more than a few cases he seemed to know things that could only be known to someone who had been there at the time, or at least had been there as part of the ensuing investigation. Those details were not in any public documents. But as Mr. Bole was able to point out, it was plausible that he had been there as the rat, a witness rather than a participant. That was a disturbing thought, but it was not a crime to watch a crime being committed. Sirius wondered how it would turn out in the end for those crimes.

The attack on the Potters and the events a few days later in London that left a dozen Muggles in pieces and scores injured were not subject to such questions. True, there were no witnesses to corroborate Pettigrew's version of the events of October 31st, 1981. James and Lily were not going to be revealed to the rest of the world for that and they had not seen Peter at all. Sirius's testimony at his trial went unchallenged, thus there was another witness to the change in Secret Keeper and Professor Flitwick's testimony was of record as well as to what that meant: that only Peter could have brought Voldemort to the Potter's safe house. He did not need to be in the room to be a part of the murder scheme (even if in reality it was only an attempt.) Likewise, there was little question as to the principal events in Camden Towne. All Mr. Bole could do was point out the obvious that there were two sides to the story: Sirius's and Pettigrew's.

One of her last witnesses was a younger Auror, one who was clearly too young to have been one back during the War. Her name was Hestia Jones and she had been tasked to follow up on something that Pettigrew had said a few days before. She had gone to Godric's Hollow and found a large, lone oak tree about a quarter of a mile west of town on a rise alongside the road. She detected something magical at its base and realized something was buried there. She dug and found and old metal box. She said it was Muggle in origin and had been used for sweets of some kind, but that style of container was decades out of fashion. Inside, there was a much newer style plastic bag, one that could be sealed to keep moisture and water either in or out. In this case it would seem it was to keep it out. Inside the bag was a wand. She could not identify the wand as belonging to anyone in particular, but it had a distinctive, carved bone handle which was probably a later add-on. As soon as she was done, Mr. Ollivander was called.

"As a wandmaker, you are familiar with your own creations?" Madam Bones asked.

"Indeed, and not just mine. I can identify any and every wand I've ever sold even if it had been made by my great-great grandfather. I am, of course, familiar with the works of past masters and many of my contemporaries."

"You've sold wands that old? Made by your great-great grandfather?"

"Older, indeed. It is as you know the wand that chooses its wielder and not the other way around. It is true that wands can be made custom, made for a particular user. It is an interesting process, but time consuming and expensive for the potential customer. Certainly, it would be inadvisable to custom make a wand for everyone. Most witches and wizards purchase their first wand from my shop, as you are probably aware and since I cannot foresee who they will be and what their specific magic requires, I make many wands even if but a few are sold in any given year."

"If I handed you a wand, would you be able to tell me if you made it?"

"Most certainly. And even if not, if I sold it I could tell you that as well and I could tell to whom it was sold."

"Just out of curiosity, how long have you been making and selling wands."

"I completed my basic apprenticeship under my grandfather in 1906. My father lacked the aptitude it seems as did my son. The talent seems to skip generations as often as not. I've had the business as sole proprietor since 1933. I can speak to any wand sold from Ollivander's from 1933 to the present. As to before that date, I can tell you if my family made it for certain."

"Have you had an apprentice? Someone working at the shop who sold a wand in your place?"

"Alas, no. My son had no children and my daughter's children sought their fortunes elsewhere as it were. I always have an eye out for talent, but no. While I dare say I do not fear passing for me is imminent, increasingly it seems that Ollivander's may pass from this world with me. Most regrettable."

"I am going to show you a wand that is of interest to this inquiry and would like for you to identify it if you can." Amelia then handed Ollivander the wand that had been found outside Godric's Hollow. He gasped and almost dropped it. "Do you recognize this wand?" Amelia asked.

"Indeed. I've come to regret ever having made it. I have not seen it in over fifty years, mind you, and have not wished to see it in the last twenty for certain. The bone handle is not my work. Most disrespectful. Then again, its wielder respected nothing and no one so why should I expect him to respect my work? Yew and Phoenix feather, yes. The feather came from a particularly prideful or reticent bird. I could not tell you which. Most excellent quality core. But alas, though I see him from time to time, he has given me but one other plume in the last fifty years. This was one of my creations, much to my regret and the regrets of many others."

"When did you sell it?"

"I cannot give you a specific date without referring to my records, but I'm pretty certain it was the summer of 1936, just a few weeks before the boy who it chose began Hogwarts."

"Do you recall the name?"

"I do indeed. I recall each and every customer I've had. But even if I did not, he managed to stand out in my mind and many others I should add. His name was Tom Riddle."

"Riddle? I'm not familiar with that name."

"And why should you be? While it was the name he was born with, it is not the name for which he is remembered. As Tom Riddle, he stood out somewhat at Hogwarts: Slytherin Prefect, Head Boy, exceeded as a scholar at that tender age only by our Chief Warlock. But perhaps he was not content with that. He adopted a nom de guerre which most do recall but few ever speak aloud: Lord Voldemort."

There were gasps as one might expect when anyone uttered that name to another. But the commotion was short lived as the members of the Wizengamot more or less expected that identification after Pettigrew had said he had buried the wand as his insurance policy. With that answer, Madam Bones rested her case. Mr. Bole had no questions for the wandmaker and announced he would call but two witnesses which seemed to be appreciated by everyone.

"I call Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt," he began. The man had testified at Sirius's trial mainly about the so called confession. Sirius knew him from that time, although they had never been assigned to the same team. He was soon seated in the witness chair and Bole established that he was there pursuant to a subpoena and not of his own volition.

"Auror Shacklebolt," Bole began, "for expedience sake and because the Petit Panel has so ruled, I would like to take your testimony from the Manor Court Proceeding of Sirius Black as read and I asked you here to expand upon it and clarify it in some cases."

"That's a question?" Kingsley replied.

"An introductory statement so that we're both on the same parchment as it were. Now as I understand your testimony, you were at the scene of the incident in Camden Towne, London on November 2nd 1981, but in the follow up teams, correct?"

"The Auror side of the clean-up detail, yes."

"Describe it to us please?"

"When I arrived?"

"A general overview should suffice, yes. Was Black there?"

"He had already been taken away as had the Muggle injured. The Muggle police was there in force although most were assigned to keep the gawkers away. They had a team that was going over the scene practically with tooth picks looking for evidence and identifying those bits that were human remains."

"As opposed to what?"

"Apparently there was a meat pie vendor at the point of detonation and his wares were all over the place as well. I suppose the Muggles were not inclined to bag up splattered meat pie and try to pass it off as the remains of one of the vics to their bereaved relations."

"Point of detonation? I seem to recall something about a blasting curse, not a bomb."

"It's a term we use for the effect. A blasting curse is a concentrated burst of magical energy that … well blasts what it hits. But if it should strike something that can resist the blast, such as the pavement of the sidewalk, it will reflect back and in all directions not unlike a bomb. If it is powerful enough and the reflection occurs close enough to the point of casting, the effects are almost indistinguishable from a bomb."

"Quite a mess, I should imagine."

"It was. It happened around lunchtime on a busy street. There were a lot of people who were too close. Not including Pettigrew who was believed to be dead, eleven Muggles dead at the scene and another died a little later at the hospital and over fifty injured or at least injured enough to seek their Healer's attention. Four lost limbs but survived."

"Changing topics, I recall from your testimony that the interrogation of Black was not … um … strictly in accordance with procedure, correct?"

"The man was unresponsive and borderline hysterical. He was unable to respond to questioning so it was hardly an interrogation."

"Or a confession?"

"Or a confession."

"Did that bother you at the time?"

"I regret not as much as it should have. I was not one of the arresting Aurors so I did not see or think I saw what happened and I can't say I was privy to all open investigations. I had recently been promoted to Investigator and was young for that so I assumed the Head of DMLE knew things I did not. I assumed they had something on Black such that an interrogation or true confession was unnecessary. With all that was going on, I soon let the matter slip."

"Did your impressions of those events begin to change at any time prior to the Manor Court?"

"I had pretty much forgotten about it until Black escaped back in July. I was put on that case so had occasion to look at his complete files and … it really made no sense at all."

"Oh?"

"The common understanding was that all that was left of Pettigrew was a finger. I could see that statement although I would have believed it to have meant all that was left that was recognizable was his finger. The blasting curse, even if it reflects as that one did, does not truly obliterate a body nor does it banish the bits. There should've been bits and pieces of Pettigrew all over the scene. The Muggles have their ways of telling which bits belong to which person and which do not and we have ours. We can detect the residual magic of the victim in the bits of bone and tissue even if there's no other way to say for certain that those bits were once a human. Our investigative team found absolutely no such traces anywhere. Unless Pettigrew was a Squib, there should have been magical traces of him in the blast debris and yet there was not. That meant there were no other bits of Pettigrew aside from that finger which made no sense. It was impossible unless…"

"Unless?"

"I spoke to Madam Bones about this and without more there really was nothing we could do, but she agreed with me. I read somewhere and expression. When you eliminate the impossible, what's left however improbable must be the truth. It was impossible for there to be no sign or trace of Pettigrew – aside from the finger – in the blast debris unless there really was no bits of him in the debris; unless he was not there at all! That meant somehow he must have survived and gotten clean away and no one was the wiser except, as we now know, Lord Black but he was not in a clear state of mind at the time."

"And what did you do with that information?"

"Without more? Without additional proof there was little we could do except look for more."

"Did this affect the Black investigation?"

"Well, given other irregularities noted at his trial, it certainly raised questions in our mind. But without Pettigrew or Black, that's all they were. Just because Pettigrew may have survived the attack, it does not follow that he was the mass murderer although it is suspicious especially as he had not been seen or heard from since. For my part, that information was not as damning as was the lack of any trial or any prior or ongoing investigation into Black's supposedly well known Death Eater and dark activities. Before that day in London, no one suspected him or was investigating him about anything. In other words, it meant that all the then head of DMLE had on him was that interview and that interview was useless. We didn't know what to think or do with it given the climate and our orders from the Minister for Magic. Then we got the Manor Court subpoena which was another odd thing."

"Odd?"

"There hasn't been a convened Manor Court in close to two hundred years and that was a property dispute between two tenants. Moreover, it was House Potter that issued the subpoena, signed by Madam Longbottom the House Proxy and issued through Gringotts, but it was under the seal of House Potter which could not be the case unless there was a legitimate Lord Potter. The only contender was a boy at Hogwarts."

"So the thing was invalid?"

"On the contrary. It issued through Gringotts which adjudicates inheritances as a neutral arbiter. If Gringotts said there was a Lord Potter then there was one and as Head of an Ancient and Noble House he could direct his proxy to call a Manor Court."

"Am I correct in stating that the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter is a minor?"

"Emancipated minor, but yes."

"Emancipated as to many things, but still a minor as far as his Wizengamot privileges are concerned."

"True."

"So, his Proxy could have refused to call the Court."

"True. But obviously that did not happen and as the forms were all in order, we had to comply with the requests. Still, we were curious. House Potter wanted copies of anything the Ministry had on Sirius Black. That too was odd."

"A lot of people were curious about the alleged escaped mass murderer," Bole noted.

"But no one convened a Manor Court and initiated a full on inquiry. We looked into what might be the reason why and found it, or we thought we had."

"What did you find."

"The current Lord Potter was next in line after Sirius Black for Head of House Black. The first thing we learned going through the records was that contrary to popular belief, Black was never disowned. We then learned that unless Black has a legitimate child out there somewhere, the current Lord Potter stood to inherit the Black estates. I thought House Potter was just trying to figure out where it stood."

"In other words House Potter wanted to know whether it would get it's hands on the goodies."

"Objection!" Madam Bones began.

"I was not privy to what House Potter was doing and refused to speculate on their motives," Kingsley said.

"I have no more questions," Bole said.

"You received memoranda from me during the course of all of this, didn't you?" Amelia asked.

"Certainly," Kingsley said.

"And you have reviewed them?"

"I have. The first was around July 23rd assigning me as Lead Auror in the manhunt for Sirius Black and giving me quite liberal manpower support for the assignment. You stressed the need to find him as soon as possible but more important the need to prevent him from … well, from doing anything untoward. There were follow up memos clarifying that point and I suppose prodding me to ask for more than I had."

"That changed, didn't it?"

"August 12th, your memo to be restricted me to two Aurors for the investigation. All other DMLE personnel were to return to their regular duties. This was before we had the Manor Court subpeopna and when I asked you told me you had a very good idea where Black was and that he was both not about to go anywhere and was not an immediate threat. That was after the incident at Gringotts, which you reminded me was outside our jurisdiction entirely. When I enquired, you told me Black was already in custody, but in another jurisdiction; one that would not honor any request for extradition under our current political climate."

"What was that climate?"

"The orders from the Minister of Magic was that Black was to be killed on sight. Rewards posted for his capture were clear that he was to be delivered to the Ministry devoid of life if they wished to collect."

"Did I tell you where Black was?"

"Not geographically, it turns out," Kingsley chuckled. "You said he was in the custody and under the formal protection of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. That meant as long as he honored the sanctuary and stayed on Potter property, we could not touch him but were he to leave he was fair game. You also pointed out what I already knew: that Black had never stood trial for so much as spitting in an inappropriate place. House Potter's position was clear, you said. Unless the Ministry rescinded its orders and the Wizengamot guaranteed a trial, even one under veritiserum, Black would never set foot in our world again and legal steps would be taken both here and in the ICW."

"Did I tell you why House Potter had taken such an interest in Black?"

"It was because a dead Sirius Black meant that House Potter would inherit House Black and you said that the current Head would not consider taking another wife unless there were no other acceptable alternative. House Potter believed Black was innocent – they were right – and an exonerated Lord Black could get properly married and have an heir or at least a future Regent saving House Potter the aggravation of having to beget heirs for that line as well as its own and House Abbott." By this point, Harry's marriages to Hermione, Luna, Daphne and Hannah were old news. "While I was not yet aware of just how complicated things were on that front for House Potter," there were laughs at this, "I could well imagine the lad's reticence. I have but one wife. I do love her dearly. But one is more than enough, thank you."

"No more questions."

Bole called only one other witness. As soon as the man said what he did for a living, Sirius pretty much tuned him out. The man was a Squib, which probably caused a fair few of the others to stop listening. Sirius was not so narrow-minded and was becoming even less so. But the man was a criminal psychologist with Scotland Yard and Sirius knew his job was to try and excuse Pettigrew and perhaps blame society or some rot for what the bastard had done. He didn't listen to the details at all; merely reread the letter from Barkin, the current Chairman of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. It was an effusive acceptance of the endowment with a comment that it was about time someone did something about the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ted had told them the letter sealed the deal. Ted opined that it remained possible that the statement about Mooney the student might not be remembered and even if it was it was possible the connection between Mooney the student werewolf and Mooney the Professor werewolf might still be avoided for some time. But the endowment now meant that job was under the control of House Black and if House Black wanted a werewolf, then no one could override him save possibly the Wizengamot. Then again, House Black was now part of the largest voting block with the other Estate Houses. It was not a majority, but it was large enough to keep the bigots in this room from mucking it up.

Sirius had no idea how long the Scotland Yard chap was on the stand. It didn't seem long at all and when he was done, so was Bole and so was the show. When Bole was allowed his chance to sum up the case, it was entertaining if unpersuasive. He tried to paint Pettigrew as one who was merely hedging his bets at a time of "great uncertainty about the course and shape of our future." He further suggested that Pettigrew was somehow unstable and that most if not all his testimony was that of a delusional mind and the Ministry had not provided any evidence that Pettigrew real did what he said he did, nor that he was even there to do it. He also suggested somehow this was all some kind of nefarious plot about inheritances. When he was done aside from the Wizengamot, everyone left the chamber.

"The case is submitted," Dumbledore said. "We shall now vote count by count. An Aye shall be recorded as a vote that the accused is guilty of the crime specified in such count, a Nay not guilty and an Abstain for not proven.

"Count ONE: That the accused Peter Alan Pettigrew did on or about 29 August 1979 in Ipswich committed rape in that he had sexual congress with Darlene Doyle, Muggle age fifteen, without her legal consent and through the use of force and facilitated such rape by means of the Imerius Curse in violation of law, how do you find?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well?" James asked when Sirius entered the room. They were waiting for him at Potter Manor.

"Life without parole," Sirius replied.

"So he was convicted then? Good." Harry said.

"Not quite that simple, but that's the gist of it."

"Not that simple?" Ginny asked.

"He was charged with a hundred and forty-three separate counts, most of which can get you life in that pit. He was convicted on eighty-seven of those counts, acquitted on twenty-two and the case was found to be not proven on the rest."

"Not proven?" Harry asked.

"Our law allows for three outcomes," Sirius said. "Guilty, meaning the evidence says the mutt did it. Not guilty, which means the Wizengamot did not believe the mutt did it. And not proven, which meant there was evidence suggestive of guilt but not enough to convince the Wizengamot of guilt. For example, it was not proven that Pettigrew was attempting Line Theft when he went after your parents with Voldemort that night nor that he was attempting it when he tried to kill me to get away. He was convicted of trying to kill us, but not that added bit where he or someone else stood to gain from our demises."

"So that's over then?" Connie asked.

Sirius nodded. "Dumbledore lost some points with some members."

"Oh?" some voices asked.

"Once we finished voting on the counts, he made an impassioned plea for clemency. Made it sound like he hoped we'd give the rat a proper scolding and send him on his way. Talked about giving misguided souls a chance to redeem themselves and some such rot. Said something about the Veil being permanent, irreversible."

"The veil?" the young people asked.

"There's this thing in the Department of Mysteries called the Veil," Sirius said. "We still have the death penalty on the books, although I don't think anyone alive was around the last time it was used. For all I know, the thing doesn't work. But it's said if you pass through it you pass on. No one' passed through who has lived to tell the tale as far as anyone knows. Maybe that's what Dumbledore was on about 'cause it was clear Fudge was all for it in this case. Dumbledore wasted his breath and our time. Once it was clear Fudge wanted Pettigrew to snuff it, the Wizengamot stuck it to him. Peter got life and Fudge lost the authority to have anything to do with dementors and life and death decisions. He was rather put out about that. He was all on about how never before has the Wizengamot stripped a Minister of his any of his executive authority. Don't know who it was who replied that never before had we Cornelius Fudge as Minister. Thought it was funny, myself. Then again, that incompetent fool had ordered my summary execution and I'm pretty sure that exceeded his authority."

"So it's done then," Hannah said.

"For now," Harry replied.


	62. Chapter 62: Holiday Plans

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: FYI. Given the length of this tome and the number of chapters to come, I'll probably break it in two with a sequel coming immediately. But that won't happen with this installment. (I figured breaking at the Holidays made sense for a variety of reasons not in the least of which is old plot points resolved for now and new ones arising)...

**CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO: HOLIDAY PLANS  
**

**SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11****th**** 1993**

Harry and his ladies were seated at the table in their informal dining room enjoying breakfast. Mondays through Fridays they took their meals in the Great Hall at school but aside from the one day before Gryffindor's first Quidditch match, it had been a long time since they had done so on a weekend aside from diner on Sunday nights.

"Professor McGonagall wants to know if we're going home for the Hols," Hermione said as she buttered her toast. "It's a week away Outside, you know."

"But we are home," Ginny replied.

"I think she means are we taking the Hogwarts Express to King's Cross or not."

"Sounds rather silly to me," Hannah said. "I mean we can get to our parents' places with access trunks or, in Harry's case, by portal. As much fun as the train ride was back in September, why waste nine hours?"

"I don't know," Daphne said. "Doesn't Draco pop 'round and do something dumb? That could provide a moment's amusement."

"He has," Harry said. "But that assumes he's on the train. He didn't go home for Christmas last year."

"And I don't think nine hours on a train is worth it for a few minutes of the Dumb Draco show," Ginny added. "I'd rather just be here. Besides, Ron and Katie told me they're going to skip it and go to the Burrow by access trunk Friday night."

"Why?" several asked.

"'Cause they're planning to get hitched at Gringotts while everyone else is on the train. Don't ask me why."

"My fault," Harry said. "I asked Gringotts to set up the distribution from the dead snake stuff for as soon as convenient after term ends. They scheduled it for next Saturday as term ends Friday. We should get the formal notice tomorrow assuming it's not in today's post. I didn't tell Ron, but suggested to the two of them that they do it next Saturday – get married, I mean."

"Why didn't you tell them why?" Hermione asked.

"Want it to be a bit of a surprise. Haven't had time to get them a marriage gift but figured this would do sort of."

"And Katie asked me if you lot can be there," Ginny said. "And me too, of course."

The others agreed as well. "I'll inform Professor McGonagall later, then," Hermione said.

"Damn!" Harry exclaimed looking at the paper.

"Language Harry!" Hermione scolded. "And I do hope there was a reason for such inappropriate language."

"Now, Hermione," Ginny replied, "it's not like he's Ron and the Cannon's lost again – although for the life of me I can't understand why he always seems surprised. He's not even reading the sports section."

"Well, what has caused the arrival of Sir Potty-Mouth?" Hannah asked.

"It wasn't that bad," Harry complained.

"No, but it's also not an everyday thing for you," Daphne added. "What's in the paper that inspires such comment?"

"It seems Pettigrew escaped."

"What?" a few voices replied. "Damn!" Ginny added.

"Says here they were transporting him to Azkaban. You got to read through a lot of rubbish complaining about how they do that and asking why can't they just use the floo or portkeys or something to get to that. Apparently, they were at a dock waiting for a boat when three blokes in black robes with masks approached and started firing hexes."

"Death Eaters?" Daphne gasped.

"Well, it says they were dressed like them and the stuff they threw at the Aurors and Pettigrew wasn't tickling charms. One Auror and one of the attackers were killed. The other two attackers were taken prisoner, but Pettigrew vanished."

"Went back to being a rat?" Luna asked.

"Fair bet that's how he did it," Harry said. "The dead Auror's wand's missing too."

"Who's the dead Auror?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty sure no one we know," Harry said. "I don't recognize the name. Not even a déjà vu thing. Don't recognize the name of the dead attacker either."

None of the others recognized them either.

"Who were the two others?" Ginny asked.

"Last names were Crabbe and Goyle," Harry said.

"You mean like Crabbe and Goyle in Slytherin?" Hannah asked.

"Same name, although it could be uncles or something."

"Those two troll aren't that lucky," Daphne commented. "It's probably their fathers. The son's might be the bright ones in that family."

"Okay, there's an unpleasant thought," Hermione groaned. "I'm not even sure if they are intelligent enough to talk. Never heard them talk."

"They can to a limited degree," Daphne said. "Or at least that's all I ever heard from them. Mostly it's just grunts and the expected laugh of a sycophant."

"A what?" Harry asked.

"The only kind of person who'd think anything Malfoy said was witty."

"Oh."

"Why were you so upset when you read that, Harry," Luna asked. "I mean, you did tell us a while back that in your future memory it was Pettigrew who helped You-Know-Who come back and he can't very well do that from Azkaban, can he?"

"No," Harry replied. "But this is much sooner than it was then. Pettigrew didn't scamper for months. That means he could be back sooner than our memories allow."

"It could," Luna nodded, "but I doubt it. I had another memory uncap or something like it the other night – the night Lord Black told us about the verdict and stuff."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hermione asked.

"Because it made absolutely no sense at all," Luna replied. "As it made no sense to me, a part of me thought it might not be what I thought it was so it would worry the rest of you to tell you something that had nothing to do with anything. Another part of me thought that it was what I thought it was, but the information was incomplete and until I had that bit too, it was almost useless. Well, what Harry told us is that bit. Pettigrew escaped, which I knew both 'cause Harry told us that happened in the other time and 'cause my memory told me that too, although mine was not about it happening. I think it was from years later."

"Oh?" several voices asked.

Luna nodded. "I was in … well, it looked like a dungeon and I wasn't there as a tourist like some of the places we visited over the summer. I don't think I was the only one there. In my memory I didn't feel all alone. But it was dark so if there were others I couldn't see them and they weren't saying anything. Pettigrew was there, but it was like he was the jailer and I was the prisoner. He was going on about how important he was to You-Know-Who. It was boring and, I dare say, it was hard to sort fact from fantasy. And people say I'm Looney! Anyway, without going into the details that might've been his fantasy, he got away late this coming spring and found You-Know-Who in early summer. Again, there were bits I couldn't take as accurate, but what I consider close to the truth was that whatever plan You-Know-Who has – and I think he has the basics of it even as we speak, he came up with the thing after Harry defeated him when he went after Grammy and Grampy's stone before Ginny and I started school. Anyway, his plan can't even start 'til next fall and can't be carried on to any conclusion until much later. There might be other ways, other things he could do. But he wants something and he can't get that something except with the same convoluted plan he tried in the other time, or something almost identical. I guess the point is, Pettigrew scampering now really doesn't change anything important."

"It doesn't?" Harry asked.

"Well, it does, but not in a way that changes what you and Hermione remember or will remember, I should think. Funny."

"What's funny?" Hermione asked. "Pettigrew's escaped early, you say that doesn't matter? What's funny about that?"

"Oh, not that," Luna said. "I think for now that's what my future memories are on about. I don't think I was a part of things for a long while yet and even then, I wasn't really a part of them. I was more like an interested friend watching her friends play a Quidditch Match. It mattered to me what happened, but I was not in the game and could only watch and see – and see from a different perspective, you know? My first memory from that other time wasn't about what you two remembered. There was nothing about Lord Black in it. It was about the dementors, remember? We were already going to try and get Sirius free, right? But my memory said we needed to do so a lot sooner than you two were thinking 'cause of what the dementors would do otherwise."

"Okay, but now your memory says we shouldn't worry about Pettigrew."

"Exactly! I glad you get it."

"I don't."

"Neither do I, Luna. Sorry," Harry added.

"Oh pooh! Okay. So far, like the spectator at the Quidditch game, my memories have been on the edge of things that are actually happening. You guys see the details 'cause you're in the Match. I see the Match 'cause I'm not. Maybe that doesn't make sense and I need a better example. But I think my memories for now are … I don't know … to keep us honest as it were? You were content just to get Sirius safe and maybe to get him free. My memories said we had to do more and that was without knowing about Sally-Anne's bond or Anna at all. In that other time, they died without knowing any of that, right? In this case something happened sooner than before but I had a memory that says it doesn't change anything important so we don't have to worry about the fact that Pettigrew got away."

"You didn't have a memory about the Horcruxes," Hermione suggested.

"Maybe I never saw that part of the match."

"That kind of makes sense," Ginny offered.

"It doesn't help the Auror who died," Harry said sadly.

"No it doesn't," Luna replied seriously. "But do you honestly think we can save everyone or that it would be best if we tried? Because we got rid of the dementors on the train, Anna lived when before she died. Because Sirius was exonerated when he was Sally-Anne lived when she would've died. But people will still die. Maybe they did anyway, and maybe they didn't. Maybe more people have to die in the next few years than did before in order that millions don't have to die years and years from now. We can't worry about the things our memories can't stop and we have to accept that whatever we do people will still die. We are talking about You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters and when they do things, people die and that won't stop until they can never do things again."

"I suppose," Harry said. "Any other memories?"

"A bit more, although it makes no sense."

"Maybe it will to us," Hermione suggested.

"Okay. In that conversation, I learned who teaches Defense for the next few years in that time. It's never the same person from one year to the other."

"And that's news?" Daphne asked. "There hasn't been a Defense professor who's been here longer than three terms in a long time. The last retired before any of our parents were here."

"Didn't say it was news," Luna said. "But Lord Black did tell us about his endowment the other night one which he thinks will keep Professor Lupin on as our Defense teacher. My memory suggests that might not be a good idea."

"Because of his condition?" Hermione asked.

"No. Because that might upset significant events; make changes that might render our memories useless. For some reason it's important that Professor Lupin not return as our Defense Teacher next year."

"And after that?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, I don't think it matters after. In fact, I think it might be a good idea at least while we can remain at school. But next year would not be good."

"That really doesn't tell us why it's important," Hannah noted.

"We'll learn the why eventually," Harry said. "But after all Sirius did…"

"The endowment keeps him on staff," Daphne said. "This doesn't mean he can't be on staff, does it?"

Luna thought for a moment. "No. I'm pretty sure it's only about that position."

"In that case, what's the worry?"

"But Sirius went through a lot of trouble," Hermione began.

"To keep the idiots from running Professor Lupin off," Daphne said. "The Endowment only guarantees that post 'til the end of this school year. Afterwards, it seems less clear. They can't kick him off the staff, but he's not certain to be the Defense teacher – or the only one – after we finish this year. He can remain as a tutor or in some similar capacity if he chooses not to teach or if he needs to step aside from the Defense job for some reason. After all, endowment or no there's going to be a lot of objections once people figure out what he is."

"They haven't yet," Harry offered.

"No," Hermione said. "And that bit about him as a student wasn't clear in the paper. The reporter left out the name. But he does 'get sick' every month and sooner or later someone outside of those of us who know will figure out it's right around the Full Moon and begin to wonder about it."

"And it doesn't help that Snape hates him," Harry said. "I don't think Snape will out him right off. He would've done so already. But if the gossip types really get their teeth into a rumor that Mooney's a werewolf, he might confirm it somehow."

"Well, that's not good," Hermione huffed. "The school rumor mill's an unstoppable force of nature!"

"It can be slowed," Daphne said. "Parvati's part of that circle and she could slow it, keep it from reaching a critical point 'til later like close to end of year exams when it won't matter as much."

"How can you say that?"

"'Cause it won't. But if it gets out before then, things might get ugly endowment or no. He might have to leave or something and then who would teach us?"

"What should we do?" Harry asked.

"Nothing for now, I should think," Daphne replied. "I haven't heard anything of that sort being passed about. Heck, they're still on about Ron and Katie. If they haven't begun to figure things out then doing something to keep them from doing so might actually have the opposite effect. I think we should wait."

"And what about what Luna says about next year?"

"We wait on that as well. Once this breaks – and it will… Professor Snape might be quiet now but I guess he figures one of us students will figure it out. He'll do something stupid if it seems we're too thick. Once it breaks, we can tell Professor Lupin and the others. Until then, he should focus on remaining the best Defense teacher anyone can remember."

The others agreed, reluctantly.

**SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12****th**** 1993**

"You asked to see me, Professor?" the blonde haired boy said.

"Have a seat, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Snape replied. "I should begin by asking whether you have heard from your mother recently."

Draco Malfoy snorted. "Why should I? She may be my mother but we hardly correspond. We're not that close at all."

"You seem to be overly familiar, Mr. Malfoy. Or have you forgotten how to address your Head of House?"

"Sorry Sir. No Sir. I have not heard from my mother recently. Not since I left for school … Sir."

"Better. Have you made any attempt to communicate with her?"

"No Sir. I see no need to tell her things… Sir."

"Surely, you would have occasion to discuss your plans for the Holidays."

"With Father away, what plans would I have but to stay here, … Sir?"

"And interesting choice of words. You do realize where he is? You do realize he will not be leaving?"

"I am not as accepting of such things as most. I'm sure my father has it sorted. It's just a matter of time, is all."

"I see," Snape said slowly. "What makes you think that?"

"Simple. If a Blood Traitor like Black can get out, my Father can."

"You are forgetting yourself, Mr. Malfoy. What is worse, you are revealing your ignorance. I knew them both, Mr. Malfoy. In some areas I dare say I'd place my Galleons on your father. But in doing what many consider impossible? Your father lacks the imagination and certainly the particular skill Black used to obtain his release. You can believe me or live in your fantasy world, but I sincerely doubt your father will leave that island alive, not by his skills alone. There are those who are every bit as clever as your father who have never managed to escape. Before Black, the few desperate enough to try all died in the attempt, something I'm sure your father is aware of. Whatever you may wish to believe, as far as the rest of the Wizarding World in concerned, your father is dead."

"But he's not dead!" Draco protested.

"Not physically, no," Snape replied. "But neither has he any ability to manage his affairs or move forward with any of his schemes."

"So I'm Head of House Malfoy then?"

"And why would that be?"

"Because my Father can't be! You said he's in for life. The paper said he's in for life. That means I'm supposed to be Head of House, right? I am emancipated now, aren't I?"

"For losing your father to prison? I think not."

"But Potter is! That useless squib Longbottom is! Oh, I get it. It's mother. She's standing in the way, isn't she?" Snape glared at him. "Sir."

"First of all, my personal feelings and observations notwithstanding, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom's situation are in no way analogous to yours. They were not emancipated because they are the last in line for Heads of their Houses. Losing one's parents, without more, is not grounds for such. Their emancipation is entirely due to their being married. Even if their parents were alive or able to continue as Head of House, their marriages would have resulted in emancipation. The same is true for any student at this school without regard to their family's status which is why the law grants very few exceptions to the general rule that you must be at least sixteen to marry. I am not privy to which exception those two slid under to gain their emancipation, but I can assure you it had nothing to do with the status of their parents and it was completely legal and beyond question or challenge." Actually, Snape did know the reason. But if Draco had not bothered to figure that out for himself, Snape was not about to do the boy's thinking for him. "As for Narcissa, she is in no position to do anything one way or the other regarding the future of House Malfoy such as it may be."

"Of course not," Draco sneered. "Father would never allow her to control House Malfoy. Nor would I allow such from a woman."

"I see you missed the point entirely. Regrettable. It is a pity Narcissa did not see to it you were informed of your change in circumstances before now, but as you said you two did not correspond."

"What did _she _do?" Draco almost hissed.

"There was little she could do, I would assume," Snape replied. "What happened is entirely the fault of your father whether you wish to accept that or not. As a daughter of House Black, I am fairly certain your mother would not have made such grave errors in judgment."

"What are you talking about?" Snape glared again. "What do you mean, Sir?"

"Lord Arcturus Black granted permission for your parents to marry or, more critically, for your mother to marry your father. From what I've been told, the only reason your mother and her parents were not disowned for that marriage was because there were so few Blacks left."

"Disowned? But my father…?"

"Was not the sort of person Lord Black considered worthy of his House but, as you were not in the direct line of succession, he overlooked the lack of judgment on the part of your grandfather. But, overlooked does not mean ignored. The marriage contract your father signed was clear. Were he to do anything that would bring discredit upon the Ancient and Noble House of Black, he and his heirs could stand to forfeit everything. Arguably, your father violated that contract before the ink was dry."

"What? How?"

"By failing to reveal he was a Death Eater, for one. Lord Arcturus might not have disowned your mother or her parents, but he cut your father off from any future support from House Black and stopped your grandparent's stipend. He did the same thing to his son's wife for allowing one of his potential heirs to take the mark."

"But the Blacks supported the Dark Lord!"

"There is only one Black who ever mattered, Mr. Malfoy, and that's the Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black and while he did not openly oppose the Dark Lord, it was fairly clear he did not support the Cause either. As a Black, your loyalty must be to him and to no other! And House Black is loyal to House Black alone. Even under the more understanding tenure of the last Lord Black, swearing fealty to someone such as the Dark Lord was a betrayal for which there was no forgiveness! Your mother never took the mark for a reason. Your Aunt Bella was cut off for taking the mark."

"But not disowned," Draco said smugly.

"Two previous Heads of House were quite liberal with disowning their kin."

"For being Blood Traitors!"

Snape shrugged. "For whatever reason they fancied. House Black was quite large, after all, so to cut a branch here or there would not destroy the tree. Moreover, those who were disowned had no ambitions with respect to the line of succession such that their removal would not inspire them to seek revenge. By your Aunt Bellatrix's time, there were far fewer branches and further pruning might well end the tree forever. Moreover, of the few branches left, some such as your Aunt had ambitions; ambitions that needed to be checked. The threat of disowning works only when the threatened party cares about such things. Your Aunt cared. I dare say if Lord Black told her to betray the Dark Lord or be disowned, she would betray the Dark Lord."

"She would never…"

"She would in a heartbeat as would your mother."

"She would never follow the current Lord Black," Draco sneered. "Not that it matters because father said it will be mine in time."

"A true Black's loyalty is to the House, no matter who is its Head, Mr. Malfoy. So long as she is not disowned, her ultimate loyalty is to the Head of House Black. You may not understand that and clearly do not believe that, but the current Head does understand such things. As for your father, he was a fool."

"What?" Draco asked in confusion.

"Do you really think you were the next in line?"

"Of course I am! There's no one else unless that Blood Traitor has a secret wife and brat out there!"

"It would appear he has the former and may well have the latter as well."

"What?"

"At his trial, he stated he had a wife in a manner where it was clear he was not lying. They had married abroad. He conceded that he had no knowledge of her whereabouts or even whether she was alive, but that was several months ago. It is probable he has resolved that lack of information. You really should pay more attention to the papers, Mr. Malfoy, and less to the gossip of those you might consider acceptable. Be that as it may, there are many things I could say about the current Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Black – many unflattering things – but he is neither a fool nor naïve. He would not have taken the action he has unless from the standpoint of House Black you are expendable."

"Expendable? What? What do you mean?"

"It is a pity you and your mother were not on corresponding terms, for if you were no doubt you would know already."

"I've been disowned? For what?"

"No. I have not been informed of your being disowned and I would have been if that were indeed the case. It is indeed fortunate, from your point of view, that he was not so inclined otherwise things for you would be far worse than they are."

"Um… I don't understand."

"Aside from the fact that the Sirius Black I knew could be cruel and capricious, I cannot think nor will I speculate about his motivations. That being said, some weeks ago I received notification from the Ministry of Magic that per your mother's request and due to a material breach of the Marriage Contract by your father as evidenced by his confession and other matters that have since come to light, that marriage was annulled."

"So?" Draco said arrogantly. "What does that matter? In fact, doesn't that mean I'm now Head of House Malfoy? Is that what you're here to tell me?"

"One would think someone from your station despite your youth would be better versed in certain matters," Snape sighed. "Legally speaking, it means your parents were never married … ever … and you, therefore, were born out of wedlock."

"I … surely it doesn't matter. It's a technicality. My parents were married."

"I believe it might be called a 'legal fiction.' Your parents were married when you were born, but the marriage has since been annulled. The legal fiction, therefore, is that you were born out of wedlock when the fact of that time was otherwise. But the legal fiction is the only truth that matters. As of the moment of the recording of the annulment, you became a bastard as surely as if your parents had never married. All you retain from before is your name. Then again, one can name their child whatever they wish, societal conventions be damned. It is merely convention that a child takes the surname of their father. As a bastard, you are no longer a Black for the purposes of the line of succession. Likewise, you are no longer a Malfoy unless your father was cunning in that regard, which he was not."

"What do you mean?"

"The previous Lord Black had no use for House Malfoy. He made that clear – very publically – when he was advised your grandparents had entered into a betrothal agreement for their daughter. That was your Aunt, by the way, not your mother. When your Aunt found a way out of it and your parents disowned her, he did not, not irrevocably that is. He left that matter to the discretion of his successor. But your grandparents were cut off without a knut which was arguably what forced them to replace your Aunt with your mother. From disgraced parents or not, she was still a catch for House Malfoy. But it was conditioned on your father not disgracing House Black. By taking the mark, he was on thin ice as it were. Were he caught, were he to be the subject of public scandal, the heavy hand of House Black was more than ready to fall. You never met Lord Arcturus Black, did you?"

"No. I thought he died ages ago."

"Not hardly. He died a couple of months after you started Hogwarts of natural causes I might add; a fate that did not befall his father or grandfather. The fact you never met him adds credence to my impression that he was neither the least bit pleased with that marriage nor did he consider you a potential heir. That is certainly something both of your parents' would have known. Be that as it may, one would think your father would have taken precautions to preserve his estate and yet he did not."

"I don't understand."

"As your father was sentenced to life without parole, the disposition of his estate is governed by inheritance laws. With the annulment of your parents' marriage, you are a bastard and cannot inherit unless your father specifically and by name identified you as his heir in an accepted writing usually that would be his Will. He failed to do that."

"I was never to…?"

"It appears to have been an oversight, not an outright disinheritance. His Will as it stands would have been sufficient but for the legal fiction of the annulment. He last modified his Will before you were born so it was not possible at that time to name you specifically as his heir. He never changed that. Then again, annulments are hardly a common occurrence so it is entirely conceivable that the thought of what is generally a very remote outcome never crossed his mind. Not that it matters in the end. Even without that oversight that would leave you with nothing, you would still be left with nothing from House Malfoy."

"What? What do you mean? My father was rich! We had all kinds of money!"

"The past tense being appropriate," Snape said. "As of today, the total value of House Malfoy is nothing."

"The vaults?" Draco said in disbelief. "The manor? The stuff?"

"Gone. Between the penalties for breaching the marriage contract and criminal penalties for your father's uncovered illegal business activities, the vaults were emptied and, as that was insufficient, the manor and all else that could be legally sold – apparently there was quite a bit that was illegal to merely possess, much less sell – it all has been liquidated leaving an unpaid deficiency. Fortunately, it is not one you are or could be expected to repay from your own resources. Not that this matters, Mr. Malfoy. The annulment would have cut you off just as surely as the confiscations. The only thing neither could have touched would have been a trust vault, but as your father appears to have believed he had better use for House Malfoy money than funding such a vault, there is not even that from House Malfoy."

"Father always said such vaults were for idiots who could not manage their affairs," Draco said.

"And here we are," Snape replied. "Obviously, the converse is also true: to protect the children of such idiots from their parents' fiscal irresponsibility."

"So I have nothing?" Draco asked after a long pause. "He left nothing?"

"You tuition is paid in full through your seventh year. Additionally, your father paid into a fund that supplies your school robes, books and supplies. Many families are known to do that as to buy them years later when needed is more costly. Your Malfoy legacy is limited to that, which cannot be liquidated, and such possessions that you have here at school."

"Which is nothing."

"Were your entire financial future limited to House Malfoy, you would be correct. But I did say things could be worse and by that I meant that they would be if House Malfoy was all there was."

"What else is there?"

"House Black."

"What? But he annulled the marriage and made me a bastard!"

"Indeed. Remember, I did say he is cruel and capricious. I would also add ruthless. There are many Death Eaters who underestimated him during the war. They all died by his wand and his recent acquittal aside, he is a killer. I don't know what he's playing at, but you would be well advised to keep your head down."

"I don't understand."

"Apparently, it has been the custom of House Black to set up trusts not just for the children and grandchildren of the Head of House, but also for the minor cousins in good standing. Such a trust was set up for you when you were born."

"Not that it matters now, seeing as I'm a bastard apparently."

"An acknowledged bastard."

"What?"

"Had Lord Black merely annulled your parents' marriage, your fears are well founded. The Trust would have reverted to the House given your new status. But for whatever reason Lord Black saw fit to acknowledge you as a child of House Black, illegitimate though you may be. You have no claim whatsoever for Head of House. You have been quite completely severed from succession. But you have not lost the Black Minor's Trust, which would also have been the case."

"So, I'm not poor like a Weasley?" Draco said with a sneer.

"You are subject to a trust, one that remains under the control of the Head of the House of Black and can be withdrawn at any time for any reason. Without that trust, I dare say a Weasley is wealthier."

"Wh-withdrawn?"

"I mentioned it earlier, Mr. Malfoy. House Black is only ever truly loyal to House Black. But that being said, threat of being disowned has not been effective in controlling a House member who wished to forge their own path in life. It might work for the heirs apparent. But for those who have no such expectancy in the ordinary course of things, it is a somewhat hollow threat as such individuals cannot be persuaded to behave at the cost of a lost inheritance seeing as whatever inheritance they might receive would not come from the primary estate. But, through the use of such a trust control can be achieved. While you have no rights to the primary Black estate – and it now seems doubtful whether you ever had such rights – your financial future remains entirely under Lord Black's control through that Trust."

"Entirely?"

"Until such time as he should decide to release it to you, if there is ever such a time and subject to the withdrawals you are allowed, yes. Unless, of course, you are willing to start from nowhere with nothing. Most do, but arguably not so much by choice than by circumstance. I did. But I should think it harder for someone born to privilege to turn his back on such things and doubt many not born would turn their backs either should such financial flexibility be placed at their feet.

"Without that trust, Mr. Malfoy, the Weasleys you so despise are far wealthier than you are and can reasonably hope to be any time soon. Without that trust, perhaps by the time you are a grandfather you might reach their level. But it's not likely. They own land, Mr. Malfoy, far more than they actually use for themselves; more I dare say than your father had. They may not have the deep purse that your father squandered, but they are land rich by our standards. Without that trust, you have nothing and House Black can withdraw that trust at any time for any reason or no reason at all."

"Until I'm seventeen," Malfoy began.

"It's not that kind of trust. Until you're seventeen, you have very limited ability to withdraw. I believe you can withdraw up to five hundred a year – although it may be less than that – without restriction. If for some reason you think you require more, you must have permission from your guardian to take out so much as a knut above your annual limit. Once you turn seventeen, you will not gain control over the Trust, rather you no longer need your guardian's permission to exceed your previous withdrawal limits. But you cannot under any circumstances make withdrawals in excess of the Trust's annual income and, before you ask, I am not privy to that information. If Lord Black should be in one of his capricious moods or if you should offend him in some way, he can and no doubt would revoke the trust leaving you with nothing."

"And who is my guardian?" Malfoy grumbled. "Before whom do I have to grovel for a pittance? You? This undeserving Blood Traitor Lord Black?"

"I would be careful with your attitude, Mr. Malfoy, lest word get back to such undeserving Lord Black who holds your future in his hands. It is neither of us. As your Head of House at school, I do not have a claim to such position. Were you truly an orphan, guardian such as this would fall to the Chief Warlock to retain or pass on as he pleases."

"Dumbledore? That … that … He's my guardian?"

"Are you truly an orphan, Mr. Malfoy. This is not a trick question best answered by understanding another legal fiction."

"No?"

"No. A bastard by virtue of an annulment from a destitute House is not a true orphan. Despite his oversight in other areas of his House affairs, your father did make contingent arrangements for legal and custodial guardianship should you be left without parents. It was not uncommon at the time, given the war and the number of children winding up without living parents. It was a prime reason why so many of your generation find themselves betrothed from a very young age."

"Parkinson?"

"Indeed. Your betrothal to Miss Parkinson carried provisions for both of you in the event of the untimely demise of your natural parents. While both your parents still are among the living, your specific situation is considered analogous to having lost your parents. Thus, as of the date of your mother's annulment – which came after your father was sent to prison – you became the Ward of Mr. Parkinson."

"He doesn't like me!"

"And why should he? I am aware of how you treat his daughter, Mr. Malfoy. Before, all he could do was complain. But now he holds your finances almost as surely as Lord Black does. I would suggest you treat his daughter with more care and respect."

"But she's…" Draco began.

"Yes?"

"Um… Well, it's not like I have to marry her. I can have any girl I want."

"Perhaps that was the case before, Mr. Malfoy, although I very much doubt that. The fact is I am quite aware of your amorous exploits which is to say that unless Miss Parkinson as seen to extend her favors to you as her betrothed, no other young lady has done so. But as I said, that was before. You are not what you were and as no better offer has been made before now, it is fair to say no better offer will be made. It is doubtful that any young lady or her family would find an orphaned bastard with a tied up trust particularly desirable. My understanding is your betrothal is binding on the Parkinsons. House Malfoy could terminated it in favor of a better offer but House Malfoy no longer can do so that seeing as you are no longer of that House. It would seem your fate in that regard is sealed. As I said, it would be wise to treat your future wife with more care and respect.

"That being said, your guardian as made it clear that he expects you to spend the Holiday in your new home."

Draco paled at the thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Madam Longbottom," Sirius said, "thank you for having time to see me. Is Lord Longbottom available as well?"

"He is, Lord Black. He and his ladies are waiting for us in the South Salon. And having observed the formalities…"

"Of course, Augusta."

Augusta Longbottom led Sirius to the South Salon on Longbottom Manor where indeed Neville and his ladies were waiting. Or at least they were sitting around. Fortunately, no one else was there.

"It's been a while, Neville," Sirius said as the young man stood and shook his hand.

Neville blushed. "Um … yeah. Sorry 'bout that. I mean I guess we're neighbors now."

"Don't be. We've both been rather busy, haven't we?"

"I … I suppose we have."

"And I do play golf with some of your extended family," Sirius said. "You don't pay, I take it?"

"Um … well, I am working at it with Mr. Perks and Mr. Davis. Figured I'd keep that quiet for now, or at least play with them. Maybe when I'm not such an embarrassment to golf clubs I'll be up for a round with the rest of you."

"Neville spends a fair amount of his free time on farm matters," Augusta said proudly.

"As does Harry," Sirius admitted. "Not knowing better, you'd think there's nothing else going on. But this is not why I asked to visit. Neville? Have you told Augusta and your ladies about the Common Trunk?"

"N-no. Was I supposed to? I thought we were keeping that quiet."

"Keeping secrets from us, are you love?" Sally-Anne said.

"Don't be too harsh," Sirius answered for Neville. "I honestly doubt he's eager to tell you about your other Christmas presents either."

"Then why are you telling us?" Tracy asked.

"Ah! Yes, well this one is more of a present for your families, although because it is it's sort of one for you lot as well. Harry's been silent about it as well and I'm also pretty certain Ron has seeing as neither Harry nor I have heard about it from anyone else even as a rumor."

"Fidelius Charm?" Padma asked.

Sirius chuckled. "No. I suppose I could do one, or Harry, or Neville and maybe even Ron. But not every surprise needs such elaborate protections and this isn't so sensitive that it needs such protections. I mean, I am here to tell you lot about it now."

"The details, he means," Neville said. "I've known about it, but left it to Sirius and Harry, the details that is."

"Neville? What have you been doing?" Tracy asked in an almost accusing tone. There was an amused smile on her face but perhaps Neville did not catch that.

"It was Harry's idea," he said defensively.

"A good one, I should add," Sirius nodded. "I regret that I didn't think of it. Then again, while several have noted a trend, no one seems to have thought it through to the obvious conclusion."

"You're not making much sense," Susan complained.

"Harry mentioned this idea to me," Neville said. "Well, to me, Sirius and Ron. It wasn't long after he knew that the Goblins would be paying quite a bit more than they originally offered for the Basilisk so Ron would be able to participate as well. It wouldn't be right to leave Ron out, you see, or worse expect some kind of rents. It was also not long after Sirius bought his trunk, but well before he could move in, you know? Harry, Ron and I couldn't do it easily. Emancipated or no, we can't just pop off to Diagon Alley 'cause we have an idea. I happen to agree with Harry we shouldn't push it that way even if legally we could.

"Harry came up with this idea when it struck him – well, I don't think it was quite like that as what struck him was pretty obvious by then – but it struck him that our families spend an awful lot of time here at the estates."

"Of course we do," Parvati said. "We live here."

"I meant your parents, Parvati," Neville continued. "And Susan's Aunt, and Tracy's family, and Sally-Anne's and Astoria's and let's not forget all of Harry's lot and the Weasleys and now the Bells. We live here, but they practically live here and while there are plenty of places for guests to stay, they're more and more not like guests, are they? Shouldn't they have something more than a couple of rooms in a guest house? Something more – um – personal?"

"Their own houses?" Sally-Anne asked. "Oh, I think that's wonderful! But, why the big secret? I mean, we have plenty of land and all and surely we could just build the houses, right?"

"We could," Sirius nodded. "But it would be like when Harry built the village for the elves. We would need the materials, real materials, and our ability to obtain lumber is severely restricted; at least if we are to cut our own as we don't have relatively limitless forests. We're even less able to supply other materials from our estates. In most cases, we'd have to purchase everything from Outside and bring it here and then build, which takes time and a fair amount of money."

"But you are thinking about houses?"

Sirius nodded. "If, however, the houses are part of the base matrix for a new trunk, we avoid the costs of materials and the time involved in construction."

"I don't get that," Sally-Anne said.

"Basically," Neville replied before Sirius could answer, "when you get one of these trunks and set it up, you create its world. Not just the lay of the land and its general climate, but also its buildings. True, living things can't be created that way. As I understand, it's based on an extremely advanced kind of transfiguration, way beyond Mastery level, of course it's rune based so it has permanence wand based transfiguration lacks. The point is, what is in the base matrix is permanent and as that is part of the initial set up, it comes at little additional cost and requires no raw materials from Outside. So, whatever buildings you find on a newly opened estate are as much a part of that world as the ground, hills, valleys, rivers and such unlike Outside where they are manmade additions. This Manor House is part of this trunk and not a later addition, so its existence is part of this 'world' and not a later addition. This world will always have this manor house. The manor house is part of the base construct of this trunk. Harry's trunks have their guest houses, their livestock things and so on, all of which – or certainly most – were part of the base construct as well. A building that is part of the base construct does not need to exist at the start. It can be created later. Likewise, a building that's part of the base construct can be moved just by telling the trunk to move it – assuming there isn't a tree or other living thing where you plan to move it. You would need to deal with that. But you can't create a new building that way. If you want a building that's not part of the base construct, you would need to build it the same way as you build one Outside."

"How do you know that?" Astoria asked.

"It's in the Owner's Manual," Neville said. "Don't ask me how it all works 'cause the Manual doesn't say. The wizard who made these things probably keeps that bit to himself."

"And what does this mean?" Padma asked.

"It means," Sirius answered, "that the only truly immutable characteristic of a trunk at the start is the maximum extend of its footprint – 40,000 acres – and the height of its ceiling which is between 300 and 1,500 meters above a set point depending upon whether you pay for the extension at the outset. Within those constraints, all that limits the world within is the owner's … imagination for lack of a better word. If you want your trunk to be a city and if that city fits within the space limitations, it can one day be a city. Actually, it can be one from the off, but the trunk cannot provide it with a population any more than it can provide it with trees or any other living thing. That sort of thing – life – must be brought in from outside.

"So, what we've done is between the owners – or in Ron Weasley's case – soon to be owners, we have agreed to purchase and set up a common trunk as it's called. It will have a town which one day could be quite sizable but for now will be but a village. There will be a few shops there staffed by Estate elves and should a human wish to open a shop, premises for such will become available. The seven Houses of the Estate will each have a place there as well, as will all of the extended family. Naturally, whether the village is their primary residence in both worlds, or merely their residence in the Estates will be up to each resident. For now, it will probably be in addition to Outside seeing as there really aren't a lot of jobs here or nearly enough of us to make a job profitable for another."

"Seven estates?" Parvati asked. "I count four. House Longbottom, House Potter, House Black and now Ron."

"Harry's parents are the fifth," Sirius said. "James bought a trunk recently although it probably won't be ready for a few weeks Outside time. Amelia tells me she will probably buy one as well as a seed for the future Bones estate and I've heard the same from House Abbott although in those two cases, they have not yet made the purchase."

"You're saying all our families could live here – or there?" Sally-Anne asked. "I mean, my parents are Muggles."

"As are the Grangers," Sirius said. "For that matter, so are my wife's parents and she has asked me to make them an offer at some point. Of course, first I need to meet them."

"You haven't met them?" Tracy asked.

"Nope. Married in secret 'cause of the war. They know Connie married and then had Anna and such, but never met me. Been meaning to do that since we got back together but things have been hectic … Outside that is. They'll be visiting us over the holidays along with her brother and sister and their families. That lot, I'm told, is a magical bunch. But as for the question, why can't a Muggle family live here? The ones that visit have no problems in that regard. The four girls under my House protection seem to be adjusting quite well, or so I'm told. The only restriction is whether we let them as this is our estate. Given the number of Muggle Borns in the families, I can't see a reason against it. Well, an exception to this will probably be made for Harry's Aunt and her family as they're a disagreeable sort. But aside from that, we say who can and cannot live here."

"But the Statute of Secrecy," Sally-Anne began.

"There are older treaties and such that have not been invalidated by that agreement. A much older one does not prohibit wizards from allowing Muggles to live on or work their lands. As such, nothing prevents us from allowing Muggles to live and even work here aside from the fact that they would need to know about magic to begin with and would probably need some family connection to our world – such as a son, daughter, brother or sister or some such. That and we have to let them. But the point is we can let them if we want."

"But surely the Ministry has some say," Sally-Anne began.

"Why should it? The Ministry's primary function is to enforce the Statute of Secrecy and other agreements and such. Whether and to what extent it does so is beside the point. It's jurisdiction does not extend into the home, as it were, unless the people who live there do something to allow for that and even then it needs a warrant. The Estates fall squarely under the old Manor laws, which leave it to the landowner to police – as it were – the activities that occur entirely on his land. But that aside, they can't truly say this is Britain, can they? There's no consensus as to where we are now except that we're not truly in Britain."

"That matters?"

Sirius nodded. "More than you know. The Wizengamot was formed to deal with disputes at first and that has never changed. At first, it was those between wizarding clans and then later as a place that could deal with disputes within clans if a party felt they could not get justice within their clan. Later, it added dealing with the Muggle rulers. But always, the lowest level of governance and law has remained with the clans. The Treaty of Separation kept the Muggles out of our lands and such, but did not change what a clan could and could not do on its own lands and with its own members. There are laws out there that regulate such things to the extent that those things can be harmful to all if they are not regulated or if it is deemed behavior harmful to society as a whole like murder. But even then, that means that the Wizengamot can step in but only if the clan fails to. The fact that our society has practically delegated everything to the Wizengamot and the Ministry does not mean the old system has gone away at all. The Manor Court that dealt with my case could not have done so if the old laws and conventions no longer applied. And, while it was unlikely the Wizengamot would have done anything to change that before, I'd say it's a fair bet they won't now. Too much to lose, really. Oh sure. There may be some who are less than pleased that a Manor Court did what it did. But they all know to take that away, while it might be in their interest at the moment, deprives them that right as well and they're not inclined to risk that at all. Then there's the fact that this place does not exist in the world at all and that also means that the Outside world and this world are truly separate. They can't impose their will on this world if they can't enforce it and since they can't come here at all without our leave, how can they enforce their will? We are subject to their law Outside. The Manor law allows us to submit our internal disputes to them, but does not require us to do so and they can't impose their law on us here for things that happen only here without our leave without further showing that to fail to do so would be damaging to the entire magical community. After all, if they can interfere here, then they can interfere with what happens in any home in the realm so unless there's a reason to cross that line that is more important than the reasons not to, the line won't be crossed."

"So what does that all mean? Are we outlaws or something?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Break any laws I should know about?" Sirius quipped.

"No. But if we can ignore laws we don't like?"

"Can we? Can we really?" Susan asked. "Just because one of us here doesn't like some law, doesn't mean no one else here does either. The only laws we can conceivably ignore are those we all don't like and which will have no effect outside if our disregard for them is only here at the Estates. So, in this instance, I'd say many of us take issue with the laws that treat Muggles and Muggleborns unfairly in Wizarding Britain. But you're not expected to follow those laws in your house Outside. There are those who do not and no one sends the Aurors after them for that provided their disobedience does not clearly violate the Statute of Secrecy. The only real difference here is the size of our 'house.' Rather than several rooms and a garden, our house or houses is a lot larger. Besides, it's not like we really have neighbors Outside who are in a position to peek over the fence and then complain, is it?"

"Well said," Sirius agreed. "As for 'outlaw,' I take it you mean the Muggle definition?"

"There's more than one?" Sally-Anne replied.

"Definitions change over time and outlaw is one word that has one meaning now, but a very different meaning long ago and it is that different meaning that has meaning under the old Manor Law and not the new one," Sirius replied. "An outlaw is not someone who's on the run. Today it is and I was until the Manor Court. But long ago it meant someone whom the law did not protect. If you were an outlaw back then, you'd be well advised to go on the run since anyone could do anything to you – even kill you – and never even be charged with a crime since the law did not protect you at all. In our world, an Outlaw was someone outside the law of the Manor Court or later the Wizengamot. Well, the term did not apply to Muggles, unless they had been subject to our law and were then cast out. It was for that reason that Muggle Borns were required to attend our schools since in doing so they submitted to our laws and gained its protections. Before Hogwarts, they were required to join a clan."

"Why?"

"Their own safety, really. To a lesser extent for ours. Without school or before then without being taught how to control their magic, they would be a danger to themselves and to others. And without training they were also vulnerable to the Muggles around them who might try to use them or might see them as evil or something and do away with them. There are some who managed, but many who did not and the best thing for them was to bring them under the protection of our law and our people. As outlaws – and they were born that since we could not protect them if we didn't know who or where they were – as outlaws, they were fair game for those who might wish them ill."

"So, if I hadn't come to Hogwarts, I'd be an outlaw?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Back then and by that definition," Sirius nodded. "Not a criminal, mind you. Just someone outside of society's protection. These days, if you hadn't come to Hogwarts, you'd be at another magical school. If your parents refused … well, it seems the Muggles would've seen to it that they did not."


	63. Chapter 63: Scary

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Life got distracting.

**CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: SCARY **

**TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14****th**** 1993**

"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said causing Harry to look up. They were at breakfast. He and his girls arrived fairly early most every day. True, they could simply skive off breakfast in the Great Hall and eat at the estate, but they had decided that while they might sleep there and, in many instances, do their homework there, they took their meals in the Great Hall on school days. After all, that's when things seemed to happen or the latest rumors were most rapidly spread about and in the mornings it was when the regular post arrived. "As you and your ladies have no examinations today, Madam Pomfrey would like to see the lot of you in the Hospital Wing for a physical First Period. You will be excused from morning classes."

"It will take all morning, Professor?" Hermione asked almost disappointed.

"I have been asked to allow that much time, Miss Granger. I cannot say how long it shall actually take. But you all will be there immediately following breakfast."

"Does that include me?" Ginny asked.

"She said nothing to me to indicate you're not excepted, Miss Weasley. Yes, it includes you."

"Yes Professor," Harry and his five ladies replied.

After she walked away Ron asked: "So what's that about?"

"No idea," Harry said. "Guess Madam Pomfrey just misses seeing me all banged up and in one of the beds up there."

There were chuckles from those at the table who heard that, at least those who were not First Years.

"Makes sense," Ron nodded. "You've managed to go a whole term without being there. Must be some sort of record."

"I'm sure this is about the Bonds, Ron," Hermione said.

"If Madam Pomfrey were simply pining away for Harry, she would not have asked for us to be there as well," Luna added. "Of course, she could be just pining away for Harry and asked us to be there so it didn't look like she was pining away for Harry."

"The Bond makes more sense," Ron said. "Katie and I had to see her a few days ago about ours. It was … well, it turned out brilliant, but it was embarrassing. To be honest that other bit sounds … creepy. Madam Pomfrey's too old for you, Mate. Or you're too young for her, you know?"

"That's just so wrong, Ron," Harry said.

"Luna brought it up!"

"So how are you two doing?" Ginny asked changing the topic. Ron and Katie were sitting together.

"It's been weeks since Mum's offered us advice, so I'd say brilliantly," Ron said.

"I am quite satisfied with what my magic wanted and what it got," Katie added. "He's a wonderful boyfriend and totally brilliant 'tween the sheets."

"Katie!" Ron gasped.

"What?"

"I … um … well," he began blushing. "Um … look … thanks? You too. But do we have to tell everyone that?"

"He's so cute when he blushes, don't you think?" Katie said leaning over to kiss him on the cheek which only made it worse for the poor boy.

"They do stuff like this to you, mate?" Ron asked.

"Not in the Great Hall," Harry said.

"But otherwise all the time," Daphne added.

"Although," Hannah said, "aside from his being a warm cuddle pillow at night, we can't say much else about his skills between the sheets yet seeing as the bonding process between Harry and Hermione and Luna is not letting us enjoy that yet."

"But we all agree that Harry has all sorts of between the sheets potential," Luna added.

Now it was Harry's turn to blush furiously.

"I stand corrected," Ron chuckled.

"So, when's the day, dear brother?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, um…"

"Saturday," Katie said. "We're going home by floo Friday night and I will be Mrs. Weasley before the Hogwarts Express pulls into King's Cross. We'd've invited you, but the letter from Gringotts said just us and our parents or magical guardians are allowed. But we plan to have a dinner afterwards for the rest of our families and friends."

"Not wasting any time," Ginny began.

"The parents would be more comfortable having us sharing a bedroom over the Holidays if we were married," Ron shrugged. "Mum would allow us to do so without the rings and such 'cause of the Bond, but she'd prefer us to be married. To be honest, Katie and I can see no good reason to wait either. I mean you lot married as soon as you could and the same's true for Neville and his ladies."

"Like you," Katie continued, "we do plan to have a proper wedding one day in a couple of years or so, right Ron?"

"Um … right. Just, um, tell me when, where and what to do."

"You have my brother trained well," Ginny quipped.

"I know how lucky I am," Ron countered. "Besides, what do I know about wedding things? The only think I know is there's no Quidditch but there is usually food. So, since it would be our wedding and I'm clueless, then it only makes sense that I listen to Katie here who's not clueless."

"He just wants to do it for the food," Ginny said.

"Ah!" Katie said, "but he wants to do it which is the whole point in the end. And food is a less … private reason than the honeymoon sex that comes afterwards."

"You never mentioned that!" Ron gasped. "This wedding thing seems like a better idea already!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ah good!" Madam Pomfrey said as the six students entered the Hospital Wing. There were some thirty beds or so in rows on either side of the wing and some doors at the far end. The beds were empty. "I am pleased to see that you are prompt. Hopefully this will not take long and it should be relatively painless," she added with a smirk. "Mr. Potter? I am pleased that this is the only way I could have found to enjoy your company here this term!"

"Well," Harry said, "I suppose it helps that no one chose to try and kill me this time around."

"Indeed, that is helpful," Madam Pomfrew nodded. "Right then, the lot of you to examining room three at the end of the wing. Follow me."

"Um…," Daphne began, "what's this about, Ma'am."

"I would say routine," Madam Pompfrey said, "but nothing about Mr. Potter has ever been routine. Unless that in and of itself can be said to be routine. Actually, I need to examine all of you, in particular Harry and his bonded, but all of you given your circumstances for my end of term reports for your records. Right then, here we are," she finished opening a door. Beyond was a brightly lit room with a counter and cabinets along the far wall, large windows, hooks and low shelves on another wall the shelves being empty and six chairs. "Alright then, all of you are to take off all your clothes and have a seat. You can hang your things on the hooks or place them on the shelves. I'll be back in ten minutes and expect you all to be undressed and seated when I return."

"You…," Harry began, "you mean we're… Naked?"

"That is usually the condition one finds themselves in when they remove all of their clothes, Mr. Potter."

"But," Harry began.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter."

"In front of…"

"You're a married man, Mr. Potter. Moreover, you're on the Quidditch team. What are you saying?"

"Um…"

"Most of us have not seen him naked," Luna said. "He's seen all of us that way. But I think only Ginny's seen him that way because of Quidditch."

"Not as often as you'd think," Ginny said. "He doesn't parade around the locker that way and we, well we change and get out of there pretty quickly. In my case, it's so I don't have to watch my brothers."

"I can see that," Daphne said. "Seeing your brothers naked might be a little…"

"Creepy," Hannah finished.

"Um, that too," Ginny said. "The truth is I don't really want to see their, um, post-practice naked games."

"They and their girlfriends have sex after their showers," Harry said. "Fred and George would probably not even wait for the showers if Alicia and Angelina didn't insist on it. And yeah, I don't stick around for that either."

"I am well aware of what probably happens in the locker rooms," Madam Pomfrey said. "Magical disconnect is no laughing matter as I am sure Miss Bell can tell you and that sort of … activity … is an effective preventative measure. A bond such as the one Mr. Potter shares with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood protects those two young ladies and the bond Miss Weasley shares with Mr. Potter protects her. Still, I see no reason why you should be reluctant about this, Mr. Potter. You are, after all, married to four of these young woman and betrothed to the fifth with the fifth as your assigned Quidditch Partner, are you not?"

Harry just stared at the floor.

"Harry's a gentleman," Daphne said in his defense. "He asks and expects nothing from any of us that we would not freely give and we have not asked that of him."

"He has seen all of us naked quite frequently," Luna said. "He has because we all trust him and we all enjoy it," the other girls nodded in agreement even if it was Luna's idea all those months ago. "He has never asked that of us, which also makes it very comfortable for us. And we have never asked that of him. We all know when the time comes he will need to complete the bond and when that time comes it will be obvious to all of us and to Hermione and me in particular. In the meantime, we enjoy what we do have together."

"I see," Madam Pomfrey. "Be that as it may, I see no reason for refusing my order. I need to examine all of you. Moreover, I need to examine the bonding pairs together. Part of the examination cannot be done with clothing and given your circumstances, you should be getting used to the idea anyway. I will be back in ten minutes."

A few minutes later, Harry was naked, seated on one of the chairs in the room. Fortunately, the chair was warm and comfortable or things would have been more awkward as his ladies sat in the other chairs which were arranged in a circle.

"You don't have to cover up for us, Harry," Hannah said. "We are your wives after all."

Harry had not realized he was doing so. "Sorry," he said sheepishly as he moved his hands to his side.

Daphne snorted. Hannah giggled. Ginny looked a little surprised. Hermione rolled her eyes at the others and Luna looked as if nothing was going on that was in any way out of the ordinary.

"For some reason, I was expecting more," Daphne said.

"I think it's cute," Hannah added.

"Please!" Harry blushed. "There's a guy here! Me! And we don't think our stuff is supposed to be cute."

"I've never really seen one so relaxed before," Ginny admitted. "I mean I had some glimpses of Harry in the lockers. But every other time I've seen boy bits they were … sticking out and much bigger."

"And who were those boys, Miss Weasley?" Madam Pomfrey asked. No one had noted her return.

"Um … my brothers. And no. Before you ask, I was not involved with that at all. When I was eight, I walked into the bathroom at home and caught my brother Percy … um … taking care of it, you know? He got yelled at for no locking the door," she added with a chuckle. "Then last year I found him and Penelope Clearwater. He had his thing in her mount until he noticed me. I've seen Fred, George and Ron like that in the locker rooms. Ron just got dressed and left quickly until he bonded with Katie. Fred and George and now Ron would then … well, their girls would help them with that," Ginny said blushing furiously. "Oh, and Ollie Wood was like that too. He brings an older girl in to deal with that problem."

"The previously mentioned Penelope," Harry added, "at least at school. I wonder if Percy knew that Penelope Clearwater has been helping Ollie that way since my First Year at least."

"She has?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded.

"We're not here for salacious gossip," Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "Right then. I have some questions while I examine each of you and you may find them uncomfortable, but I expect truthful answers. We will begin with you Mr. Potter. Stand up with your arms at your sides."

Blushing, Harry did as he was told. Madam Pomfrey held a wand and muttered something. There were various colors that appeared seemingly at random both on and around Harry and she took some notes. She then asked him to step onto a scale where she measured his height and weight again while doing some kind of magic with her wand. "Right then," she said, "the truth now and don't make me think you're hiding something. As a Healer I may use Veritiserum if it is necessary for analysis, diagnosis or treatment, understand?" After Harry nodded she continued: "When was the last time you experienced and erection, Mr. Potter?"

"What?" Harry sputtered.

"You heard me and you understood me."

"Um … well, this morning I guess."

"And before that?"

"Um … yesterday morning. Most mornings, actually, when I wake up I have one."

"That is hardly unusual," Madam Pomfrey said, "and consistent with your age. Just so you know, it is involuntary and, more important, it is not a true arousal rather it is a mechanism boys develop in infancy in regards to full bladders."

Harry blushed furiously when several of the girls giggled. "Any other times?"

"Um … not … not since the bond, really."

"Before then?"

"Frequently," Harry blushed. "Sometimes for no reason. Anytime I even thought about a girl that way or what she might have under her robes I seemed to get one. Every time in the Quidditch locker rooms when the girls on the team undressed."

"That too, is expected. But since the bond it has only been in the mornings, correct?"

"At first, no. But within a few weeks, it was only when I woke up. You said that was typical for the bonds."

"I did. I'm sure Healer Tonks may have said the same. But to date it's only in the mornings, correct?"

Harry nodded.

"You first bonded when?"

"I bonded with Hermione and Luna June 21st. It's the earliest I could have bonded with either of them."

"Or both of them," Madam Pomfrey added. "That was almost six months ago by our calendar. How long by yours?"

"I bonded June 21st, First Year of the Estate Calendar. Today is June 25th of the Second Year of the Estate Calendar."

"He gave Luna and me very nice anniversary presents the other day," Hermione added.

"And toe curling kisses," Luna added.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Which of you was the first to bond with him?"

"Hermione was the first to kiss him," Luna said. "But I kissed him first on that day so I guess I was the first to bond with him."

"Stand up, Miss Lovegood," Madam Pomfrey said she then asked Luna to step to the scales as well when that was done, she turned to Harry who had resumed his seat. "Mister Potter, I want you to stand up and give Miss Lovegood one of those toe curling kisses she mentioned while I take some readings okay?"

"Um … it's necessary?"

"To be honest I don't know. I'm looking at several things and that degree of intimacy may or may not reveal who knows what. There's little about these bonds in Healer Journals and nothing about the bonds such as yours and House Longbottom. Therefore, it is necessary to be a little too thorough rather than not thorough enough. I want to see whether and to what extent such intimacy affects each of your magical signatures. I will be asking that you provide the same assistance with each of these young ladies once I complete the other portions of their examinations."

"Um…each of them?"

"Each of them."

"But I've not bonded with the others!"

"That's not entirely true, is it Mr. Potter. You share a bond with Miss Weasley, but of a different nature, correct?"

Harry nodded. "But … well, our rules are she's too young for that kind of a kiss."

"Waiting for her bonding age?"

"A month into her mentorship or her bonding age whichever's first," Hermione said. "She's not yet at the stage for mentorship although she may well be in a couple of months or less."

"I ask this for a reason," Madam Pomfrey said. "I want to compare various results. Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott will provided results not affected by a bond I should think, Miss Weasley's results will be affected by her bond in some way and Miss Lovegood and Miss Granger in another way possibly because of that type of bond. There also may be measurable results based upon age and other factors unique to each pairing. Moreover, I will compare results from this test with the ones I received from House Longbottom the other day and, before you ask, I did ask that he kiss all of his ladies as passionately as he ever had including the youngest. I am trying to find out how these bonds develop as there's little written about them at all. The more I know, the more I can help both you lot and any similarly situated couples in the future and the more likely I can tell if there's a problem."

"I … fine," Harry said as he drew Luna into a deep kiss.

Harry did not see much of this part of the examination as he was too busy kissing his girls. Last was Ginny, with whom he had not gone beyond a peck on the lips before. True, they hugged and she was allowed cuddles, but toe curling snogs were not a part of their arrangement yet. In a way, Harry had been looking forward to that, but not in an examination room in front of Madam Pomfrey. He decided to do his best to make her first real kiss memorable despite the circumstances while mindful that he should not be more intimate than he was with the others, although he wondered how he could be in any event.

"You okay Ginny?" he asked when he finished.

"Think he broke her?" Hannah asked with a giggle.

"Wow!" Ginny finally breathed. "That was … wow!"

"Definitely broke her," Daphne laughed.

"The first was amazing," Hermione nodded. "And it only gets better."

"Better?" Ginny asked. "Wow!" After a pause she then looked at the floor. "Do I still have to wait for my next one?" she asked in a sad voice.

"Nope," Luna said brightly. "Line's crossed. Can't go back, you know."

"Goodie!" Ginny practically squealed. They were then told to take their seats again.

Once they were seated, Madam Pomfrey began asking each of the girls questions that Harry found extremely embarrassing. It began bad enough with a series of questions about their monthlies since the bonding and marriages: when, how often, how long, how severe and so on and so forth. Then there were all sorts of questions about girl sex again what, how often where and with whom. Harry knew about this in general, but not the details.

"So, since you were married, it's only within the family?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Is there anything wrong about that?" Daphne replied.

"No. That was not my point."

"We feel as wives we should be faithful to our husband and our family," Daphne added. "We discussed this practically from the off and we agreed that we still have those … needs, and Harry can't see to them 'cause of the bond and stuff. So we do it with each other."

Ginny was asked about her own witch needs, how she handled them, how often, when and where. It seemed to Harry that he was far more embarrassed about this than Ginny was. He was burning red when Ginny said that she was really looking forward to having girl sex when her mentorship began sometime in the next two months. The other girls seemed as if she was merely commenting on the weather. After a year with them, Harry was certain that girls were weird in a way and certainly about these sorts of things. Blokes did not talk about that sort of thing in anywhere near the detail girls did. Harry thought after a year in what Sirius called "a particularly estrogen rich environment" he would not be embarrassed by such talks. Now he wondered if he would ever get used to it. He loved his girls. He loved being with them, talking with them, kissing them, everything about them. But they could be so blunt about such things.

And then there was the lengthy questions about sleeping arrangements. This was less embarrassing, except for the fact that now there was an adult who knew Harry shared his bed with five witches, not just his two bondmates. Ginny had been sleeping with them since the summer as it helped her with her terrible nightmares from the year before. She wore a nightgown. The other four girls wore nothing at all.

"Right then, that's all for now," Madam Pomfrey said after what seemed an eternity of embarrassment for Harry. "I want to see the lot of you back here at four this afternoon and, before you ask Mr. Potter, you most likely will not be asked to disrobe."

They returned at four after resuming their classes for the day. Once again, they were sent into the examination room but as Madam Pomfrey had suggested, this time they were not asked to disrobe. The chairs were now in a semi-circle with seventh and an eight chair opposite. They were seated and soon Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall entered and sat opposite them.

"The reason you all are here," McGonagall began, "is so that Madam Pomfrey can go over the results of your examinations this morning. As this involves your health and well being, I am here as well as both Deputy Headmistress and your Head of House. But, I wish to take this opportunity to say something and it's not that I'm pleased that Mr. Potter has avoided the inside of this part of the castle for an entire term which is a record and therefore worthy of note. Back on September 1st when I received notification as to your new status, you can understand I was concerned. You are all Second and Third Years, only two of you are fourteen. Three of you are thirteen and one only twelve. There was a time when you would be considered practically adults at such ages, but that was long ago. I feared this new situation would rob you of your youth. I also feared that very youth would lead you to make mistakes that would damage your relationships with each other and with others. And, naturally, I feared you might feel you had leave to behave in ways that are inappropriate under the Rules even for married students.

"As you know, there are other married students here aside from my odd assortment of First through Fourth Years. They are all Sixth or Seventh Year students. The last couple who were not sixteen or older when they married was a magical disconnect situation during the last War. The last time students as young as you were here as a married couple was almost two hundred and fifty years ago. And as far as our school records have shown, there have never been students here in a Plural Marriage. You and your Classmates in the same situation have done well. You have not embarrassed yourselves, your House or your School and have all shown remarkable maturity. I know it has probably helped the lot of you that you have your families' support and each others. I shudder to think how difficult this would be had it been otherwise. I just want to say I am proud of each and every one of you and hope you continue to keep it that way.

"And, also… You're marks are something to be proud of as well. I dare say, if we thought being married at such a young age would help all students perform to their fullest potential, we might just consider it an admissions requirement. But as we know you and your friends are the exception and not the rule, we will not encourage others to follow your particular example, assuming they could."

"We still have and exam or two left for this term, and all of next term," Harry said.

"True, but the marks of all the current residents of your Estates have improved, even Miss Granger's although there was not much she needed to improve upon. What impressed me most is how much Mister Weasley's marks have improved and Mr. Longbottom as well. Don't misinterpret that statement, for your marks have improved as well, Mr. Potter. Moreover, your performance thus far in Runes and Arithmancy is a very pleasant surprise seeing as those two courses are homework intense and you've been far better on the practicals your last couple of years. I am proud of all of you. I've said my piece for now and turn this over to Madam Pomfrey. Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey explained that her examination earlier was in three parts. The first two parts were done without any kissing. One was a brief physical exam. Some aspects were obvious, others less so. Height and weight being the obvious ones, although all were somewhat surprised that they were each at least an inch taller than they had been at the beginning of the term and all had gained weight "consistent with your growth in height" which meant it was neither too little nor too much considering they were taller. Madam Pomfrey then said part of the test regarded sexual maturation as the bonds had a sexual component, one that was necessary for completion. The test confirmed the girls were still virgins – apparently there was no conclusive test for that in boys. It also was "vague" in some ways. The patient could be categorized as "infant", "child", "pre-bonding age adolescent" or "immature adolescent", "mature adolescent", "adult" and "one category for witches only that should not be relevant for thirty to forty years I should think."

"For boys, bonding age is always their thirteenth summer solstice. They cannot magically bond before then. Girls are different. Bonding age is more a legal construct than a magical one and defines when a girl can legally consent to having sex with a boy. Their magical bonding age is when they are physically and magically mature enough to conceive a magical child. For most girls, when they begin mentoriship or when they can begin mentoriship they have reached their true bonding age. But since this varies from girl to girl, the law makes it easier. A girl cannot consent to have sex with a boy until she has reached her legal bonding age. And, as you should know, the law and school rules also include the two year rule until you're sixteen which means that unless you're betrothed and it's your betrothed with whom you are having sex, you cannot consent to having sex with someone more than two class years removed from you in age. That's a legal and not a biological or magical rule. Right now, only Miss Weasley has yet to attain her bonding age legally. Magically, however…"

"But I haven't had my sixth period yet!" Ginny interrupted.

"Because of your bond with Harry, your magical bonding age was from the moment you went through menarche. Your monthlies have been clockwork regular, Miss Weasley. That's seldom the case at first. You are still physically immature, although further along in that regard than might otherwise have been the case. This is why I have not suggested you move forward with mentorship because your physical side of things is not at that point yet where it becomes necessary. You will keep to the original schedule seeing as you should begin mentorship following your sixth cycle which should be next month. But, the important point is this: by this summer, Miss Weasley, by your legal bonding age you will be a 'mature adolescent' which means that while you will still have magical and physical maturation in front of you, you will be old enough to conceive a magical child and carry it to term. That is currently the case with these other young ladies."

She explained that a magical signature consisted of measuring fifteen different components labeled A through O each of which could be quantified into ten discreet quantifiers numbered zero through ten. Combined, the component and its quantifier – A6 for example – was called a variable. Thus a magical signature might be written out as A6-B2-C9-D4-E0-F4-G1-H7-I2-J3-K8-L9-M0-N3-O5. Combined, this meant there were one hundred quintillion possible permutations or one hundred billion, million possible combinations. The letters and numbers signified only something that could be identified and measured discreetly. No one really knew what that something was or what the discreet measurements meant. Thus, you could not tell from such a description what a person's magical potentials were, what skills they might have or would not have, how powerful they would be, whether their children would be Squibs or powerful or anything like that. But with so many possible combinations it was certain that no two people had the same magical signature.

A child shared seven variables with one of its parents and seven other variables with another of its parents. It shared between eight and ten with any siblings sharing the same two parents. Identical twins shared a dozen or in rare cases thirteen of the variables. Family relationships could be determined out to second or third cousins. If, for example, you shared Variables A through G with one parent, you would share three of those with your first cousins on that side of the family and two with second cousins. You would also share one with third cousins, although it was equally possible to share one with someone not related at all through sheer chance.

Couples who shared compatible magic shared between five and seven variables at birth regardless of any family relationship. The magical signature was not what proved such magical compatibility, it merely supported it; otherwise one would suppose brothers and sisters were magically compatible when they were not. The reason Madam Pomfrey recorded their magical signatures was because as the bond developed, their signatures would change. When the bond was complete, fourteen of their variables would be the same. The change would be such that roughly half of the changed variables would be to the other persons variable, such that if the boy was born with A2 and L9 and girl with A8 and L4, the bond would cause the girl to become an L9 and the boy an A8. Such shifts only happened when bonding, so it was the one way to prove a bond had occurred or was occurring.

Madam Pomfrey told them that the magical signature was not conclusive proof of a bond, but a shift in variables was highly suggestive as there were few other known factors that caused any shift from the signature one was born with and those other factors were never tied to corresponding shift in another person. Moreover, the shift could not tell you what kind of bond there was. The Concubine Bond caused such a shift, but it was usually very different than the bond arising from compatible magic which was similar yet different from a bond forming following magical disconnect. To prove a bond existed and to categorize the nature of the bond required the third test she performed which was done as Harry kissed each of the girls.

"But why did you have me kiss Daphne and Hannah, not that I'm complaining at all?" Harry asked. "We don't share a bond."

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Remember what I said about the first test," she said. "All of you are physically more mature than you should be and it's not tied to your use of Time Compression, right? Magically, Miss Weasley has already passed her Bonding Age and is physically approaching it. Right?"

"You said that was because of the Concubine Bond," Harry nodded.

"Indeed, but so far as her bond with you is concerned, it remains incomplete which would not otherwise be the case."

"Naturally, seeing as we haven't … um … consummated and right now that doesn't seem to be an option," Harry said.

"The bond you shared with Miss Weasley did not require consummation to form, Mr. Potter. But in a way you're correct. It is not final because you have not and cannot consummate it."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"One might say, Mr. Potter, there is little about you that does," Madam Pomfrey smirked. "In this case, you are in a situation for which I have found only one other example. Knowing how you enjoy surprises, I will explain. The chart now appearing on the wall behind me is the expression of your magical signature and that of each of your ladies as they existed June of last year. Your signature and Miss Weasley's were observed during your stays in this Wing following your misadventure beneath the castle. Miss Granger's was obtained when she recovered from her petrification and Miss Lovegood, Miss Abbott and Miss Greengrass's were obtained during their last monthly visit of last year. In other words, these represent what your signatures were before any bonding began."

A screen appeared behind Madam Pomfrey with a list:

Potter A7/B0/C2/D4/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K5/L2/M7/N3/O1  
Granger A7/B8/C0/D4/E9/F3/G8/H5/I1/J0/K5/L6/M7/N7/O1  
Lovegood A3/B0/C2/D8/E1/F9/G4/H6/I5/J8/K9/L2/M3/N3/O4  
Greengrass A6/B3/C8/D2/E5/F9/G0/H9/I7/J6/K1/L8/M4/N2/O8  
Abbott A2/B5/C6/D7/E8/F9/G6/H2/I6/J3/K7/L5/M9/N5/O3  
Weasley A4/B7/C5/D3/E4/F9/G3/H8/I3/J5/K4/L0/M6/N9/O4

"You will note that Mister Potter and Miss Granger share seven variables: A, D, G, I, K M and O. Mister Potter and Miss Lovegood share eight: B, C, E, F, H, J, L and N. Variable F appears to be a marker from the Black family seeing as Miss Greengrass and Miss Weasley share it too, although I can't explain why Miss Abbott shares it aside from random chance."

"One of my Great-great grandmothers on my father's side was a Muggle Born and her daughter, my great grandmother was born out of wedlock," Hannah said. "It's not something the family bandies about."

"Which, given that Phineas Nigelus Black had over one hundred children out of wedlock around that generation suggests Hannah has a connection to the Black line similar to Daphne, Luna and Ginny," Harry said.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "It's not conclusive of that," she said, "but it is suggestive. Moving on you will also note that aside from the common variables I've pointed out, all others are different from each other."

The students nodded.

"Now, let's see what this morning's test revealed."

Another slide appeared

Potter A7/B0/C2/D4/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K5/L2/M7/N3/O1  
Granger A7/B8/C2/D4/E1/F3/G8/H5/I1/J8/K5/L6/M7/N7/O1  
Lovegood A7/B0/C2/D8/E1/F9/G8/H6/I5/J8/K9/L2/M3/N3/O4  
Greengrass A7/B3/C2/D2/E1/F9/G0/H9/I7/J8/K5/L8/M4/N3/O8  
Abbott A7/B5/C2/D7/E1/F9/G6/H2/I6/J8/K5/L5/M9/N3/O3  
Weasley A7/B0/C2/D3/E1/F9/G8/H6/I1/J8/K4/L0/M6/N9/O1

"You will note that as of this morning, Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley all share ten variables with Mr. Potter although not the same ten variables. Moreover, Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott now share seven variables with Mr. Potter. Recall that before Miss Greengrass, Miss Abbott and Miss Weasley shared but one. In Miss Weasley's case, her Concubine bond could account for a shift in four to six variables according to the authorities, but not nine. These readings confirmed what I observed when I asked you to kiss your ladies while being examined, Mr. Potter."

"We're bonding?" Daphne asked.

"Indeed. The test where I asked Mr. Potter to kiss each of you was a test both for and of a magical bond. The intimacy of that act makes bonds such as yours both easier to detect and to analyze. That test confirms the current status of the development of the bonds between Mr. Potter, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. It further established that an emotional and magical bond is also forming between Mr. Potter and the rest of you ladies."

"But how?" Daphne asked. "I mean we don't share compatible magic and … we have not gone through magical disconnect!"

"Indeed. And yet sharing compatible magic and going through magical disconnect does not mean a bond will form, does it? It only means a bond is more likely than it would otherwise be. I can only make an educated guess as to why your bond and the others are forming Miss Greengrass. Remember that the two bonds that you are familiar with as residents of the Estates have magical disconnect or compatible magic as a precondition. But the precondition needs more for a bond to form.

"The most important thing to know about expressive magic is that it is intent based. As you should know from your classes, expressive magic is that magic which originates from your magical core. Spells and such are expressive magic. Magical bonds are another form of expressive magic. So, the best answer I can give you to explain why a bond is forming between you and Mr. Potter is it is at some level yours and his intent that such a bond will form. Like the bonds you are aware of, this intent need not be a conscious decision on your part. If there is the necessary precondition and the intent on both parties and circumstances allow, then the bond forms. Here, I should think, the intent is there. You young ladies have all told me as your Healer what you think about and hope for your new circumstances. Although none of you have said that you hoped to bond with Mr. Potter, you all have strong feelings for him, you're happy to be such an important part of his life, you fully accept the unusual nature of his family of which you are a part, you truly are happy to be a part of that and seem committed to remain a part of that. I dare say he thinks and feels the same way about each and every one of you. You all are in love with him and he is in love with each and every one of you. Thus, each and every one of you has the intent and your magic is merely expressing your intent and accepting the result."

"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry asked. The others looked and saw that Ginny had tears in her eyes.

Ginny nodded. "Happy tears," she said. "That day you bonded me to you, remember Harry? Remember what you said to me and my parents? You said then that as far as you were concerned in the end I would be no different than any of your other ladies, your other wives and that this would be the case as soon as possible. You made me your Concubine, and you said that when … well, from what I'd been told that's just not done. And you never lied to me about that. Whenever I doubted you about that, you have shown me that you meant what you said. There are few differences and those are only because I'm not yet at my Bonding Age. Otherwise, there are no differences between me and the others. This … this is proof you truly, truly meant what you said. I hoped you did when you said it and you've never given me a reason to doubt you or to think you've had second thoughts. But this … this proves it all, I should think. Thank you, Harry. I love you!"

"I love you too, Ginny," Harry said.

"Can I get a hug later?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged. Oh, and before I do something stupid and forget, I love you Hermione. I love you Luna. I love you Daphne. I love you Hannah."

There were five beaming faces, four of whom had tears in their eyes too when they said they loved him too. The mood was interrupted by a cough.

"Naturally, that helps a lot," Madam Pomfrey said.

"But I still don't understand," Daphne added. "I mean, what was our precondition? Bonds don't just happen, do they?"

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said. "Stuff does just happen to me, it seems."

"So it does," Madam Pomfrey smiled. "But where stuff just happens to you, Mr. Potter, it seems to be very unique. This bond you all are beginning to share seems to be merely very rare even where bonds are concerned. You are not alone in this regard."

"We're not?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "I did not run those tests on a whim. Last week, House Longbottom was here…"

"They're bonding like this too?" Hermione gasped.

"Indeed so it seems. The physical tests were done because of your living arrangements and the fact you are married. I normally do not check for bonds, but in their case I did check Neville and his bondmates as there was one that I knew about. To confirm my readings, I checked those against what I thought was a neutral source meaning a kissing couple that were not bonded, in their case Mr. Longbottom and Miss Davis. The results were not what I expected so I checked Mr. Longbottom with each of the other young ladies and got similar results. That was when I also checked their magical signatures and theirs are much like yours in that there are bonds there that should not be there and shifts in magical signatures consistent with the developing bonds."

"Even my sister?" Daphne asked.

"Um … there's what appears to be a protobond there, Miss Greengrass. That means a weak bond is detectable, but her signature has not begun to shift. Based upon the results I found today, my guess is she will bond when she's older either after she passes through her menarche or after she attains her magical bonding age. In that I cannot be certain. But I dare say it is far more likely to occur than not in their case. The intent is there so far as I can observe and they believe."

"But what about a precondition? These just don't happen, do they?"

"That is an interesting question," Madam Pomfrey said. "The answer is if they just happen, it has not been documented before now. The authorities recognize several kinds of bonds, three of which are currently represented within the student body and none of those just happen, as you put it. The Concubine Bond requires a Life Debt or similar pre-existing magical obligation. The Compatible Magic Bond requires that you and your future bond mate are born with the precondition. Likewise, magical disconnect does not just happen and a bond forming from that is the exception and not the rule. Intent and emotions are certainly a significant if not the determining factor."

"But there still must be a precondition of some kind, right?"

"There must be indeed, lest bonds such as the one that you are forming with Mr. Potter would be far more common, Miss Greengrass. But in this case all I have is a theory which fits the facts and examples that provide those facts. You, your sister probably, Miss Abbott, Miss Davis and Miss Bones have one precondition. Whether Miss Weasley and Miss Parvati Patil have that precondition or a different one is another question as their situation is a little different. Miss Weasley has a preexisting bond which is merely transforming into a bond similar to the one that Mr. Potter shares with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood. Miss Parvati Patil has an identical twin who shares compatible magic with Mr. Longbottom. Even though she does not also share such a precondition, she shares twelve variables of her magical signature with her sister and seven with Mr. Longbottom.

"But, I don't think those two situation explain this. I think if their situations were different than they are, the bond would not form. I think the precondition is the existence of another bond and the fact that the wizard is trying his best to treat his ladies as equals in all things. When did you first sleep with Mr. Potter, Miss Greegrass?"

"Our … our marriage night," Daphne said.

"And where have you slept since then?"

"With him. I'm his wife. Where else would I sleep?"

"And the same is true for you, Miss Abbott?"

"It is and has been," Hannah said nodding. "It's really nice and cozy that way."

"And you, Miss Weasley?"

"Um … not at first," Ginny said. "I was merely a betrothed. Still am, I suppose. But I was having nightmares 'bout last year and they let me join them when I had them and, well then they just let me join them. I've been sleeping with them every night since. I guess it was only a couple of months and since then it's every night. I sleep better with them than I do alone and as Hannah said it is nice."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "The sleeping arrangements in House Longbottom are identical for the most part. Miss Greengrass's sister was never barred from their bed and was no stranger to it and in a short time that is where she came to sleep all the time. I was allowed this past weekend to run some tests while House Longbottom slept. My guess is that like them you lot sleep all cuddled together and like them you alternate who sleeps next to Mr. Potter each night and where within the arrangement Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood sleep?"

The six of them nodded.

"My tests revealed that the bond envelops those in contact with it. Now, before you get concerned, it does not mean you will bond with anyone you meet. But you have spent every night for hours within the embrace of the existing, growing and strengthening magical field of the bond. I think this made for the precondition for you are, whether you intended so or not, part of the physical connection for the forming bond. This may have set up the precondition and as it sounds like the intent was already there in short order you three were drawn into the bond as well."

"You are certain of this?" Harry asked concerned.

Madam Pomfrey smiled, something she rarely did in front of any patient. "You need not sound concerned, Mr. Potter. Neither you nor your ladies have done anything wrong. What you now share and will share for the rest of your lives is a wonderful thing and it is in no small part because of you and your willingness to share, as it were, that all of your ladies will enjoy the wonders and magic of a bond that otherwise they would never have had. But yes, I am certain as to what is happening between you and your ladies. I admit I should have suspected as much when you arrived at the start of term considering…"

"Considering what?" Harry asked.

"Every member of House Potter and House Longbottom without regard to age or their former magical development was able to cast a fully corporeal Patronus Charm when the Dementors attacked the train," Madam Pomfrey said. "At your ages, that one of you may have mastered such a charm is highly unusual. But all? Even Miss Astoria Greengrass who had only recently received her wand? I will assume you all were taught the charm responsibly. That being said, it is impossible to believe you all could have mastered it to that degree absent some other factor. I was not asked to determine the why of it then. It seemed to me just another of the wild rumors that are rampant here. But now? Forming bonds boost magical potential and allow the bondmates to draw upon each other. This much was known. It would certainly explain how all of you were able to master a spell than many cannot."

"That," Hermione said, "and the fact that it is a spell that best works from love. You're told to pick a happy thought. That's how it's usually taught, right? But we were told to think of love and it was much easier that way. It still took a lot out of us. But it was easier to do it that way than by using some random happy thought." The others nodded in agreement.

"Which," Madam Pomfrey said, "was a thought or memory of recent derivation?"

"That day by the lake," Ginny gasped. "Harry listening to me and telling me I was no different than you guys and meaning it. That was my thought. Although maybe now it would be that kiss."

"Definitely a kiss for me," Hannah said. "Not the one at Gringotts but one a day or so later. The first one I felt was because you wanted to kiss me, Harry, not because it was expected or something."

"When Harry said I was his friend," Luna sighed.

"He kissed me," Hermione added. "Well, apparently he had before then but I was kind of petrified. No, he kissed me in front of my Mum and we bonded."

"That perfect day when I realized I loved him and he me," Daphne added.

"Makes me sound like some kind of prince or something in a fairy tale," Harry groaned.

"Hate to tell you but that seems to be your life, Prince Harry," Daphne said and looked at Hermione when she giggled.

"Oh no!" Hermione corrected. "Prince Harry's a few years younger and not nearly as cute!"

"Okay!" Harry snapped but with a smirk. "My own fault for mentioning it. It's bad enough I'm some Earl or some such. I'm no prince, not that kind anyway, and wouldn't want to be one!"

"Well, you couldn't be one," Hannah said. "That Treaty things says you can't be a wizard and remain a prince, so as you are a wizard you can't be a prince, right?"

"Exactly!" Harry agreed. "I'm glad someone sees reason and agrees with me!"

"But it doesn't mean we can't think of you as one," Hannah added with a giggle.

Harry groaned. "Can we get back to where we were? I should know better than to battle wits with five beautiful and brilliant witches. It's like trying to climb a ladder without having arms or legs. Can't be done. So, they'll all be bonded with me? And when will that happen or has it happened and we just missed it?"

"Unless I am mistaken," Madam Pomfrey answered, "yes, in time you will be bonded with each of these young ladies. I could be wrong, but the tests I have run are consistent with that conclusion and have no other possible explanation. You are not fully bonded yet, however. I can't say when exactly you will bond only that your bonds with Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley are closer to completion although in Miss Weasley's case I doubt you can complete the bond anytime before June 21st. What I also do not know is whether and to what extent your bonding process with Miss Greengrass and Miss Abbott will affect your bonding with the other three. It is possible they are connected such that you won't be able to bond until all have reached that point."

"And when that time comes? It's just a matter of time and we're done bonding?"

"Don't you like the way things are now?" Luna pouted.

"I do. Sorry if it sounded otherwise. I was just wondering what happens then?"

"The only reason you have not yet bonded and cannot yet bond is because you are too young to take the final step," Madam Pomfrey said. "That step cannot be avoided and when the time comes I dare say it will be all but impossible to avoid. You might delay it until it is convenient, but not more than a day or so. As I know I explained, your bonding process is also causing all of you to mature to a point where you can complete the bond. Without the bonding process, it would be a few years and as you know your situation is precarious until the bond is complete. You cannot be separated for prolonged periods of time without putting yourself and your separated bondmate at grave risk. In that vein, it is fortunate that you have avoided my Wing."

"The final step being c-consummation?" Harry blushed. "I'll have to have …"

"You will have to make love to your bondmate," Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Which right now is not possible physically since the bonding process is protecting you and your bondmate from moving too quickly or taking an action that would be detrimental to the bond and a simple shag – as you students so rudely call it – could be detrimental during bonding. When you and the first of your young ladies reaches the appropriate physical, magical and sexual maturity – which will not be full maturity in any sense – you will know that you are ready and you will consummate your bond."

"At the same time?" Harry protested. "I can't consummate five bonds at the same time, can I?"

"No, Mr. Potter you cannot," Madam Pomfrey said. "Nor will you have to. Given your youth and the fact that each of your young ladies are virgins where boys are concerned, you will not reach the bonding point until the young lady in question is at the peak of her fertility or monthly cycle, in other words when she is at the point in her monthly cycle where she would most likely conceive."

"But… you mean they'll get pregnant?"

"The bonding process should not power through their birth control potions, Mr. Potter. So no, that should not happen. But there is a small possibility that it might not that it matters."

"Of course it matters!"

"What I mean is the bond will cause you to consummate despite the risk and despite whatever reservations you may have about that result. It should not happen but it could which is why you should be aware of it."

"Harry, it's okay," Hermione said. The others nodded.

"It is?"

"Yes Harry, it is," Daphne said. "We have talked about this. One of the books we have on the bond said that conception at bonding is not unheard of despite birth control. But we also know it did not happen for Sirius and Connie."

"They are older, Miss Greengrass," Madam Pomfrey said. "Neither of them were virgins. And, they had each achieved their maturity by then so consummation happened without regard to her cycle. So their example is not analogous. As I said, there's a possibility of conception in your case and only a possibility. The reason I point that out is that it has been so long since the last recorded case of a bond at your age and most of the recorded bondings of young people such as yourselves happened before there was effective magical birth control. But as your bonding is similar to the ones arising from Magical Disconnect and as those had a high incidence of conception before birth control and a negligible incidence afterwards, I dare say the risk is very low, just higher than no risk at all."

"If it is our fate in this, Harry, we accept it," Daphne said. "I said we talked about it. We will chose to bear your children and we will be younger than many when we do. Expect a Potter brood beginning some months after our NEWTs. But we knew this was a risk and if it happens, we accept it. We'll get through it if it does. And remember, if it does the wards will extend."

Harry thought about it for a while. "You all agree?" They nodded. "You're not trying to get that way?" They shook their heads. "But if it happens that way, you won't be upset?" They nodded.

"We would prefer it didn't," Hermione said. "But we are married, so it is acceptable. If that happens, we still plan to finish our educations and we're increasing convinced this will not be a problem that scheduling can't sort out."

"What we understand about the bond, Harry, is that it is better for all of us to be in one of these bonds than not to be," Luna said. "The risks are not all that great. So we might have a baby sooner than planned. We are going to have children one day whether that one day is next year or five or six years from now makes little real difference."

"I do have a House to rebuild," Hannah added. "I'm not going to do something stupid like stop my potions, but if it happens, then House Abbott will be certain to continue sooner. I would not mind."

"We're your ladies first, Harry," Ginny smiled. "We now know that's more true than we thought. We're your ladies first. Your wives second. Your friends always. Everything else that we are and will be is extra. We're okay with this possibility."

"You're going to try to wait, though, right?" Harry asked. "Not sure I'm ready to be a dad yet. Still learning to be a big brother, you know?"

The girls nodded.

"So it won't be all of them at once or the same day or something?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey.

"You won't complete the bond until each of them is magically, physically and sexually ready to complete it," Madam Pomfrey nodded. "As the consummation will correspond to the peak of their cycles and as their cycles are currently spaced ever five to six days through the month, then assuming you all reach that point at the same time, it will still be five to six days between consummations and not quite four weeks between your first bonding and the last one."

"When will this happen?" Harry asked.

"Not soon, I should think," Madam Pomfrey stated. "I think not before this summer. But I'm fairly certain you will return to Hogwarts next school year as bonded. Now for what the authorities call the scary part."

"More scary than having kids?" Harry asked causing the girls to giggle nervously.

Madam Pomfrey shrugged. "When the time arrives, you and the witch whose time has also arrived, the one who can bond and is at the peak of her cycled, will become very aroused more so than you have ever been before. You will be strongly attracted to each other more than before and you will desire sexual release perhaps more than ever before. The scary part it nothing will allow you that release save consummation. That means, Mr. Potter, you will have an erection that will be uncomfortable, probably inconvenient and one that will not go away until you consummate the bond. You will each know it's time. The good news is you can wait until it's convenient to do so. You won't feel compelled to do it in class or the Great Hall or even the nearest broom closet. You will have time to get to your home to finish it."

"Hopefully, it won't happen during end of year exams," Hermione said. With everyone looking at her she continued. "I want the bond. But I'd rather not be distracted like that during an exam."


	64. Chapter 64: Written In A Book

**DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$**

A/N: This finishes "Not Normal." "A New Normal" will be the sequel and it's opening chapters will be posted within ten days. That sequel should take us through Fourth Year but, then again, this was supposed to get through to the summer after third year...

**CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: WRITTEN IN A BOOK **

**TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14****th**** 1993**

"So it won't happen all it one day?" Harry asked Madam Pomfrey talking about consummating the bonds.

"As I said, given your youth and the probable nature of your bonds, it will not happen between you and one of your ladies unless and until you are both ready magically, physically and sexually and she is at the peak of her fertility cycle. I can't say if that is the case for all five of the bonds I now detect, although the evidence supports that conclusion. You see, the girls' cycles have all shifted so that they are all at different times. Each girl's cycle is consistent at twenty-nine days start to finish which is about average really. But they occur at different times. If Miss Granger's, for example, begins on day one, then Miss Lovegood's now begins on day seven, Miss Greengrass day twelve, Miss Abbott day eighteen and finally Miss Weasley on day twenty-three with it starting over again on day twenty-nine. That means that even if they are all ready at the same time, the consummation would take place five to six days apart over a three to four week timeframe. This will most likely take place in real time, not your Estate time so you would add any of those days into the gap."

"Are there any changes you'd recommend?" Hermione asked.

"Changes?"

"In our living situation … our … um … intimacy rules."

"You will need to explain those," Madam Pomfrey said.

Hermione did, slowly. She was clearly embarrassed as were the others, but she managed to explain their life together in some detail. Madam Pomfrey appeared thoughtful.

"I would recommend you make no distinctions between each other from now until the first bonding which means Miss Weasley should enjoy the same degree of intimacy with Mr. Potter that the rest of you do. I would agree that she not move beyond that degree until she's gone through her mentorship although it would appear that aside from her intimacy with the rest of you young ladies, there will be no real change has Mr. Potter's needs are subject to the bond. I can't say when the bonds can be finalized but it is possible all of you ladies will be ready aside from your point in the cycle at the same time. This means whoever is ready in all respects first bonds first and that means has sexual intercourse first and if that's Miss Weasley so be it.

"You will continue to share the same bed together as you have been and all of you should share time next to Harry as you have been striving to do. Mr. Potter?"

"Yes ma'am?"

"I made a similar recommendation to Mr. Longbottom. You will need to be comfortable in front of your ladies so I would recommend when you enjoy a day together that the degree of undress not be gender specific. That means, Mr. Potter, if your family decides to forgo wearing anything, you will undress appropriately."

Harry blushed furiously.

"I add one suggestion," Madam Pomfrey continued. "When the first bond occurs, Harry may be intimate with you all as his ability to be that way will be restored. My suggestion is that he not be denied such intimacy simply because you have not yet bonded with him. I would recommend, however, that you refrain from sexual intercourse until the bonding. I will be giving a book to you ladies before you leave for the Holiday and you may share it with Mr. Potter after you all have read it. It will explain why this might be important. Having intercourse once Harry is able will not affect your bond nor will it delay it. My recommendation is simply because it will make the bonding that much more … meaningful for both of you."

They nodded although not necessarily in agreement since none of them truly had a frame of reference. It seemed like a good idea even if they did not fully understand why.

"What will happen to us after we've bonded?" Harry asked.

"I can only say it will be interesting, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said. "As I've told you, the authorities are silent as to a multiple bond such as the one you and your ladies will share. Aside from House Longbottom, I am not aware of another similar situation. I have only a general idea of what a singular pair bond entails as the specifics can vary as markedly as the people in the bonds. You will, for certain, have an increase in your magical potential meaning you will each be stronger magically than you would have been otherwise. In all cases, you will be able to draw on your bondmates magic in times of need giving you more stamina for certain. Absent your penchant for keeping me company here, Mr. Potter, and your strange attraction from Dark Lords, you and your bondmates will enjoy a longer life expectancy that would otherwise have been the case. The good news is once you're bonded, you can wind up here for an extended stay separated from your bondmates without risk to them or yourself. One other thing that seems common to all bonds is you will sense what pleases your bondmate so the sex will never be dull.

"There are other things that you may experience, but whether and to what extent seems to depend on the partners to the bond. You may feel each others emotions. You may have the ability to find each other even if you have no idea where the other is and to go to them even if you are miles and miles apart. Some bondmates have been able to pass through wards under such circumstances. You may also come to hear each other's thoughts and to know what the other knows thus it would then be necessary for only one of you to attend a class and practice for both of you to learn. I am not saying these things will happen, but they may. Moreover, this is not a complete list of possible benefits of the bond."

"What if one of us were to die young?" Harry asked.

"Thinking of dying on us, Potter?" Daphne growled.

"No! But with Voldemort having an … unnatural interest in my life – or rather it's sudden end, I think it's a question I should ask even if I have no intention of obliging him that way."

"Were it an ordinary pair bond, the death of one leads to the death of the other in short order, usually within days," Madam Pomfrey said. "If there's a young child of that bonding, the other will live for a time, but will die not long after the child reaches an age where they could magically consummate. But I can't say how that would work in your case. To be honest, I don't know if you are five separate pair bonds or one bond. It might be that you would survive such a death. It might be that if Mr. Potter suffers an untimely demise, you all will follow in short order. It might also be that if any of you ladies were to so perish, you would take Mr. Potter with you and he would then take the others with him. It's all a guess, really, and I'd rather not know which if any of those ideas might be correct."

"Well, that takes some of the fun out of it," Ginny said sadly.

"I have no intention of dying anytime soon," Harry said. "So don't you go making similar plans. I have every intention of being 'round to see all or our grandchildren finish school at the very least and then maybe the next generation after that."

"Ah, another point!" Madam Pomfrey said. "Again, I don't know if your bonds will be different than the others, but you can expect two things. First, your children will be magically powerful."

"Source magic!" Hermione said. "Sirius said his ancestors found that the children of a bonded couple were a new source magic!"

The others nodded.

"You young ladies will find little difficulty in getting pregnant or having a child," Madam Pomfrey continued. "Bonded couples tend towards larger families. The ones that I'm aware of with only one or two children are not finished having children. Four or more is typical and even if there's a history of problems having children in the young woman's maternal line, the bond means you will not need worry about that. So, expect to have large families and expect the first to arrive sooner rather than later. You can delay it, but I think once you're not much older you might not want to delay it. I would not be at all surprised if your children start arriving the year after you decide to finish or leave school."

"That's twenty or more!" Harry exclaimed.

"Voldemort wanted to conquer the world by force," Luna smiled. "Our Harry will simply remake it in his own image by having loads and loads of children."

"If one day they say Harry Potter was the father of his country," Hermione giggled, "they may well mean it literally."

"So, you're okay with this then?" Harry asked.

"You are a silly boy, Harry Potter," Ginny said. "We're still here so of course we're okay with it."

"Besides," Daphne said, "it's not like it's going to get all weird like that today. It's still a few years off in Outside time and longer altogether so by then … it won't seem as scary a deal as it might seem now. I've told you I'm in and it appears I'm more in than I could've dared hoped. You're not losing me."

"You already knew I need a fair few little ones," Hannah added. "Can't think of a better Daddy for them so you're it!"

"Just so long as it's not a bunch of boys," Ginny said.

"You're my friend, Harry Potter," Luna added. "I want you to have a family by me and to me that means children as in more than one."

"And you, Hermione?"

"For all intents and purposes, I was an only child," Hermione said. "It never seemed right to me in a way. I don't know why. Maybe my magic saw this coming. Who knows? But having a few children with you seems like the right thing to do. Not right away, mind you. But I don't think I'll wait 'til I'm twenty something either. Can't say when, but I will want more than one or two so you're stuck with a bunch of little ones one day."

"Harry?" Luna said. "We've been through a lot together already, haven't we? We'll manage with whatever this bond has in store. Given the other things we're facing, the fact you may have a lot of little Potters and Abbotts seems a small thing really. And remember, it will be some time before that happens from our point of view."

"But Madam Pomfrey said the bonding might…," Harry began.

"Might, Harry," Daphne interrupted. "Might is not will. It might happen. One of us might become pregnant. If that happens, then it happens and you can add that to your list of things that set you apart from all the pedestrian wizards out there. We're not going to try for that to happen. It would be … inconvenient at our ages. But if it happens, we will deal with it. We're all in this together."

"Too right!" Ginny added.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Ron," Neville said. Ron was seated at a table in the "Common" Room of the Gryffindor married stutdents' quarters. It was smaller than the Gryffindor Common Room, although it was similar in décor. Ron was seated at a study table contemplating studying for his potions exam. He was not actually studying for it, but he was not totally ignoring it, which was a vast improvement from the year before. "Studying?" Neville asked.

"Thinking about it but nah," Ron said. "Waitin' 'til Katie gets back from class. Odd when you think about it?"

"What? You're being here with a school book?"

Ron chuckled. "Suppose that is or would've been. No, I meant this room. For a common room it's a very quiet place."

"Well, 'bout the only time we're here is if there's a free period and we're not somewhere else," Neville nodded. "Same's true with Harry and his lot. And Dawkins and his wife …"

"Don't like us too much," Ron agreed.

"We are a lot younger than they are," Neville said.

"There's that," Ron agreed. "Katie and I living in sin is another reason. That's what Veronica Powell called it."

"_Mrs. Dawkins," _Neville chuckled. "She was right put out when she insisted on that and we came back and told her that in that case we're Lord this and Lady that. Probably wasn't the best way to handle her, but she really walks around here thinking this place is overrun with the wrong sort."

"Yeah. Where're the others?"

"Let's see," Neville thought. "Tracy and Susan are in Muggle Studies. Sally-Anne's off somewhere I suppose. Padma's in the library most likely. Astoria's in class. And Parvati's probably up in the girl's dorm with Lavender."

"Harry and his lot have a meeting with Madam Pomfrey," Ron said.

"We had ours last week," Neville nodded. "It was … a surprise."

"Oh?"

"Found out I'm not just bonding with Sally-Anne and Padma, but somehow I'm bonding or will probably bond with all of them. Not bonding with Astoria yet but Madam Pomfrey says it looks like we will when she's a little older. Madam Pomfrey doesn't know the why or the how of it aside from thinking that Parvati being an identical twin somehow was part of it. Doesn't explain Susan or Tracy though. She said it's cause we spend so much time together and probably 'cause we all want to deep down."

Ron chuckled. "Yeah. Said Katie and I must have wanted to too since her condition and my helping her doesn't usually lead to a bond. I will admit I liked her before and, well seeing her that way was really scary. I didn't want her to be that way. I guess that was part of it. Been thinking 'bout all of this before you came in. Katie and I are getting married Saturday, you know?"

"Yeah. Got the invite for the dinner and stuff after. Nervous?"

Ron shrugged. "What was it like for you?"

Neville said down. "Let's see… I'd been having this strange sense that almost everything that happened had happened before. It was really annoying 'cause while I kind of knew it had I had no idea what was going to happen next, you know? It's been that way since my eleventh birthday. Thought I was either mental or a seer or something. I was gonna take Divination 'til I found out what was happening."

"That future stuff," Ron nodded. "Not sure if that counts as Divination."

"Pretty sure it doesn't," Neville said. "So as you remember a lot of us got to leave school early for the Summer and the evening I got home Gran had visitors. It was Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson whom Gran has known for years. We now know them as Peter Parker and Amanda Crosby," Neville said.

"The Flamels," Ron nodded. "'Cept she goes by Mary. Guess if you make up your name you can go by whatever you want."

"Sally-Anne thinks it's why he picked Peter Parker 'cause he wanted to go by Spidey."

"A guy with spider abilities? Sorry Mate. Never liked spiders. And after running into those huge ones in the forest I really don't like them."

"So, they then told us who they really were and that I was their several times removed great grandson on both sides of my family. Gran's one of their several times removed great granddaughters. They seemed to be related to everybody, you know? Then again they've had loads and loads of kids and stuff for over six hundred years. In my family, only Sally-Anne, Padma and Parvati aren't their descendants. We think Sally-Anne might have magical roots somewhere but are not certain and of course Padma and Parvati are from India or at least their parents are. So here we were with the legendary Flamels and we're related and then they tell us about the future stuff which explained what was happening to me.

"Gran then asked them 'bout me. Said she was certain I was a powerful wizard and stuff, but my spell casting was pathetic – although she didn't use that word. Hers was nicer. So Mr. Flamel gave me a wand and told me to cast something. I did, but it was hard. He then took the wand back and cut the handle in two and showed it to us. It was just a stick of wood. Didn't have a magical core, you know?"

"You cast a spell with a stick of wood?" Neville gasped.

"Apparently, it's what I've been doing from the off," Neville smiled. "I was using my Dad's wand, you know. Didn't work for me at all. Family wands can work, but they don't always work and they're never as good as a matched one."

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed. "I was using my brother Charlie's my first two years. It sort of worked for me, though I didn't know that 'til I got my own Ollivander wand this past summer. It's why we use those mismatched wands for exhaustion drills at the Estates 'cause it's so much harder to cast anything and you were essentially doing that from the off and I sort of was."

"Bit of a surprise, if you ask me. Gran got me my matched wand the next day and talk about a difference…"

"Yeah. Huge."

"Anyway, aside from that… Well, the Flamels didn't pop by to tell us my wand was all wrong. No. They told us 'bout things Gran had forgotten years ago. They told us 'bout my compatible magic. I was surprised, to say the least. I'd heard 'bout that and knew it was rare and was surprised Gran would've forgotten something huge like that. I know she's old, but she doesn't forget anything, you know? It was obvious someone had done something to her. Then they tell us that I used to play with Sally-Anne, Padma and Parvati when we were really little. Something happened and everyone forgot. We now know as you do what that something was. It explained to me why those girls liked me 'cause I really couldn't figure out why at all. Yeah, I helped them and others with Herbology – well, not Padma. She helped me with Transfiguration. Said it was 'cause I was helping her sister but… I thought there was more going on. Although, it doesn't explain all the other girls who were part of my study groups and certainly not the guys. But Sally-Anne and Parvati were the first so…

"Then we learned about the betrothals my parents made. I was betrothed to Sally-Anne and Padma 'cause of that compatible magic and Parvati as well. And Susan. That one's a Line Continuation as you know. Bit of a shock. Guess it's a good thing I liked those girls already and knew them from studying and stuff."

"That and they're cute."

"Yeah. That doesn't hurt."

"You can tell those two apart? I mean really? I can, but I think it's cause they wear different stuff. I swear the only one in my family who can always tell Fred and George apart is Ginny."

"They try to be different. Always have for some reason. Your brothers try to be identical. Guess that makes a difference. I can't tell your brothers apart. Padma and Parvati are easy to tell apart even though they are identical and it's not just their clothes and the way they do their hair. They have different personalities which is probably why they were sorted into different houses. Parvati is smart, but she hides it. Padma does not. They're both friendly, but Parvati likes being noticed and Padma does not, not in the same way. They're also very close and very protective of each other. Being in separate Houses was both a good thing and not. It was good because they do treasure their individuality and that allowed them to be Padma or Parvati and not the Patil twins. But it was not so good 'cause they couldn't spend as much time together and watch out for each other. They wondered what life was going to be like. They both wanted and feared getting married 'cause it would be that way too. They couldn't see themselves as marrying the same wizard. Truth was that was a possibility and they wanted nothing to do with it since such a wizard was clearly more interested in the twin side of it than the individuals."

"And so they get married to you," Ron said.

"Yeah. But I'm different they say. I don't see the twin side of things they say. I tend to overlook the fact they're actually related to each other like that and see them as individuals. They each later have told me that they are happy with this, that I might well be the only wizard in the world they could be happy sharing since I see them as who they are and stuff. Others would see them as … as toys or something." Neville was clearly upset at the thought. "None of my ladies are that! Fair few pureblood wizards seem to think women are for heirs or for play and that's it. Bunch of wankers, you ask me."

Ron nodded. "I admit some stuff Katie and I do are fun. But we do them together. She's … she's not for heirs or play. We're partners on and off the pitch and anyone who suggests otherwise will get hexed! Don't know if I could … well, one wonderful witch is more than enough for me, you know?"

Neville chuckled. "I dare say Harry and I would be of the same opinion, but life saw things differently. Guess we were lucky, though."

"Oh?"

"You can't say any of our ladies aren't wonderful in their own right."

"Um … well, I can. But I'm biased and one's my sister and it's like a rule or something that a sister can't be wonderful that way, you know? But that stuff aside, you're right. All the wonderful ones live here now."

"I'm sure there a few left out there," Neville said. "But the dating pool in our year has been thinned, that's for certain."

Ron laughed. "Seamus is shameless! That's what Katie said and it's both funny and too true! You should've seen him trying to chat up Rivers and Moon before the last Hogsmeade visit. He practically ignored them for two years. We all did I suppose and they seemed to like it that way. They wouldn't give him the time of day before and they certainly didn't then. One of them told him the only reason he was suddenly nice was he was suddenly aware they were girls and all the others he might have noticed before – and who would talk to him before – were taken. Glad in a way I'm not in that mess. I might have been upset in a year or so. Not now, though."

"Roper and Moon would be a bad move," Neville said. "They keep to themselves. Parvati says that she and Lavender considered Hermione far more of a friend than those two even though Hermione was not about to talk about Teen Witch Weekly or boys or anything they talked about. Surprised he didn't go after Lavender."

"She was already going to the village with Dean," Ron said. "Guess Seamus didn't want to go … um … without a girl."

"It would certainly ruin his belief that he's the charming ladies' man," Neville laughed. "All last year he was on about that, remember? And here it is and it's Harry, you and me with the ladies on our arms."

"We had a little help," Ron nodded. "But I'm not complaining. I really think Katie is right for me, you know? Still…"

"Still? Is there a problem?"

"Weren't you … I don't know … scared when you found out about the bonds?"

"Well, a little. Found out there might be that when the Flamels visited. But we know that might be doesn't mean will be, you know. Still, they said it was important to find out. So we set up a visit with the Perks the next week. They're Muggles you know. Gran and I were not sure my parents would've told them much, but they had signed the betrothal. We went there and Sally-Anne was there and we had a nice tea before Gran showed them the betrothal. Mr. and Mrs. Perks remembered as soon as they saw it and told Sally-Anne. She looked … confused in a way. She wasn't upset really. I thought she would be but she later told me she already thought I was a wonderful person and a good friend before she was told about all that so it wasn't a bad thing. She said it would've been different for her if I was a complete stranger. She kissed me, you know? As soon as she was told we were betrothed and her parents supported the idea, she came over and snogged me good. Right there, in front of my Gran, her parents and the Flamels and it was not some quick peck either. We didn't see the light show…"

"Light show?"

"Apparently, there's this bright glow when the bond begins, but the people bonding don't see it. The others did. Sally-Anne got really nervous afterwards when she was told that we were certainly bonding and that because of that she had to move in with me and sleep with me from then on. She was even more nervous when we were told to pack up all her things. Guess she didn't want a boy – not even her friend and bondmate – to see her under-things. It was embarrassing, but we got through it.

"So she moved in and a few days later we went to the Patils and told them about the bond and betrothals. Looking back, that was funny."

"Oh?" Ron asked. "How so?"

"Well, you know it's Padma whom I share compatible magic with right?"

Ron nodded.

"When we told them everything, Padma just sat there thinking about it I guess. Parvati, on the other hand… She laughed and squealed with delight and ran up and tried to snog me senseless. She later told me that deep down somewhere she had considered me as the … I don't know … the one? Certainly the one she and Padma could be with and be treated right or something. Padma came over after Parvati finally ran out of breath or something. Padma spoke first, saying she was surprised but pleasantly so. It's best to be with a good friend, she said then kissed me too and we bonded. They weren't as embarrassed about packing up and moving in as Sally-Anne had been. I guess they expected that or something. They said it might've been different if they were to be separated. Deep down, I think they were afraid that was going to happen. Now, it's not."

"When did this happen?"

"Bonded with Sally-Anne June 24th. Couldn't happen much sooner 'cause I only had just reached my bonding age. That was a Thursday. Bonded with Padma a week later, July 1st. We married at Gringotts the following week: Sally-Anne on July 6 and Padma and Parvati on July 8th."

"Were you nervous about that?"

"A little, yeah. I mean it is a big deal, you know, even if it was just the girls and their parents and Gran. We are married and that's like forever, you know. But we were bonded. Well, not Parvati but Padma and I were and Parvati was part of it so… Guess I'd've been more so if I didn't know them or something. I was more nervous about Tracy and Astoria 'cause I didn't know them at all really. You nervous?"

Ron nodded. "Mrs. Perks and Mum are doing this big dinner after. That and there'll be dancing and I'm expected to dance with Katie. I'm nervous 'bout that. Katie is too seeing… She thinks they're making way too big a deal about this seeing as our wedding won't be for a few years. I agree with her on that. But what really bothers me is the dancing bit seeing as Mum seems to have forgotten to teach us that bit. Don't want to look… Katie had some lessons, though, and said not to worry. But yeah, I'm a little nervous 'bout it."

"It's not like you'll be the only ones doing that," Neville said. "I'm sure each of my ladies will expect it from me and Harry's too."

"But it will be," Ron said in a panicked voice. "Some kind of tradition, you know? The first dance is the bride and groom by themselves! I just … I don't want to embarrass Katie, you know?"

"Something tells me as long as you really don't make a spectacle of yourself, she won't be embarrassed. Just let her lead you through it and you should be fine. Oh, and don't throw up on her."

"Does that happen?"

Neville shrugged. "My Uncle Algie did at my parent's wedding, according to Gran. But he had a lot to drink, she says."

"I'm sure Mum'll have a thing or two to say 'bout that," Ron said. "Won't put it past Fred or George to do something embarrassing, though."

"Ah, but one day it will be their turn," Neville smiled. "They would be well advised to behave or face retaliation."

Ron smiled. "They're having enough fun as it is. Mum's on them all the time 'bout Alicia and Angelina. Don't get me wrong. She likes them. It's Fred and George she's on about."

"So, is it the marriage you're nervous about or your brothers?"

"Um … both sort of. Not going to back out or something. A part of me really wants this but … well, we are young you know?"

"Yeah. I thought the same thing at the time. But we were bonding and it was the right thing to do seeing as we'd be together anyway. I was more nervous 'bout the others. We didn't visit them first for some reason. Gran said the contracts were such that it wasn't necessary once I married Sally-Anne and Padma … and Parvati. So we just showed up and got married. Susan wasn't too bad. She knew she needed a Line Continuation and we are friends. She was pleased that it was me. Tracy was … surprised for certain. She didn't say much of anything 'til we got back to the Manor. Then she was really happy. Didn't understand it myself. I mean we didn't know each other at all, did we? And she was a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor and the Snakes were all on 'bout me being a Squib and such and she was almost ecstatic when we got back. Confused me. She later explained she was afraid she'd either be married off to a Snake or some vile old codger or she'd become … apparently it's not good being a witch in the pit without a betrothal or something. Compared to what she thought might happen, well I was a dream come true even if she had to share."

"She know in advance?" Ron asked.

"No. Didn't even know about the betrothal. Her parents were cautious about that 'cause it would have tipped their hand back then and remained so 'cause if Tracy was marketable that way, someone might try to buy out her betrothal, not that Gran was about to turn her back on her friends like that but the Davis's ran with the sort who would. Keeping it secret kept her safe, they thought. Actually, it had. But the safe was about to run out in the Pit and without the open betrothal she would have to be better than a wand than any of the boys if she didn't want to wind up with them, if you know what I mean."

Ron nodded. "She and Daphne have told me some of it. Can't say I feel sorry for some of them. But those two? And Astoria? That's just wrong, you know?"

"Yeah. So, I was afraid Tracy would hate me. She didn't. Turns out the only thing she was worried about after we got married was what would happen to Daphne, you know? We didn't know about her until about a month later. They were both thrilled the other wasn't going to be left alone down there. Astoria knew something, but there was that Fidelius Charm on it so even if she knew everything 'bout what happened to her sister, she couldn't say. She came in last, you know."

"Really? I mean I know you're only betrothed but…"

"I wanted the marriages out of the way, you know? Figured I'd be … well, more comfortable with the whole thing. I figured … well, even if we went forward she'd stay with her parents for now. So we showed up for the meeting which was all it was really since she's too young for marriage and all. Didn't know about Daphne nor that their parents had planned for this. They wanted their daughters safely betrothed and protected from the low life's who most likely would've put pressure on them for the daughters and the sooner it was clear they were not in the market, the better it would be for the family, you know? Daphne was just married off to Harry. They wanted Astoria safely off with House Longbottom even though she had yet to start Hogwarts. Very old fashioned, you know? But Astoria knew coming in she might not be going back home except to visit. Her bags were already packed. She was … accepting, to say the least and very hopeful. Tracy was more resigned at first and Susan knew something like this was out there. Astoria seemed the least upset about things even though they all seemed pleased with how it turned out from the off. Needless to say, it all confused me."

"Yeah. Harry's said the same. He expected the girls to be upset with this and they weren't. Ginny was closest to being upset considering. But Harry made it clear from the beginning, right there in Gringotts both why he did that and that as far as he was concerned Ginny was no different than the others. My brothers and I would've been upset if it was. But it's not. That much is obvious and she's clearly happy about it. That was a surprise. She's … I don't know … very independent, you know? So's Hermione and yet they're happy not being the one and only, you know?"

"I said earlier we learned last week that I wasn't just bonding with Sally-Anne and Padma, but with the others as well. Harry and his girls are with Madam Pomfrey as we speak. My guess is it's happening to them as well. You're in a bond. Only one girl, but you know better than anyone else at school how that works. You can't help but like the situation. You can get annoyed at times and so can they. But…"

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Hermione and Ginny could stay mad at me for a long time and I could stay mad at them. Katie and I can't stay mad, not that I'd want to. I'm nervous about the dancing and attention and the fuss my Mum is sure to make about this. I am not nervous about being with Katie. We're already together and I think I can say we wouldn't want it any other way."

"Not worried about whether you can take care of her?"

"I know at least how much I'm getting from that basilisk and I've been told it could be much more. Even if it's only half of what I think it is, I can easily take care of her for now. Since this has happened I've had some long talks with Dad about it. My family's struggled financially, but that was because Mum and Dad wanted a large family and wanted us all to attend Hogwarts and wanted to pay for as much of it as possible. That betrothal of Ginny's said we could go without paying any tuition. My parents still paid all they could 'cause it's the right thing to do. If we'd gone to the local, we'd've been better off financially. But Dad said the most important thing he could give his children was a good education so it was Hogwarts and hand-me-downs. Used to complain 'bout that. Percy still does. But I think I understand now. Katie and I are off to a better start than my parents were, but it doesn't mean I can be stupid with the money. Thinking of getting one of those trunks, you know? A nice farm, a steady income, something so that our kids won't be … well, they'll have new clothes every year. But none of that fancy, overpriced, acromantual silk rubbish. No child of mine's gonna wear spider gunk, no matter how fancy it is!"

Neville laughed. "Somehow, Ron, were you to have all the gold in Gringotts, I doubt you'd be the silk robes type. Not your style."

"Don't know what my style is, to be honest. But that's right out!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry lay in bed that night at the Manor at the Estate. Ginny and Daphne lay cuddled into his side and the others snuggled into them. When they had returned from their meeting with Madam Pomfrey, Hermione had made a sleeping schedule. Before, because they thought only Hermione and Luna were bonding, on most nights those two used Harry as their pillow. But now that it was all of them, they all needed it in equal turns, or so Hermione reasoned. Not that any of the girls were complaining and especially not Ginny and Daphne this night. Hermione also revised their Rules of Intimacy. For now, there was no distinction between any of them and full on snogging had been added to the list at each girl's discretion. As none of them were reluctant, this meant it was on the list for all of them. Harry had been snogged breathless by each of them and had been spared only long enough to allow "adequate" time to prepare for his end of terms Potions exam the next day which only Ginny and Luna were avoiding but they had Transfiguration so their studies were not done either.

He was bonding with all of them. He had promised Daphne, Hannah and Ginny that he would do his best to see that they were no different than Hermione and Luna. Was that why they were now really no different? Was this another of the odd things in life that differentiated Harry Potter from the rest of the world? Well, he thought, that was no longer true, was it? After all, he was not unique when it came to his family. Neville also had five bondmates now and Neville also had a sixth who probably would become one when she was a little older. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was not as unique as he once thought. There were a lot of similarities with Neville beyond the bed full of girls at night. They were also the last of their lines for now and Heads of their respective Houses when everyone else their own age was only worried about classes and such.

It seemed so right in a way. It seemed so easy at the time. Hermione had been his best friend practically from the beginning of school so being more than that was not much of a stretch. She was so smart it was scary, but she had a kind heart. She and Harry were alike in one way as neither had any friends before Hogwarts. Hermione was picked on because she was smart, because she was not girly in many ways and later because she had no friends. She was bossy, but she really didn't mean to be and Harry didn't mind it too much. He actually liked it most of the time. He liked everything about her, even stuff she didn't like about herself.

Luna. How could he not like Luna? He had liked her from that moment she sat down beside him by the lake at school and started talking. She had an odd but amusing way of seeing things that somehow made Harry feel good for some reason. He knew that he and Luna were friends in that other time, but not this soon. How had that happened or not happened? She was so easy to talk to because she was easily the least judgmental person he had ever met. She was so forward that he could see why some people might be put off. But she was special. That others didn't see that was their loss – and his gain.

Ginny was a sparkplug. She was snarky, mischievous, funny but not one of those giggly girls Harry didn't like. The Ginny he came to know since he bound her to him was not the red faced girl who never could say a word to him. It was the real Ginny, not the one overwhelmed by a silly crush. Harry was certain the crush had gone away her First Year and whether it was the entirety of that horrible experience or merely the events in the Chamber was anyone's guess. This Ginny was more real and more enjoyable. She was also more vulnerable in a way because of what had happened and Harry wanted her to feel safe. In a way, she had blossomed at the Manor and Harry had loved watching it happen. Still, it was a good thing she was his betrothed. This real Ginny might well have given Fred and George Weasley a run for their money.

Daphne was smart and had a wicked sense of humor. She was also devious in her own way. That was one of the reasons why she had been the Manor Advocate. Hermione was as good thinking on her feet, but she lacked the same instincts. Daphne looked for what was being hidden almost as an instinct. She was a true Slytherin in that regard and could be scary that way as you rarely saw her coming, as it were. But she was also fiercely devoted to her friends and that now meant to Harry and the others. She was another facet, another piece of a puzzle, a part of House Potter that made it what it was and what it could be. Everyone in House Potter liked her. Objectively, she was probably the prettiest as well, although Harry thought they were all pretty in their own right. He couldn't see House Potter without Daphne in it just as he couldn't see House Potter without Hermione or Luna or Ginny.

Hannah was a sweet girl. Smart too. She was probably the least outspoken of the group. She preferred to work behind the scenes at least where House Potter was concerned. She and Harry had their status within Houses in common and in that she was a great help. She knew a lot about Houses and the customs and such. She was the one who thought of the Manor Court, after all. In hindsight, why wouldn't she? As a Regent, she had the right to convene one even if House Abbott was just her and her mother. In that, her relationship was a little different. He was her Consort/Husband and when it came to House Abbott he could advise and the converse was true as well. But aside from that legal stuff, she was as much a part of his new family as the others and she was the one person everyone could turn to if they needed to talk.

How did Harry get so lucky? Better yet, how did his parents get so lucky? They made most of these arrangements when Harry and his ladies were all babies or at most toddlers. There was no way they could see what wonderful young ladies they would become in time or how well they would fit together. Madam Pomfrey said they were all bonding now. Harry was certain that was a recent thing. He was certain it could never have happened if they did not fit so well together as a team, as a family, as friends. That's what allowed this bond to happen or for the bond he shared with Hermione and Luna to spread to the others. They were not complaining about this development. Neither was he. How could this not have happened in that other time?

As abnormal as Harry's life hand been up to his adventure in the Chamber of Secrets, if Dumbledore had told him that six months (outside time) later, he would be married and bonding to these smart and pretty witches – or any young woman to be honest – he would've considered the man totally mad. It was the Flamels who had dropped that shoe at his feet and when they did it was a little too late to avoid it since he had already just started bonding with Hermione and Luna. His parents had obligated him to marry Hannah and Daphne in that event. He did what he did to Ginny for her. No one deserved what Dumbledore had planned for her and he was not about to let anyone ever have that chance again. That she fit in to his unique family so easily was a pleasant surprise.

Dumbledore. Had someone suggested that the man was no good six months ago, Harry would've been the first to contradict them. It was his loyalty to Dumbledore that had brought Fawlkes to him in the Chamber of Secrets without whom he would surely have died two times over at least. Harry's loyalty may well have been blind. But it was true and it had been betrayed. At least that was what many believed. They had a point. The man had placed him with the Dursleys no doubt knowing it was not going to result in a pleasant childhood or any childhood at all really. His earliest memories were of chores and punishment. Play was almost nonexistent in Harry's life. What few toys he had were someone else's cast offs. Some he had found. Some were formerly Dudleys. All had been kept in a shoebox in a void behind where he had slept in that cupboard and they never left the cupboard. They probably were still there to this day. That was his childhood. He was only ever a child locked in that small space and that was hardly a proper childhood at all, was it? Naturally he didn't know from personal experience. His parents were proud of him. He wondered what would be different had Dumbledore done the right thing by him and sent him to a loving home. Would he have fared as well? Would he have handled things as well? Would he still be just a child, unable to cope with the stuff that had been thrown at him? He would never know. Did he have Dumbledore to thank for that; for his ability to persevere when most everyone his age would have probably given up or been left soiling themselves as the end came?

The man had also both tried to take away his destiny and preserve it at the same time. That betrothal contract would have placed the House Potter votes firmly in Dumbledore's hands for so long as Harry lived. But it also was meant to guarantee an heir, wasn't it? It seemed desperate to ensure House Potter survived no matter what else happened. But then why abandon the other contracts? Didn't they also ensure survival of House Potter? Arguably more so since with more Potter wives there would be more Potter heirs. Then again, the other families were not under Dumbledore's control and some were either skeptical or borderline hostile. And why had he moved against House Longbottom? Harry wondered whether there was as yet secret betrothal for Neville out there. True, it could merely have been to prevent House Longbottom from claiming guardianship over Harry, but was anything the man did ever that simple?

Was Dumbledore finished with him? Harry thought not. First of all one did not get to be someone like Dumbledore by shrugging things off or letting things slide or walking away when things got difficult. Dumbledore obviously had some sort of plan that involved Harry, one which had to be done a certain way such that Harry couldn't do something else and one which probably would mean that Harry would not be destined for a long life, else why the brutal shag-fest of a betrothal with Ginny? What he had learned did not tell him what Dumbledore's scheme was, although he had a good idea. Dumbledore wanted Voldemort gone for good. That much was certain. To rid the world of that cretin forever, one first had to rid the world of his horcruxes. And Harry was one. And the only way to destroy it was for Harry to die, or so anyone without the future knowledge would certainly believe. The Killing Curse drives the soul from the body. There was no reason to believe it could be so precise as to drive the small soul fragment from the body without taking the primary soul with it. So, even to a man as learned as Dumbledore there could be but one conclusion: to destroy Voldemort Harry had to die.

But the Prophecy didn't say that. One must die at the hand of the other: one! Neither can live while the other survives! That reinforces that one had to die, but did not lead to the conclusion that both had to die. The future memory of the Flamels showed that both did not die for Harry had lived, although it also made clear that riding the world of Voldemort was not enough for far worse was in store should that be the goal rather than a step towards the goal. Harry knew from his own future memory how to rid himself of the hurcrux and live to tell the tale. He wasn't particularly pleased with the how of it. Taking a Killing Curse did not strike him as particularly bright even if it would work. But it had before so it would again. The trick was how to survive and get away with it and his memory had been kind of vague on that point probably 'cause there were too many possibilities still out there such that it was by no means certain the events would play out exactly the same way. After all, they had already changed, hadn't they?

Although Harry could not say for certain if the broader events had changed. True, Sirius was now exonerated which he knew had not happened in that other time. True, two more horcruxes were a thing of the past, which had not happened so soon and a third could be finished at any time – provided it had no unknown protections upon it. Harry was refusing to hunt it down right now in any event. Voldemort had to return to the realm of the physical to be destroyed with certainty. What little they had on those things suggested that the spirit could remain if its anchors were destroyed. Those references were not clear as to what such a spirit could do. It might be little more than a ghost and those were not capable of much other than being annoyingly talkative. They knew there was one other one out there right now but not where it was or precisely what it was other than some kind of ring. Still, what if it were destroyed before Voldemort gained physical form? Did Voldemort need a horcrux to regain his form? They didn't know. For now, Harry felt it best to let the thing be. He knew where it was and was pretty certain it wasn't going anywhere.

He was pretty certain Dumbledore suspected such things were out there. The question was did Dumbledore know what they were? Was he looking for them at all? Probably. Although the man was rather distracted recently. Had he been the last time? That too was a question. Dumbledore had certainly been busy this time what with the ICW mess and all. Indirectly, that had been Harry's fault. After all, if Harry had not captured Sirius, Sirius would not have gone to Gringotts that day by dedicated floo to look into his affairs and that Ministry bint wouldn't have tried to hex him and lose her vaults for her trouble and then complain to the Ministry and the Ministry would not have made such a scene that led to the Goblins demanding the ICW do something about the British magical government stomping on the Truce. It was amazing how little it took to change a history, Harry thought. But the question remained: had anything important changed?

There was no way to know for certain. He had talked about it with his girls and they had no answer and they were all so scary smart that if they had no answer he seriously doubted anyone else really had one either. After all, it's not like the future was written in some book.

The future was not set in stone. It couldn't be otherwise what was the point? Why try? It was not set. The world did not have to end. There was no destiny. But that meant the Prophecy was nothing more than a bunch of words, or did it? While this Prophecy needed to be fulfilled in the right way, how many ever were? Couldn't be many, Harry thought. If that were the case, no one would bother doing much of anything since it would all work out one way or another anyway. But people did try, so that meant there was nothing that was certain about any future. He knew of one future. It was one where he had never bonded with Hermione and Luna, where he had never married these girls, where his parents remained dead and Sirius never knew he had a daughter. It was bleak personally and for millions he would never know and who would probably never know of him. That was the future he hoped to avoid. By knowing it, he could work to avoid it. But could a handful of people stop the onrush of history? The Flamels thought so otherwise they would not have tried. The Harry in that other future thought so as did the other Hermione and Luna. Who was he to argue with them?

Whatever else, life had become interesting.


End file.
